Paul Frommer created the Na’vi language for the people of Pandora in Avatar.
Frommer, a linguist and professor, designed Na’vi for James Cameron’s 2009 film. The language needed to sound unlike English while remaining pronounceable for actors and audiences. It was developed from a small set of sounds and words supplied in the film’s early production materials.
Na’vi has its own grammar, vocabulary, and word order. The language includes features such as verb infixes and a case system, giving it more structure than a collection of invented movie phrases. After Avatar was released, fans expanded their study of the language through dictionaries, lessons, and online communities.
Na’vi is a constructed language, or conlang. It is therefore different from the fictional language Klingon, which was created for Star Trek, and from Dothraki, which was developed for Game of Thrones. Its name also refers to the fictional species who speak it.