Introduction
Atlantean (Dig Adlantisag) is the constructed language Marc Okrand created for Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, released in 2001. Okrand is the same linguist who built Klingon for Star Trek. Type a message above and the tool looks up each English word in an Atlantean vocabulary dictionary, outputting the Atlantean equivalent. Toggle the script option to render the result in the Atlantean writing system, where each letter A-Z maps to a Private Use Area glyph at U+E800 through U+E819. Unknown words pass through unchanged. All processing runs in your browser.
What this tool does
- Word-level translation between English and Atlantean using a dictionary of attested vocabulary from the film and supplementary materials.
- Atlantean script rendering: toggle the script option to convert each letter of the translated output into its PUA glyph (U+E800-U+E819), rendered with var(--font-atlantean).
- Bidirectional: switch between English-to-Atlantean and Atlantean-to-English modes with one click.
- The settings panel shows the full vocabulary table and the 26-letter alphabet mapping with code points.
- Unknown words pass through unchanged in both directions. Punctuation and whitespace are preserved.
- All translation runs client-side. No text is sent to any server.
How this tool works
The translator splits your input into tokens using a regex that separates letter sequences from non-letter characters. Each word token is lowercased and looked up in a dictionary. In English-to-Atlantean mode, the dictionary maps English words like "friend" to "nishen" and "water" to "lem". In Atlantean-to-English mode, the reverse lookup runs. Words not found in the dictionary pass through unchanged. Non-word tokens (spaces, punctuation, line breaks) are preserved exactly. When the script option is enabled, each letter of the translated output is converted to its Atlantean PUA code point: A becomes U+E800, B becomes U+E801, through Z at U+E819. The mode and script settings sync to URL query parameters, so you can share a link that preserves your configuration.
How the Atlantean language and script work
Marc Okrand created Atlantean for Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise). Disney hired Okrand in the late 1990s to build a language for the film. According to the Wikipedia article on the Atlantean language, Okrand designed it as a "Tower of Babel language" - the root dialect from which all human languages descended. He based it on Proto-Indo-European with influences from Biblical Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Sumerian, and North American Indigenous languages. The language is highly agglutinative, stacking morphemes into long words.
The Wikipedia article on Marc Okrand notes that he is best known for creating Klingon for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). Disney brought him in to apply the same rigor to a feature animation. The Atlantean alphabet has 29 letters: A-Z plus three additional characters. Disney animator John Emerson designed the visual script in collaboration with Okrand. The writing system reads in a zigzag pattern, as if words were wrapped around a pole. Omniglot's Atlantean page documents the script and sample texts. A Washington Post article from 2001 covered Okrand's work on the film.
The film's protagonist, Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox), is a linguist and cartographer who deciphers the Atlantean journal. Okrand was also an early facial model for Milo's character design. This tool maps the 26 standard letters to PUA code points U+E800 through U+E819. A font covering this range renders the Atlantean glyphs. Without such a font, you may see blank boxes.
How to use this tool
- Select the mode: "English to Atlantean" to translate English words into Atlantean, or "Atlantean to English" to reverse the lookup.
- Toggle the script option to "Atlantean script" if you want the output rendered in PUA glyphs instead of Latin text.
- Type or paste your text in the input field. The output updates instantly as you type.
- Each word is looked up in the vocabulary dictionary. Unknown words pass through unchanged. Punctuation and whitespace are preserved.
- Use the swap button to quickly switch translation direction without retyping.
- Copy the result using the "Copy result" button. Install an Atlantean font to see the script glyphs render.
Real-world examples
Translating a greeting
A user types "hello friend" in English-to-Atlantean mode. The tool looks up "hello" and finds "tegen", then looks up "friend" and finds "nishen". The output reads "tegen nishen". With the script option enabled, each letter of "tegen nishen" converts to its PUA glyph. The letter T becomes U+E813, E becomes U+E804, and so on. The result renders as Atlantean script when a font covering U+E800-U+E819 is installed.
Counting in Atlantean
Someone wants to write the numbers one through five in Atlantean. They type "one two three four five" in the input. The dictionary returns "ten du tesh kik fiv". Each number maps to a distinct Atlantean word. The user copies the output and pastes it into a fan fiction document set in the Atlantis universe.
Decoding Atlantean dialogue
A fan has a passage of Atlantean text from a supplementary source: "gwash nishen". They paste it into Atlantean-to-English mode. The tool looks up "gwash" and finds "good", then "nishen" and finds "friend". The output reads "good friend". Words not in the dictionary, such as proper nouns, pass through unchanged so the reader can identify them manually.
Comparison with similar methods
| Method | Complexity | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantean (word-level) | Medium | Disney Atlantis fan writing, roleplay, decorative text |
| Klingon pIqaD | Low | Star Trek letter substitution, one glyph per letter |
| Dovahzul | Low | Skyrim dragon script, one glyph per letter |
| Hieroglyphics | Low | Egyptian phonetic substitution, one glyph per letter |
Limitations or considerations
This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup, not full grammatical translation. Atlantean is highly agglutinative, so real sentences combine morphemes in ways this tool does not model. The vocabulary covers attested words from the film and supplementary materials, roughly 30 entries. Words outside the dictionary pass through unchanged. The script rendering maps A-Z to PUA code points U+E800-U+E819. The three additional Atlantean letters beyond Z are not mapped. You need a font covering this PUA range to see the glyphs. Without one, browsers show blank boxes. This is not encryption. For actual encryption, use the AES block cipher. For other constructed languages, try the Klingon translator, the Minionese translator, the Na'vi translator, or the Hieroglyphics translator.
Frequently asked questions
Who created the Atlantean language?
Marc Okrand created Atlantean for Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). He is the same linguist who created Klingon for Star Trek. Disney hired him to design a 'Tower of Babel language' - the root dialect from which all human languages descended. He based it on Proto-Indo-European with influences from Biblical Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Sumerian, and North American Indigenous languages.
Does this tool translate full Atlantean sentences?
No. This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup. It matches each English word to its Atlantean equivalent from a fixed vocabulary list. Atlantean is highly agglutinative, so real sentences combine morphemes in complex ways. The tool does not handle Atlantean grammar, morphology, or syntax. It is a vocabulary reference and script renderer, not a full machine translation system.
Why do I see blank boxes when I enable the script option?
The Atlantean script glyphs live in the Unicode Private Use Area at U+E800 through U+E819. Standard system fonts do not cover this range. You need a font that maps these PUA code points to Atlantean glyphs. Without one, browsers display blank boxes or fallback characters. The CSS variable var(--font-atlantean) controls which font is used for rendering.
How many letters are in the Atlantean alphabet?
The Atlantean alphabet has 29 letters: the 26 standard English letters A-Z plus three additional characters. This tool maps A-Z to PUA code points U+E800 through U+E819. The three extra characters are not mapped because they lack standard PUA assignments in this implementation.
Is Atlantean a real language?
Atlantean is a constructed language (conlang) created for a fictional film. It has real grammar and vocabulary designed by a professional linguist, but it is not a natural language. It was created for Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and has a limited attested vocabulary compared to languages like Klingon, which has been expanded by a fan community over decades.
Conclusion
The Atlantean translator converts English text to and from the constructed language Marc Okrand built for Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Type your message, toggle the script option for PUA glyph rendering, and copy the output. For more constructed language tools, try the Klingon translator, the Minionese translator, the Na'vi translator, or the Hieroglyphics translator.