You can now get paid $53 an hour to teach the High Valyrian language from 'Game of Thrones'

August 2024 · 3 minute read
2019-03-26T17:00:00Z

Calling all "Game of Thrones" linguists.

You could be turning your passion into profit by teaching like-minded Thrones fans the language of Essos.

That's according to leading local services marketplace Bark.com who say that tutors can earn upwards of £40 ($53) per hour teaching High Valyrian, the language spoken by Daenerys Targaryen and Lord Varys.

The tuition service is available for fans across the US and UK, who can either sign up to be a tutor here or to hire tutors here.

Daenerys Targaryen is a High Valyrian speaker. HBO

Bark.com says those who sign up to be High Valyrian tutor will be required to provide proof of their knowledge of the language.

The role will involve creating a variety of reading, writing and speaking exercises for students, alongside role-playing scenarios to enhance the learning experience.

Kai Feller, co-founder of Bark.com, said: "Game of Thrones is more than another hit show – it's become a worldwide sensation! And with the highly anticipated final season fast approaching, the show is more popular than it has ever been. That's why we've launched our latest service – High Valyrian tuition.

"At Bark.com, we love giving people different ways to earn and this is the latest service we’ve launched to do that. High Valyrian is a complex language and this is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who has worked hard to become fluent to share their knowledge – not to mention it would be a fantastic string to any fan's bow!"

David Peterson, creator of 'Game of Thrones' High Valyrian and Dothraki languages. Leonard Ortiz / Digital First Media / Orange County Register via Getty Images

Though the High Valyrian dialect appears occasionally in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of fantasy novels, the author did not develop it beyond a few words and phrases. The actual language, which now comprises of around 2,000 words, was created for the HBO TV adaption by linguist David J. Peterson, who also fleshed out the language of the Dothraki.

The Economist called Peterson's take on Dothraki and Valyrian "the most convincing fictional tongues since Elvish," which was created by J.R.R. Tolkien himself for Middle Earth.

New learners of the language will have to deal with verb conjugation and possessives but, fortunately, not a different writing system, which Peterson said might look something like "Egyptian's system of hieroglyphs — not in style, necessarily, but in their functionality."

Those wishing to get a head start on the competition can start learning High Valyrian in bite-sized lessons on Duolingo, taking courses which Peterson himself contributed to.

Those taking on the challenge of learning the fictional language will have to try harder than Tyrion Lannister, whose Valyrian was "a bit nostril" by his own admission.

 

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