Inkling (language)

Inkling is the language in which Inklings in Splatoon communicate. While individual letters, words, and the occasional phrase are often similar to real-life languages, Inkling as a whole has been confirmed by Splatoon developers to be almost entirely random. This quote here from Play Nintendo confirms that the official name of the language is Inkling: "This Jellyfish gentleman goes by the name Jelfonzo, and he runs Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe. And check out his origin story: one day he just split off of Jelonzo in Inkopolis Plaza, and there he was! Maybe that makes him Jelonzo's son? He apparently learned to speak Inkling from an ancient text of some sort, so his speech sounds a bit outdated (to say the least). But don't let that fool you. When it comes to fashion, this dapper dude is always up on the hottest trends. Jelfonzo can help you find clothing to let you swim faster, use your special weapon more often, and so much more. Staying fresh never looked so good!"

- Play Nintendo Inkling is also sometimes referred to as 'Inklish', which is a combination of the words 'English' and 'Inkling', respectively.

Appearance
Much of the Inkling language seems similar to the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Many letters also resemble Japanese characters.

Inkling speech may occasionally sound and in some ways look like real words, but for the most part, it is indecipherable high-pitched gurgling.

Readable words
Some Inkling words are clearly readable as English or Japanese words.

Words within the Splatoon Universe

 * Octopus-style posters near the Deepsea Metro read "Octavi", similar to "octavo" which means "eighth", along with a faded picture of an octopus. It is possibly a movie poster.
 * MakoMart posters have oranges on them and read "StVy Fresh", which is very similar to "Stay Fresh". This implies that the slogan was adopted as a food motto as well, also a pun for the real-life term fresh fruit.

Decoding
There have been many attempts at decoding the Inkling language but so far none have been successful, leading some to believe the language is just gibberish.

Others believe that, since Nintendo has made previous languages with some translatable words before, such as the Hylian language from the Legend of Zelda series, it could be possible that Inkling can be translated.

Octoling language
The Octolings seem to have their own language seen in Octo Valley and Octo Canyon. It has many similarities to the Inkling language but seems to be in a more box-style font unlike the Inkling language, which can be in a variety of fonts. The Octoling language seems to have two dialects similar to Japanese: the normal Octolings make Inkling-esque sounds, while Octosnipers, Octocommanders and all varieties of Octotrooper make groaning sounds that mimic the noises Inklings and Octolings make when they take damage or are splatted. The noises Jellyfish make (Jelonzo and Jelfonzo, as other Jellyfish are never heard talking) seem to speak in the same "groaning" dialect, implying that some Jellyfish speak Octoling.

In the Japanese versions of both Splatoon games, Inklings talk in hiragana, and Octarians in katakana (along with a brainwashed Callie and Marina, occasionally; detailed in The Art of Splatoon 2). In Japanese media, a character's dialogue being written with katakana can also imply a foreign accent of some sort. Off the Hook's songs are bilingual, with both Pearl and Marina singing portions in Octoling. An Inkling's experience listening to them has been compared to Japanese people listening to English-language songs without an understanding of the language, but an appreciation of the melody.

Audio

 * [[Media:Female inkling sounds.oga|Female Inklings' voice clips.]]
 * [[Media:Male inkling sounds.ogg|Male Inklings' voice clips.]]
 * [[Media:Squid sisters sounds.ogg|Squid Sisters' voice clips.]]