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| {{Era|Covenant|HCW|Post}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Sangheili (language)]] |
| [[File:Speaking Elite.jpg|thumb|A [[Sangheili]] speaks in a language represented by Forerunner glyphs.]] | |
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| {{quote|Their language doesn't translate in a literal manner, and each word has multiple meanings.|[[Cortana]]<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 156''</ref>}}
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| The [[:Category:Covenant Species|member species]] of the [[Covenant]] have their own unique languages. However, the [[Sangheili]] language came to serve as the [[Wikipedia:Lingua franca|''lingua franca'']] throughout the entire Covenant Empire, and as such, many names of member species are derived from the Sangheili.<ref name="Ghost">'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'''</ref> Not all races spoke the same language due to evolutionary design restrictions; for example, the [[Yanme'e]] could only communicate through a cacophony of high-pitched clicks and screeches.<ref name="Contact">'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 311''</ref><ref name="ENC">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''pages 148-149''</ref> To facilitate easier communications between member species, [[translation software]] is used on Covenant ships to decipher words.
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| == Written language ==
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| [[File:Alphabetcovenantsy1.jpg|thumb|A guide to the cipher at a former incarnation of halo2.com]]
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| Text, or writing, in the Covenant appears to be mostly triangle shapes and composed almost completely of equilateral triangles, except for a single dash-like shape that seems to serve the function of a period. The triangular characters have been seen oriented both in the horizontal left-to-right direction and in a vertical right-to-left direction.<ref>'''[[Halo: Uprising]]'''</ref><ref name="fud1">'''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Part 1'''</ref> Whether all of the species that are or were in the Covenant use this form of text is currently unknown.
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| Before the release of ''Halo 2'', the official website at Halo2.com was [[Halo2.com (Covenant)|made to look like a Covenant computer]] complete with a Covenant language. This language was a simple cipher with the triangular characters. In addition to Halo2.com, a released wallpaper contained triangular characters that made use of this cipher. After the Halo2.com site, the cipher changed. Two wallpapers were released with an entirely new cipher still using the triangular characters. Neither this cipher or the previous one have been used subsequently, though the triangular characters are still commonly used.
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| ==Languages==
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| ===Unggoy===
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| {{Main|Unggoy}}
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| Their native language is composed of dog-like barks, squeaks, and grunts. Though largely unintelligible to most humans, translation software is able to decipher the meanings of these.<ref>''[[Conversations from the Universe]]''</ref> The word "Unggoy" itself is not a word from their vocabulary - rather, it is the Sangheili name for their species.<ref name="Ghost"/> Unggoy are also fully capable of speaking a variety of human languages, a fact in which they take great pride.<ref>'''[[Bestiarum]]'''</ref>
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| ===Kig-Yar===
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| {{Main|Kig-Yar}}
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| [[File:Speaking Jackal.jpg|thumb|A [[Kig-Yar]] speaks its foreign tongue.]]
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| Kig-yar language seems to consist of a range of hisses, growls, screeches, snarls, and squawks, though it is intelligible to other members of the Covenant.<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'''</ref><ref name="H2">'''[[Halo 2]]'''</ref><ref name="H3">'''[[Halo 3]]'''</ref><ref name="Contact">'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'''</ref> In addition, Kig-Yar are also capable of speaking the human [[English|English language]] in a rasped manner.<ref>'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 156-157''</ref> Likewise, it can be surmised that they can speak the Sangheili language. Known words of the Kig-Yar language include:
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| :'''[[Irukan]]''' - The name of a type of grain.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''', ''page 62''</ref>
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| :'''[[Mev-ut]]''' - Jackal equivalent of a bounty.<ref>'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 218''</ref>
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| ===Huragok===
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| {{Main|Huragok}}
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| Huragok are the only known species in the Covenant to possess more than one language. One is a verbal language, consisting of musical whistles and chirps, used to convey orders between Huragok and their superiors, usually a Shipmaster and their crew.<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]'''</ref> The second is a sign language, using the different shapes and positions of tentacles to convey different meanings. The Huragok sign language can be learned by other species, including San 'Shyuum and Unggoy, though the inferior finger dexterity of the latter makes forming the shapes a cumbersome task.<ref name="Contact"/>
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| ===Yanme'e===
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| {{Main|Yanme'e}}
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| Yanme'e use a system of chirps, clicks and buzzes to convey information between other members of the hive, rubbing their wings together to produce such sounds, similar to Earth crickets. Translator units are required for other species to understand them.<ref name="Contact"/> Combat units will usually elect an attache to serve as a translator, learning how the other races communicate and relaying the relevant information to the other Yanme'e.<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]'''</ref>
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| ===Lekgolo===
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| {{Main|Lekgolo}}
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| Lekgolo communication with other species is problematic at best. Between different [[Mgalekgolo]] forms they use resonance that only their own species can hear and understand.<ref name="Contact"/> For inter-species communications, Mgalekgolo are capable of speaking at least the Sangheili language.<ref name="Ghost"/>
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| ===Jiralhanae===
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| {{Main|Jiralhanae}}
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| The native Jiralhanae language is animalistic, incorporating a wide range of sounds from growls and barks, to full-out howls and roars,<ref name="Contact"/><ref name="H3"/> though Jiralhanae also express emotions through scents and musks. Young Jiralhanae have difficulty controlling the release of these scents, but learn how to moderate them as they grow older.<ref name="Contact"/> A communal howl is often made by the [[Pack]] [[Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain]] as a sign of celebration, and failure to participate in the howl is a serious affront to the Chieftain's authority.<ref name="Contact"/> Jiralhanae are also capable of speaking the Sangheili language.{{Verify source}}
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| ===Sangheili===
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| {{Listen|title=Elite speech
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| |filename=Elite speech.ogg
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| }}
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| {{Main|Sangheili}}
