A few weeks ago, a friend of mine found out that the Gallifreyan used by us humans (i.e. fans of Doctor Who) was not actually canon to the show, and it made me want to put into words what Gallifreyan actually is, and how canon it really is.
(In addition to that, this is my 100th post and I thought it would be appropriate for the occasion)
The Gallifreyan used to write actual phrases is not exactly canon. But, the visual language of circular Gallifreyan is. Different kinds (or aesthetic forms/styles) of Gallifreyan are seen on the show everywhere :-
But these don’t have any translatable meaning to us. Most of the Gallifreyan seen on the show is essentially artistic gibberish (unless there’s some secret Gallifreyan High Council conspiracy that the BBC hasn’t told us about)
So, some amazing fans of the show( @shermansgallifreyan @rasiloniangallifreyan @brittanybgood for example) were inspired by the stunning Gallifreyan artwork of the show, and created real systems of Gallifreyan, giving these forms meaning which could be understood and translated by us.
These systems of circular code or language which we use, just give this beautiful visual language of the Time Lords a real world meaning that we can understand - almost as though, when we watch the show, the TARDIS’s Translation Matrix works on us too, adding another layer to the experience of running away with the Doctor every week.
And since the first form of translatable Gallifreyan was created, it has grown to become this incredible extended fandom of the show, which at this point is practically canon (well, at least in my head it is).
This might just be speculation, but with the popularity of these fan made systems of Gallifreyan, it looks like the actual show has started using them to hide secret messages or Easter eggs, in addition to the usual circular artwork Gallifreyan of the show. For example, in Doctor Who Series 10 Episode 6 - Extremis, the device which gives the doctor temporary sight appears to have Sherman’s Gallifreyan on it and roughly says what looks to be “To be paid back in full”; and in the Series 7 Episode The Day of the Doctor, in one of the scenes of Gallifrey, there is a Time Lord with what appears to be the word ‘ten’ written on his neck, which some think indicates his number of regenerations.
That being said, if this theory was true, then the phrases themselves are incorrect – the ‘ten’ on the Time Lord’s neck is the upside down from the way it’s supposed to be read (unless of course it’s supposed to be seen from the Time Lord’s own perspective), and has an extra line connecting the N letter to the T.
In the Extremis quote, what clearly looks like Sherman’s Gallifreyan, actually says ‘t - be- poid- bjj-uj-fegh’. While this sounds like it’s nothing like the phrase “to be paid back in full”, the positioning and design of the letters is essentially identical, but without the correct spacing and embellishments (dots and lines in the correct place and direction).
In conclusion, Gallifreyan is a canon language of the Time Lords of Gallifrey as seen in the show Doctor Who ( @doctorwho ), and the systems we use to write Gallifreyan are forms of Gallifreyan (similar to the styles seen on the show), but with deeper meaning as we can actually write and understand them. In my opinion, these developed forms of Gallifreyan develop a new level of context in the show, and I hope we get to see more of them (and more accurate depictions of them) in the true canon of the Doctor Who universe - creating an additional layer of immersion to a show that already works like a brilliant, intricate, ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.
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