I've been working on a language for the galra people of Voltron: Legendary Defender for some time now. And with a fic using it coming out soon, it's time to share. It's by no means perfect or even finished, but it's got some (imo) fun stuff.
It uses the canonical glyphs from the show, but as I was unable to parse the meaning of more than 5 (3 numbers and 2 letters I thiiiink), I assigned them sounds myself. Yes, sounds. Each pronunciation of, for example, the letter "a" has a different glyph, and I did make some alterations to glyphs to make this work. Efficiency is important to the galra, they can't bother themselves with learning useless rules that only sometimes tell them how to pronounce each letter/glyph! This does limit pronunciations some, but *shrug*.
One thing I forgot to add (but I already closed the program orz) is that -n denotes possession. Best example being galra vs galran. Galra being the people or the language, with galran denoting something belonging to the people. Language is galra, but the galran language is the language of the galra people (vs the galra's language). Am I super consistent with this? Probably not.
Click here for a PDF of the language on google drive. It includes some lore in the definitions, some rules of the language, orthography (at the top) and romanization (listed in full at the bottom), and a bit of meta.
Pronunciation guide is in IPA. Here is the IPA consonant chart with audio on Wikipedia. Here is the vowel version. Here is a Wiki page with more complex IPA and English examples (I use some of these).
Here is my old post about this on Reddit, where you can follow some parts of my journey in creating this.
I'll try. Since there isn't much known about the Galran language I'll be using this post by Leo Rising, so all credit goes to them
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Thace knew that you would eventually want to learn Galran, so he was always prepared to teach you. You and Thace were cuddling in your shared bedroom like normal while he gently ran his fingers through your long H/c hair.
"Thace?" You softly asked him, feeling super relaxed.
"Yes, Y/A/n?" Thace asked you, a soft purring sound coming from deep in his chest.
"Can you teach me Galran?" You asked him curiously.
"If you really want me to. We'll start with something easy to remember. De luste da; it means 'I love you'." Thace said, starting with something easy.
"Sounds easy enough. De luste da." You said, repeating the simple yet meaningful phrase.
"You did good. Now, mugen means adore. Myten means tall and orten means short." Thace told you, giving you a few easy words.
"Mugen is adore, myten means tall and ortem means short." You repeated, trying your best to remember each word.
"Orten." Thace corrected, smiling softly as not to discourage you.
"Yes, orten. Sorry." You said awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed from your mistake.
"It's alright, del lusilbe." Thace purred, nuzzling you.
"What's del lusilbe?" You asked, noticing the intimate tone in his voice as he said it.
"My lovespouse." Thace told you, purring louder.
"Del lusilbe." You said, blushing a little more as you said it.
"Da hos am ylik." Thace whispered right before pressing his lips against yours.
You didn't have any time to ask him what he just said as he kissed you. Thace felt your hands on his bare shoulders as he deepened the kiss. As much as he wanted to continue teaching you Galran, he was getting too turned on. You knew that he was getting turned on just from hearing you speak his native language, but you didn't mind.
All of my headcanons for the Galra race. Feel free to use, just credit me if you do. This took 6 hours to make.
Galra have four sexes and 13 gender identities
Hasi - able to get others pregnant.
The most common sex
Chisi - able to get pregnant
Trasi - able to both get and get others pregnant
The rarest of the four sexes.
Gisir - unable to do either
Most high-ranking commanders are this sex
All sexes have at least one set of genitalia. Dicks, or the Galra equivalent, are sheathed. Vaginas aren’t. In Trasis, who have both sets of genitals, the vagina is where the anus would be.
After puberty, while still an adolescent, Trasis and Chisis experience a ‘heat’ once every quarter. This continues until they are too old to reproduce
Three times a decaphoebe
Symptoms: fever, increased libido, cravings, moodiness, nesting, sweating, a lot more physically affectionate
Heat is the optimal time for conception, when the body is at its most ready state for child bearing. It is not the only time to conceive, but there is only a 3% chance.
Mating does not have to only happen during heats, but conception does.
Height averages between 6’10 to 9’0 for a full-grown Galra
A runt is anyone under the 6’9 but rarely shorter than 6’4
Can be covered in skin, scales, or fur
Some have a combination
Tails are a rarity in genetics
Colours range from all shades of purple and blue
Heightened senses
Sight: night vision, slightly colourblind, can see ultraviolet
Hearing: far better hearing than most species
Taste: very sensitive taste buds, often very picky eaters, can’t digest dairy
Claws are common
Some are permanently out, attached to fingertips
Some a retractable, like cats
Galra can purr
Used to comfort each other and their young
Shows affection
Fangs are also common
Like claws, they can either be permanent or retractable
Extremely protective of their young
Do not come between a Galra and their children
If a kit is orphaned, it is not unusual for the child to be almost immediately adopted
Galra are apex predators and hunters. They are omnivores by definition, but need meat to survive.
The Galran language
The ‘father’ or donor is referred to as Pannan
The ‘mother’ or birther is referred to as Lallan
Children are referred to as:
kitling if under 5, still a baby
kit while still an adolescent
kitten at any age if called by parents
Siblings refer to each other as Kakkan
Friends call each other Odka
Popular terms of endearment(with their closest translations):
Kito - little love
Rachi - of great beauty
Kawo - eternal love
Rina’eki - darling
Aczi - beloved
They don’t defecate, therefore don’t have anusus
Galra come in so many different shapes, sizes, and colours with unique markings, ears, skin/fur/scale patterns, and more. No two Galra look alike
The idea of identical twins with humans concerns them
Mating and romance
Some Galra mate for life and losing their mate causes a depression that can’t be broken
Some are polyamorous, taking on multiple lovers at once
Some refuse to mate
Some mate multiple lovers for life, every member of the relationship involved with each other
There are over 30 sexualities involving their own race, other races/species, and all genders known to them.
Galra gained extremely large lifespans after Daibazal was destroyed. They can live up to five times the average human lifespan, making them one of the longest living species.
Not the longest living species. That is reserved for Doranians, a dragon-like species that can live between two and five thousand years
Strength: they lift up to 6 times their body weight
They are surprisingly lighter than they should be. 6 times their body weight is only 3 times the average human weight
Speed: can get up to 90 kph, but average speed is 30
Weight: about half the proper weight for a human their size.
Example: A 6’7 human should weigh between 190-240 lbs. A 6’7 Galra would weigh about 120 lbs.
A communal species. Galra are often found in groups and don’t like to be alone
They tend to pack bond with animals if separated from other Galra
Despite not liking to be alone, Galra aren’t a very social species. They prefer physical presence over words
Galra prefer the heat and hate the cold. Even heavily furred Galrans will take extreme heat over mildly cold.
The only planets not conquered by the Empire were ice planets
Their blood runs at low temperatures, so they use the heat around them to warm them up
All joints are double-jointed and their bones/muscles are very bendy, making them extremely flexible. Like contortionists
Galra see better in low/dim lighting. In bright/direct light, they squint. If they have pupils, they contract almost like cats
Galra are light sleepers and only need between 45 minutes to 4 hours of sleep to be well-rested
