Hylian Language

The Hylian Language appears in multiple The Legend of Zelda games in many different forms. The language changes and evolves along with Hyrule, though its evolution is not always linear, often using writing systems from older ages or separate timelines. Hylian has a spoken variant, though ancient dialects prove unintelligible to modern denizens as seen in The Wind Waker. However, most of the Hylian language encountered in the games is written, and most Hylian writing systems can be translated to either Japanese or English.

A Link to the Past

Hylian at the Desert Palace in the English version

Hylian as a written language first appeared in A Link to the Past as untranslatable symbols. In the original Japanese version, these symbols resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics, but these were changed in later releases. It is the language of ancient Hylian people and can only be read by Link with the Book of Mudora.

Two notable locations where Hylian appears are on a tablet outside the Desert Palace and on the Pedestal of Time. Hylian is also written on the tablets used to get the Bombos Medallion and the Ether Medallion.

Link's Awakening

Symbols that may be Hylian appears briefly in Link's Awakening on an image in Southern Face Shrine, next to a picture of the Wind Fish. It details the truth of Koholint Island. Like in A Link to the Past, it cannot be translated. However, the photograph of Link stealing in Link's Awakening DX also has Japanese kanji and hiragana written on signs, indicating that Koholint Island may also use Japanese characters.

Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time Hylian translations

The Hylian of the Era of the Hero of Time is found in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, even though Majora's Mask is set in Termina and not Hyrule. Unlike its previous incarnations, Hylian in these games is an actual syllabary, capable of being written and read. Each Hylian symbol corresponds with Japanese characters and can be translated into Japanese. It is found in many different locations around the world, such as on signs or walls.

The Wind Waker

The Wind Waker Hylian example text

Hylian appears again in The Wind Waker. Like Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, this Hylian is a syllabary that translates to Japanese. The manual to The Wind Waker in Japan also came with a guide detailing how to translate the Hylian text into Japanese. It reoccurs in several games spanning multiple timelines, making appearances as the main language of Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks. In every game, this Hylian is seen on items, signs, and many other places.

Valoo, the Great Deku Tree, and Jabun all speak in this language in The Wind Waker. While the King of Red Lions can understand them, Link cannot, as they use an ancient dialect. Medli has some understanding of ancient Hylian, likely taught to her by her teacher who could speak it. When the player plays the game in the Second Quest, the spoken Hylian will be translated into the game's language.

Despite having their own forms of the language, The Wind Waker's variant of Hylian also appears in Ocarina of Time 3D and Twilight Princess. The Temple of Time and some signs in Ocarina of Time 3D have this version of Hylian, as well as the gravestones in the Kakariko Village Graveyard in Twilight Princess.

Twilight Princess

In Twilight Princess, Hylian again makes an appearance as labeling in background environments and items. However, this time it is an alphabet that can be translated to English. The world map is covered in Hylian labels, as well as the Dungeon Maps. Some of the words in Hylian may be spelled differently, likely due to their Japanese origin. For example, the text written on the Dungeon Map for Goron Mines reads "Golon" instead of "Goron". Notably, as the game worlds are flipped, Hylian is written backwards in Twilight Princess on the Nintendo Wii and the Hero Mode of Twilight Princess HD.

Furthermore, Miiverse Stamps can be found across Hyrule for each letter in the Hylian alphabet in Twilight Princess HD.

• Twilight Princess HD Hylian letter Miiverse Stamps
• 

  A

• 

  B

• 

  C

• 

  D

• 

  E

• 

  F

• 

  G

• 

  H

• 

  I

• 

  J

• 

  K

• 

  L

• 

  M

• 

  N

• 

  O

• 

  P

• 

  Q

• 

  R

• 

  S

• 

  T

• 

  U

• 

  V

• 

  W

• 

  X

• 

  Y

• 

  Z

The Hylian alphabet of Twilight Princess also appears in some locations in Skyward Sword. The North American Box Art for Skyward Sword has the names of the Golden Goddesses and their elements, Power, Wisdom, and Courage, written in Twilight Princess Hylian. The doors of the Sealed Temple also have letters from this variant, but they do not translate to anything.

Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword Hylian translations

A new form of Hylian is found in the Sky Era of Skyward Sword, but it is used less frequently than in previous installments in the franchise. It is still written on signs, but it is absent from any of the maps, and it usually does not appear in backgrounds. It is most frequently found in the Lanayru Province, particularly in the Lanayru Mining Facility, suggesting that it was used primarily by the Ancient Robots and has been around since the time of the goddess Hylia. Nintendo initially denied an actual translation of Hylian in Skyward Sword, with Hyrule Historia calling it "impossible to interpret", but fans found that the entire alphabet is repeated twice on signs in the Lanayru Sand Sea regions. The encyclopedia later confirmed the translations.

Skyward Sword Hylian can be translated into English, but unlike in Twilight Princess, some characters stand for two different letters. For example, 'D' and 'W', 'E' and 'K', 'G' and 'Q', 'O' and 'Z', and 'P' and 'T' all share the same characters.

It is also possible that Zelda sings the lyrics to the Ballad of the Goddess in Hylian.

A Link Between Worlds

A Link Between Worlds Hylian translations

Starting in A Link Between Worlds, a new form of Hylian was introduced that has been used in nearly every game and promotional materials since. It also appears in Tri Force Heroes, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Echoes of Wisdom. It can be translated into English. The characters are very similar to the Hylian alphabet in Skyward Sword, with some characters such as Skyward Sword's 'S' being repurposed as another letter, 'A' being flipped upside down, and 'W' being nearly identical. Additionally, some letters once again share the same characters, this time being 'D' and 'G', 'E' and 'W', 'F' and 'R', 'J' and 'T', and 'O' and 'Z'.

Tears of the Kingdom

Although Tears of the Kingdom uses the same alphabet as A Link Between Worlds for most Hylian text, there are also thirteen stone stablets written in "ancient Hyrulean". In the Side Adventure called Messages from an Ancient Era, Link takes pictures of the ancient text and shows them to Wortsworth, who will translate them. According to him, the ancient Hyrulean is the basis of their modern language.

Gallery

• 

  Hylian on the wall in Link's Awakening DX

• 

  Hylian on the wall in Link's Awakening (Nintendo Switch)

• 

  The Wind Waker Hylian syllabary as seen in the The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia

• 

  A guide to translating Hylian in the Japanese manual of The Wind Waker

• 

  The Twilight Princess Hylian alphabet as seen in the The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia

• 

  A stone tablet with the ancient Hyrulean language in Tears of the Kingdom

See Also

• Sky Character
• Gerudo Language
• Sheikah Language

References

1. ↑ "The language of an ancient Hylian people is found on a stone tablet in A Link to the Past. Link is able to read this indecipherable language only after obtaining the Book of Mudora." — pg. 76, The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia
2. ↑ "You found the Book of Mudora! You can use it to read the ancient language of the Hylia!" — In-game description, A Link to the Past.
3. ↑ "What is the matter? Do you not understand the ancient Hylian tongue? So...you are not the Hero of Time." — Great Deku Tree, The Wind Waker.
4. ↑ "Don't worry, I'll be fine! I may be just an apprentice attendant, but I can understand some of the great Valoo's language." — Medli, The Wind Waker.
5. ↑ "My grandma used to be Valoo's attendant. She was the only person on the island who understood Valoo's language." — Prince Komali, The Wind Waker.
6. ↑ "These letters are present on ancient ruins as well, but the meaning is often unclear when trying to decipher them." — pg. 77, The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia
7. ↑ "[The Hylian characters] are ancient and are now impossible to interpret." — pg. 73, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia
8. ↑ "While it is possible to read these letters by matching them to the English alphabet, D and W, E and k, G and Q, O and Z, and P and T all share the same letters, complicating any translations." — pg. 76, The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia
9. ↑ "My research specialty is ancient Hyrulean. And by ancient Hyrulean, I don't meant the text found in the Ring Ruins, but something different. It's what we call the language used at the time of Hyrule's founding. Our modern language is built on that foundation." — Wortsworth, Tears of the Kingdom