Language in the Splatoon series

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Inkling,[1] also referred to as squid language,[2] is the language in which Inklings in the Splatoon series 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.[3] However, it has been discovered that there are several scripts which are decipherable.

Inkling is also sometimes referred to by fans as "Inklish", which is a combination of the words "English" and "Inkling".

Appearance

Across the games, numerous fictitious scripts used in the game's world can be observed, ranging from unique glyphs to ones resembling human scripts like Japanese, Arabic and Cyrillic. Speech-wise, Inkling speech does not seem to possess any deeper meaning that would correspond to the species' written language, aside from certain voice clips resembling Japanese or English words at times. Ultimately, it is indecipherable high-pitched gurgling.

Scripts

What we call a script is a consistent set of characters that is used in a sufficient number of places throughout the game, as opposed to characters that are not used recurrently which are not considered a script. This is often the case with company logos for example, where the letters appear to be unique to the logo design and don't show up anywhere else.

When characters do appear consistently enough to be considered a script, it has been discovered that many of those are decipherable. Scripts that are decipherable have each fictitious letter correspond to the letters of the Latin alphabet; this is referred to as "deciphered" when talking about occurrences of these scripts in the game.

However, this order is not the only way in which the developers apply the scripts to in-world text. Another method used is to forgo the actual meaning of the script and pick characters based on how closely they resemble the Latin letters. This method is referred to as "mimicking".

Example of a script being used to mimic a word

An example would be the cover artwork of Turquoise October from Splatoon. In this case, the square script at the bottom is used in a way to mimic the band's name, even though this is not the actual meaning of the letters based on the deciphered version of the script. The twenty-fourth Sunken Scroll from Splatoon 2 is an example of the same script being used in a way that can be deciphered, which does not resemble what the text would look like in the Latin alphabet. With few exceptions, any situation in which fictitious letters seem to resemble an English word most likely does not reflect the true meaning of the script, and should not be used as a basis for deciphering work.

There are also situations in which scripts are used neither to mimic, nor in its deciphered order, but in a scrambled manner. In these situations, characters are rotated, flipped, or even slightly altered to display gibberish text. In text where characters are rotated, flipped, or altered in ways that should not exist going off of the cipher, this text is to be considered meaningless.

Lastly, the glyphs that resemble characters from other human languages, such as Japanese or Arabic, are not known to have a proper decipherable form.

Focusing on the usage of the deciphered versions of the scripts, there are also different languages in which the scripts may be written. While most of the time the developers write in English, there are also frequent occurrences where the scripts are used to write romanized Japanese.

Readable texts from known scripts

Template:Todo

Bold script

This script resembles the typeface primarily used in Splatoon for dialogue. It appears in both games and is widely used on clothes and weapons. The bold script is most commonly used to mimic words or to write gibberish, which is why it was assumed to be indecipherable for many years. Examples of this script can be seen on the Splatfest Tee, where it is always used to mimic the text for the Splatfest team's name. This script is unique for having both an uppercase and lowercase form. Which symbol corresponds to v in lowercase bold script is currently unknown.