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| Though originating with the Sangheili, their language has come to be the Covenant ''lingua franca'', used to connect the different races and species. It is seemingly based upon the Forerunner language,<ref name="Ghost"/> likely pieced together from fragments recovered on Forerunner relics. Curiously, in several instances of Forerunner-related terminology, the Sangheili appear to use the English translations of the original Forerunner terms, such as "[[Requiem]]", "[[Reclaimer]]", "[[Ur-Didact|Didact]]" or "[[Librarian]]".<ref>'''Halo 4''', ''Spartan Ops''</ref>
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| A few words, and their meanings, are known:
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| :'''Unggoy''' - Grunt
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| :'''Kig-yar''' - Jackal
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| :'''Sangheili''' - Elite
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| :'''Yanme'e''' - Drone
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| :'''Jiralhanae''' - Brute
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| :'''Lekgolo''' - Hunter
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| :'''San 'Shyuum''' - Prophet
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| :'''Huragok''' - Engineer (taken from the Forerunner name "Huragok")
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| :'''Domo'enkanen'''<!--This is a phonetic spelling. The proper rendering has not been confirmed in canon.--> - [[Human]]<ref name="H4T1">'''[[Halo 4]]''' - ''[[Terminal/Halo 4|Terminal 1]]''</ref>
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| :'''Wort''' - Go<ref name="gogogo"/>
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| :'''Kaidon''' - Clan leader<ref name="Cole">'''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]'''</ref>
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| :'''Neru Pe 'Odosima''' - [[Servants of the Abiding Truth]]<ref>'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'''</ref>
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| :'''A'ul''' - Lump of wood<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 24''</ref>
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| :'''Utshans'''<!--This is a phonetic spelling. The proper rendering has not been confirmed in canon.--> - [[Shipmaster]]<ref name="H4T1"/>
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| :'''[[Nishum]]''' - Intestinal parasite; a common insult towards humans<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 79''</ref>
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| :'''Heiro'''<!--This is a phonetic spelling. The proper rendering has not been confirmed in canon.--> - Hand
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| :'''Jine'''<!--This is a phonetic spelling. The proper rendering has not been confirmed in canon.--> - Soul
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| :'''Laqil''' - [[New Llanelli]]<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 295''</ref>
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| ===San 'Shyuum===
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| {{Main|San 'Shyuum}}
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| Based on religious sermons by the [[Prophet of Regret]] on [[Delta Halo (level)|Delta Halo]], the native Prophet language is similar to Medieval Gregorian-style chanting.<ref name="H2"/> Whether this is spoken by all San 'Shyuum, or if it is a special dialect for religious purposes is unknown.
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| ==Production notes==
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| *The languages in their original form are heard in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''. In ''[[Halo 2]]'', their words are translated for the convenience of the player. Elites in ''Halo: CE'' spoke a deep, warbling tongue. This was achieved by reversing the voice acting of [[David Scully]]. The ever popular "Wort, wort, wort!" shouted by many Elites during gameplay is actually "Go, go, go!" reversed and sped up.<ref name="gogogo">[http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive5.pl?read=105659 EliteSpeak]</ref> The hissing-like language of the Jackals is actually the English language reversed. This, and the other Covenant languages ([[Yanme'e|Drones]], [[Mgalekgolo|Hunters]]), have remained the same since ''Halo 2''.
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| *''[[Conversations from the Universe]]'' contains letters written by the [[San 'Shyuum|Prophets]] of [[Prophet of Truth|Truth]] and [[Prophet of Supposition|Supposition]]. The writing in these letters resembles English, with various alterations. This may be due to a connection between Covenant or [[Forerunner]] texts and English texts, or simply thanks to literary license on [[Bungie]]'s behalf.
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| ==Gallery==
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| <gallery>
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| File:Covenant glyphs H4FUD.png|Covenant glyphs appear on cadet [[Thomas Lasky]]'s comm unit prior to the invasion of [[Circinius IV]].
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| </gallery>
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| == List of appearances ==
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| {{col-begin}}
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| {{col-2}}
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| *''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
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| *''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''
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| **''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
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| *''[[Halo: First Strike]]''
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| *''[[Halo 2]]''
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| *''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Landfall]]''
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| **''[[Halo: Arms Race]]''
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| **''[[Halo: Combat]]''
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| **''[[Halo: Last One Standing]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Uprising]]''
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| *''[[Halo 3]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''
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| *''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''
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| *''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]
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| *''[[Halo Wars]]''
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| {{col-2}}
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| *''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''
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| *''[[Halo Legends]]''
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| **''[[The Package]]''
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| **''[[Origins]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
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| **''[[Stomping on the Heels of a Fuss]]''
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| **''[[Blunt Instruments]]''
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| **''[[The Mona Lisa]]''
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| **''[[The Return]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Reach]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''
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| *''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''
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| *''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''
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| *''[[Halo 4]]''
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| **''[[Terminal/Halo 4|Terminals]]''
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| **''[[Spartan Ops]]''
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| {{col-end}}
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| == Sources ==
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| {{reflist|2}}
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| [[Category:The Covenant]]
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| [[Category:Languages]]
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