In Avatar, what language did linguist Paul Frommer create for the Na’vi of Pandora?

In Avatar, linguist Paul Frommer created the Na’vi language for Pandora’s indigenous people. The language was designed for James Cameron’s 2009 film and spoken by the Na’vi characters.

Frommer developed Na’vi from sound patterns and a grammar intended to be pronounceable by the film’s international audience while still feeling unlike English. The language includes its own vocabulary, word order, and grammatical structures. Actors learned enough of it to deliver dialogue convincingly, and fans later expanded their knowledge through published materials and community study.

Na’vi is a constructed language, not an existing Indigenous language from Earth. It is therefore different from languages such as Klingon, which was created for Star Trek, and Dothraki, which was developed for Game of Thrones. The film’s use of Na’vi helped make Pandora feel culturally distinct rather than simply giving its inhabitants translated English dialogue.