Deciphered

Image Meaning Additional Information
TOKI MEKI BOMB☆RUSH The logo seen on the Squid Sisters' trucks when Callie performs Bomb Rush Blush. Refers to the Japanese name of the song, トキメキ☆ボムラッシュ Tokimeki☆Bomu Rasshu.
IM NURANEB, Aori Hotaru The logo seen on the Squid Sisters' trucks when they perform Now or Never!. Misspells the Japanese name of the song, イマ・ヌラネバー！ Ima Nuranebā!. "Aori" is Callie's Japanese name while "Hotaru" is Marie's Japanese name.
the FOOD TRUCK handbook From Sunken Scroll 4 in Splatoon 2. The remaining bold script as well as the serif and halfmoon script writings on here are gibberish.
Open! Wakamono no tyushin Haikara Square no Iccacha ga grand open! This is romanized Japanese, and it translates to English as "The Shoal's having a grand opening at the heart of youth culture, Inkopolis Square!" From Sunken Scroll 10 in Splatoon 2.
newsardh ineirpori Aori kita, Shinsouya IKAnisite!?, _aininki kyuugyounouwa_an! Top right caption has misspellings, but means "Callie came to New Sardine Airport".
ANEMO Produce, tyotto mezurashi Gear Shop The logo for the SplatNet gear shop run by Annie. "Anemo" is Annie's name in the Japanese version of Splatoon. "Tyotto mezurashi" means "a little rare."
WONDER, Noback to Enamel no Kiseki no Colaboration! Gomusozai ga Ashi no kou wo Kasashiku hold Zenpo Sole to Koho Sole wo Ogoto ni Kakoi ga Hashiwatashi In the pink speech bubble on the top right. From Sunken Scroll 9 found in Octo Canyon.
GAS, OPEN A sign present in Scorch Gorge.
File:Jelfonzo concept art.JPG YOU SUCK Shown in concept art for Jelfonzo in The Art of Splatoon 2, on the green and pink shirt on the right of the image.
File:Jelfonzo shirt concept art.JPG Hime, tentacles Shown in concept art for Jelfonzo in The Art of Splatoon 2, on the bonus "Comic-style" shirts. "Hime" is Pearl's name in Japan, "tentacles" is the name of Off the Hook in Japan.
File:Sheldon concept art s2.PNG SQUID, SNIPER From concept art for Sheldon in The Art of Splatoon 2. The "Squid" text is on a badge for being fluent in the Inkling language. The "Sniper" text is on a badge from a secret shooting event.
File:Squid sisters autograph.PNG iwilldomybest ikayoroshiku, saitamasuprarena letsgo The Squid Sisters' autographs from Shiokalive at Cho Party 2016, pulled from The Art of Splatoon 2. Ika, yoroshiku is the Squid Sisters' catchphrase in Japanese. Saitama Super Arena is the venue that hosted Niconico Cho Party.
File:Cuttlefish Idol.jpg pop pop pop, hakkisyon!, Bye bye Text on the Cuttlefish Idols' album, possibly their songs.
File:Sheet record haikara walker.PNG DINAMIC RECORD INCE, mukashikan, shinkai daisuki band The text on the top right record is likely a misspelling of "DYNAMIC RECORD INC." The bottom left design's text, "mukashikan", means "long-ago time period." The bottom right design's text, "shinkai daisuki band," translates as something to the effect of "band that loves the deep sea." From designs on the sheet records floating in the background of Cratebuster Station and Matchmaker Station in the Octo Expansion, specifically the bottom left design. Image pulled from HaikaraWalker.
RFDAY Likely derived from a mispelling of "birthday" as "birfday." The first word on the Eel-Cake Hat mimics the "happy" in "happy birthday."
AORI SHISSOU, KANOJO NO YUKUEHA Aori is Callie's Japanese name. "AORI SHISSOU" means "Callie is missing," and "KANOJO NO YUKUEHA"　means "what will become of her?"
File:FRESH FRUIT.png fresh fruit Sign seen in MakoMart on top of a fruit stall. The characters are upside down.
OK, waterproof Stickers seen on the decorated crates in Octo Canyon.

Mimicked words

Image Meaning Additional Information
File:Splatfest Team Water Slide Shirt Text.jpg WATER SLIDE, CAT, DOG Nearly all Splatfest Tees have readable words. A few examples are listed here. For more images of Splatfest Tees, see Splatfest team tees from Splatoon and Splatfest team tees from Splatoon 2.
TOWER RECORDS HICOLOR Billboard present in Inkopolis Square.
60% OFF A MakoMart ad shown on a screen in Inkopolis Square.
File:Splatoon Sunken Scroll cover.png COQUIS A parody of Croquis brand sketchbooks. From the cover of the Sunken Scroll scrapbook in Splatoon.
HPPY The first word on the Eel-Cake Hat mimics the "happy" in "happy birthday" the second word doesn't as clearly mimic the word "BIRTHDAY", and instead translates to "RFDAY"
File:Bomb Rush Blush Splat Bomb.jpegFile:Bomb Rush Blush Suction Bomb.jpeg AORI Mimicry of Callie's Japanese name, Aori. Seen on the bombs tossed in Tide Goes Out (mission).

Square script

This script appears in Splatoon, Splatoon 2 and in promotional material for Splatoon 3. This script is widely used for various applications, e.g. on weapons, clothes, Sunken Scrolls, and buildings, and it is often used for large bodies of text such as in the descriptions of Museum d'Alfonsino and Shellendorf Institute. There are numerous additional symbols associated with the square script that do not appear in its deciphered form. The Sunken Scrolls reveal it is also the text used in Inkling social media, and it is also used in Octarian weapon blueprints. It is also present throughout the Deepsea Metro. This wide application suggests it may be a language understood by several species. Several letters in this alphabet map to the same symbols: L and V, G and W, D and X, F and Y, and H and Z.

Deciphered

Image Meaning Additional Information
www.seaocolors.com Located at the bottom of the poster. The remaining square script text is gibberish.
NICOCHOKAIGINICO Merchandise for Shiokalive at Chokaigi 2016.
File:S2 Band Squid Sisters.jpg
 SHIOKARAZ AORI TO HOTARU

NY SHIZO FUJI

On the bottom left of the Squid Sisters' Splatoon 2 album art. Shiokaraz is a romanization of their Japanese name. Aori to Hotaru translates to "Callie and Marie" (Aori and Hotaru are their Japanese names, respectively). Fuji could refer to Mount Fuji, though it is unknown what it may have to do with this image.
See images for meaning. The entirety of Sunken Scroll 24 is in odd, but readable, English. See images for more details.
RENRAKU Near the bottom-left on the left poster. Renraku is Japanese for "contact", though it is unknown what this may have to do with the image.
FLIGHT IKA AIRLINES, PASSENGER MIURA, SEAT, DEPARTURE "Miura" is Flow's name in Japanese. From Sunken Scroll 7 in Splatoon 2.
#morning coffe #bed #lazy ledgs #capuccino, #avocado toast #fresh #california #ika moyou #eff, #travel #love #foever #sunlight #girl friend Hashtags are listed from left to right, misspellings are left as is. The tag ika moyou means "squid design", referring to the squid-shaped egg yolk. From Sunken Scroll 12 in Splatoon 2.
File:Squid Beatz 2 title.jpg HOGEGAMES "HOGE" is a word used as a placeholder ssing pet poster depicting a nudibranch found in Inkopolis Square.
IHOPE YOU Found on an electrical box in the back ofCentral Station.
AORI KIKAN YOKATTA Aori is Callie's Japanese name. Translates to "Good to have Callie back."
SOSHINA TOWEL A towel that was available as a My Nintendo Reward. Soshina means "small gift."
PIONEER GOOD On the small black logo on the bottom right of Front Roe's album art.

SOMETHING TEXT
SPLATOON		 On the bottom left of the communication error pop-up and the bottom right of the map rotation, both times next to a barcode. It can also be seen when waiting for a spot to open up when joining a friend, as it uses the same image as the communication error.
OCTAVIO Below the screen on Marina's laptop. Likely related to DJ Octavio.
FUJITUBO.CO Below the logo. "Fujitubo" comes from of fujitsubo, a part of フジツボスポーツクラブ Fujitsubo Supōtsu Kurabu, the Japanese name for Musselforge Fitness. The bottom square script text is gibberish.
ABCDEF.LKJ The "LKJ" are upside down.

Mimicked words

Image Meaning Additional Information
TURQUOIS OCTOBER Turquoise October album jacket from Splatoon.
File:S2 Band Turquoise October.jpg OCT TOOL Turquoise October album jacket from Splatoon 2.
%OFF

%OFF

On the right side. The Halfmoon Script is mimicking "30".
消カ器 Text written on what appears to be a fire extinguisher cabinet on Hammerhead Bridge. Appears to read 消火器 shōkaki, which means "fire extinguisher," but with the "ka" written in katakana instead of kanji.

Round script

This script appears in Splatoon and Splatoon 2. It is mostly used on buildings, signs and posters. This script is distinct in that its deciphered form resembles Latin script. Despite this, it is still sometimes used to mimic words.

Deciphered

Image Meaning Additional Information
ON AIR From the studio where Inkopolis News is filmed.
LIVE, niconicochokaici, SHIOKARAZ The "niconicochokaici" is in small text at the top, and alludes to "niconico chokaigi". "LIVE" is at the top part of the poster. "SHIOKARAZ" Refers to the Japanese name of the Squid Sisters.
UFO CATCHER From the arcade machine directly next to where the player can access Squid Beatz 2 in Inkopolis Square. This references the line of Japanese claw machines manufactured by Sega. The text underneath it appears to not be round script but instead seems to be attempting to mimic Japanese.
LI VE, HICOLOR From the official art for Haicalive at Tokaigi 2018. HICOLOR refers to the Japanese name of Inkopolis, Haikara.
IDATEN From the iShipIt logo. Idaten (Skanda) is a bodhisattva known for his fast running. The Japanese name of iShipIt, Ikaten Transport (イカテン急便), is a pun on ika (squid) and Idaten.
GAS Written on the labels of the Suction Bombs. Cut off in the example image.
MARGINAL VISIT Text above the logo of a famous oil company in the Splatoon world. As "marginal visit" does not have any real meaning, it is likely meant to be filler text.
KANI Handwritten on Bisk's shirt. Kani is the Japanese word for crab.
File:Jelfonzo tuesday shirt.JPG F*** YOU The infamous obscene shirt Jelfonzo wears on Tuesdays. It is not censored in-game.
File:Jelfonzo concept art.JPG HELLO Shown in concept art for Jelfonzo in The Art of Splatoon 2, on the white shirt with the gold mouth on it.
File:Sheldon concept art s2.PNG HONORS THE CONTRIBUTION HSQ, OFFICIAL DEALING HSQ, CLASS S CHAMPS HNBA From concept art for Sheldon in The Art of Splatoon 2. Text listed from the badges shown from top to bottom. "HSQ" Is an abbreviation of Haikara Square, the Japanese name for Inkopolis Square. "HNBA" Refers to Haikara NawaBari Association, with Haikara being the Japanese name for Inkopolis, and nawabari being the Japanese name for Turf War.
File:Long carrot tee back.PNG OPQRSTU, DEFGHIJKLMN Long strings of text in alphabetical order, with the OPQR line on top and the DEFG line on bottom.
File:Bubble Tape Strawberry Mint and Mystery.png BUBBLE GUM, HACE MINT, ??? The text on containers of Bubble Tape in Slow Ride Station and Wassup 8-Ball Station. The strawberry gum has round script text on it, but it's unidentifiable.
File:Bubble Tape Blossom and Lemon.png ENPERA The text on containers of Bubble Tape in Slow Ride Station and Wassup 8-Ball Station. Enpera means "squid fin," as the fruit shown on the packaging is called a squid-fin lemon in English.
KLMNOPQRABCDEFGHIJ Text on the CDs in Mad Props Station and Stick 'n' Move Station. The text is dummy text, and the Serif Script on the disc means the same thing.
SCALLOP Under the skeletal scallop logo at the bottom left of Front Roe's album art. The same scallop logo appears on signs in Inkopolis Square and is associated with musical equipment.

Mimicked words

Image Meaning Additional Information
SALE, ANNVESAR A MakoMart ad show on a screen in Inkopolis Square, alluding to an anniversary sale.
SUPER PRICE Picture shown on a screen hanging from the ceiling of MakoMart.
STAY FRESH Picture shown on a screen hanging from the ceiling of MakoMart.
Mr. SHRUG Text on the Mister Shrug Tee. The symbol used to represent "Mr." is not found in the deciphered form of round script. Following the cipher, the second word would read SNROC.
OCTPUS Logo of a music equipment company in the Splatoon world. while the letters O, T, P, and U match round script's lettering, the C and S do not.
File:Bubble Tape Blossom and Lemon.png BLOSSOM CHERRY The text on containers of Bubble Tape in Slow Ride Station and Wassup 8-Ball Station. It may also be a misspelling of "passion berry," and it may be a passion fruit on the packaging.
GIFT SHOP Sign seen in the background of Goby Arena.

Bubble script

Compared to the previously listed scripts, "bubble" is rarely used. It has not yet been used to mimic any words in English or Japanese, and is often used to write complete gibberish and filler text. Several letters in this alphabet map to the same symbols: A and R, S and B, C and T, D and U, E and V, F and W, G and X, H and Y, and K and Z.

Deciphered

Image Meaning Additional Information
SU MISO AE NIGHT The logo seen on the Squid Sisters' trucks when Marie performs Tide Goes Out. Refers to the Japanese name of the song, スミソアエの夜 Sumisoae no Yoru, instead using the English translation of yoru, "night."
LMNOPQ On the bottom-left of Bob Dub's album art.
AVOCADO TOAST Text found on the image in the middle. From Sunken Scroll 12 found in Octo Canyon.
TAKONINARERUKO Tako ni nareru ko means "A kid who could be an octopus." From a promotional poster for Squid vs. Octopus (2018), appearing in the green box on the bottom right of the image.
YAPPARIIKAGASUKI Yappari ika ga suki means "I like squids as always." From a promotional poster for Squid vs. Octopus (2018), appearing in the pink box on the bottom right of the image.
BCDE MNOPQ GHIJK Text on the Orange Cardigan.
File:Jelfonzo shirt concept art.JPG YOU SUCK Shown in concept art of Jelfonzo's shirts in The Art of Splatoon 2. This exact version of this shirt was not used in the final version of the game.
File:Jelfonzo concept art.JPG KISS ME Shown in concept art for Jelfonzo in The Art of Splatoon 2, on the yellow shirt on the right of the image.
SHIATA HAIKA Shown on a poster in Inkopolis Square, on the right side of the image. May be a romanization of "Theater Haika," with "Haika" being short for "Haikara," the Japanese name for Inkopolis.
File:Sheet record haikara walker.PNG IKATO OCHADEMO Possibly supposed to be ika to oc ha demo, with oc short for "octopus," making the meaning "Squid and Octopus demo." From a design on the sheet records floating in the background of Cratebuster Station and Matchmaker Station in the Octo Expansion, specifically the bottom left design. Image pulled from HaikaraWalker.
SAIGO NO HONYURUI GA RYOMUNE NI CHINZASURU SHIJOU SAIKYO NO SUKAJAN! In the bright teal section to the left, underneath a drawing of the Squid Satin Jacket. Translates to something to the effect of "The last mammal sits on both sides of the chest, this is the strongest Satin jacket in history!" From Sunken Scroll 9 found in Octo Canyon.

Runic script

"Runic" script appears in various places, notably in some Sunken Scrolls. It is sometimes used in longer bodies of gibberish text. Several letters in this alphabet map to the same symbols: C and W, D and U, E and N, I and Y, and O and Z. Which symbols correspond to v and x in the runic script are currently unknown.

Deciphered

Image Meaning Additional Information
IKASUGRAM The header of the website. Combines the words "Instagram" with ikasu, "fresh." From Sunken Scroll 22.
KANIDER On Bisk's guitar pick. Kani means "crab" in Japanese. From Sunken Scroll 6 in Splatoon 2.
ZOO PLANKTON AKTO ZAKOU The largest text in the middle of the page on the right. Sunken Scroll 14 seems to be written in romanized Japanese. AKTO may be a misspelling of something, ZAKOU means "small fish." What can be made out from the remaining text on the scroll is that it is about research into microorganisms, but unfortunately the text is small and littered with misspellings, making translation extremely difficult.
IKAREKI NISENJUUNANA ETSU ARE TYODAN On the top of the newspaper. It appears to be Japanese. The text is small, so it is difficult to decipher. IKAREKI NISENJUUNANA means "Squid Calendar 2017." From Sunken Scroll 21.
AGAK SEISI Above the signature on the near-middle left, most likely the name of whomever was writing the message. The remaining runic script text is gibberish.
FINAL Logo seen in banners and the hanging screen present in Goby Arena.
HIGH COLOR SHINKA Logo for City of Color, which is projected onto the trucks that the Squid Sisters perform concerts on at Inkopolis Plaza. The text matches the Japanese name of the song.
File:Sheldon concept art s2.PNG FISH From concept art for Sheldon in The Art of Splatoon 2. The "FISH" text is on a badge for being fluent in other species' languages, implying that runic script is a writing system used by fish. Evidently, however, the various scripts have not been consistently used with any single species.
TATAKAI, MUKASHI NO MIMI NO NAGAI IKIMONO TO IKA SONO TATAKAI NO YOUSU WO _ MONO DEATA Plaque describing a folding screen exhibited in Skipper Pavilion, with a painting seemingly depicting a battle between a squid and a rabbit (here called an "ancient being with long ears"). One of the words has proven to be too difficult to read and decipher due to the low resolution of the texture.
ANTOKA HONIARARARA

NEOWEUNIO UO UNA

On the bottom left, next to the logos. It appears to be Japanese with gibberish mixed in. From the poster for Haicalive at Tokaigi 2018.
SUPISUQUKO REKORDS Text written around the rainbow logo on the bottom right of Front Roe's album art. The "REKORDS" text is upside down.

Mimicked

Image Meaning Additional Information
NO MUSIC, NO LIFE. On the sticker near the middle.
N,S Imitating the letters for "North" and "South" on the compass. Located in Wahoo World.

Serif script

"Serif" script is nicknamed as such for how it resembles letters with serifs on them. Appears in many places. Several letters in this alphabet map to the same symbols: F and U, I and X, J and Y, and E, T and Z share one symbol.

Deciphered

Image Meaning Additional Information
style="text-align: "Slow Your Roll" Mole
  1. ↑ Nintendo Jelfonzo - Play Nintendo
  2. ↑ YouTube Splatoon 2 - Live Concert at Nintendo Live 2019 - Nintendo Switch (via closed captioning)
  3. ↑ Mynavi: 「Splatoon(スプラトゥーン)」のイカしたデザインのひみつ(後編) (3) 解読不可能? イカ語のひみつに迫る | マイナビニュース (Splatoon developer interview)
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