Introduction
Barsoomian is the language of the Martians in Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series, starting with A Princess of Mars in 1912 and spanning 11 novels through 1964. Burroughs, who also created Tarzan, scattered words and phrases throughout the books but never built a complete grammar. Type a message above and the tool looks up each English word in a Barsoomian vocabulary dictionary, outputting the Martian equivalent. Unknown words pass through unchanged. All processing runs in your browser. No text is sent to any server.
What this tool does
- Word-level translation between English and Barsoomian using a dictionary of attested vocabulary from the John Carter of Mars novels and fan-compiled glossaries.
- Bidirectional: switch between English-to-Barsoomian and Barsoomian-to-English modes with one click.
- The settings panel shows the full vocabulary table so you can browse attested Barsoomian words and their English equivalents.
- Unknown words pass through unchanged in both directions. Punctuation and whitespace are preserved exactly.
- All translation runs client-side. No data leaves your browser.
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-Barsoomian mode, the dictionary maps English words like "emperor" to "jeddak" and "Mars" to "Barsoom". Multi-word phrases like "white ape" map to "apt" using a longest-match-first algorithm. In Barsoomian-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. The mode setting syncs to URL query parameters, so you can share a link that preserves your configuration. The output updates instantly as you type.
How the Barsoomian language works
Edgar Rice Burroughs introduced Barsoomian in A Princess of Mars (1912), the first of 11 novels in the John Carter of Mars series. The Wikipedia article on Barsoom describes the fictional Mars where the series takes place. Barsoom is the Martian name for the planet. The Wikipedia article on Edgar Rice Burroughs notes that he was one of the most popular pulp fiction authors of the early 20th century, creating both Tarzan and the Barsoom series. He wrote the Barsoom novels from 1912 to 1964, though the final books were published posthumously.
Burroughs never developed Barsoomian into a full constructed language. He included scattered words and phrases throughout the novels, enough to give readers a sense of an alien tongue but without a systematic grammar or phonology. The vocabulary covers titles (jed for prince, jeddak for emperor), creatures (calot for Martian dog, thoat for Martian horse), and cultural terms. Fan linguists at sites like ERBville have compiled glossaries from the novels. The Green Martians (Tharks) and Red Martians are the main species in the series. John Carter is a Confederate Civil War veteran who is mysteriously transported to Mars.
The Wikipedia article on the John Carter film) covers the 2012 Disney adaptation directed by Andrew Stanton. The film was a box office failure, losing an estimated $200 million. Paul Frommer, who later created Na'vi for Avatar (2009), was considered for the film's language work, but the production used a mix of Burroughs' original words and new creations. The film's Barsoomian dialogue was not developed into a learnable language.
How to use this tool
- Select the mode: "English to Barsoomian" to translate English words into Barsoomian, or "Barsoomian to English" to reverse the lookup.
- 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. Multi-word phrases like "white ape" match before single words. 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 for use in fan writing, roleplay, or decorative text.
Real-world examples
Translating Martian titles
A user types "emperor prince captain" in English-to-Barsoomian mode. The tool looks up each word and outputs "jeddak jed dwar". The user copies this into a John Carter fan fiction scene set in the court of a Red Martian city. The titles form the backbone of Barsoomian political hierarchy, from jed (prince) through jeddak (emperor), with military ranks like padwar (lieutenant) and odwar (commander).
Naming Martian creatures
Someone wants to label creatures for a Barsoom-themed game. They type "Martian horse Martian dog white ape" in the input. The dictionary returns "thoat calot apt". Each creature maps to a distinct Barsoomian word. The user also types "Barsoomian lion" and gets "banth". The output reads "thoat calot apt banth", giving them a quick reference for the fauna of Burroughs' Mars.
Decoding Barsoomian dialogue from the novels
A fan encounters the word "sojat" in A Princess of Mars and wants to know its meaning. They paste it into Barsoomian-to-English mode. The tool looks up "sojat" and returns "enemy", a term Burroughs used as an insult between rival Green Martian tribes. The fan also tries "kaor" and gets "greeting". Words not in the dictionary, such as character names like "John Carter" or "Dejah Thoris", pass through unchanged so the reader can identify them manually.
Comparison with similar methods
| Method | Complexity | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Barsoomian (word-level) | Medium | John Carter fan writing, pulp fiction roleplay |
| Na'vi (word-level) | Medium | Avatar fan writing, developed by Paul Frommer |
| Dothraki/Valyrian (word-level) | Medium | Game of Thrones fan writing, developed by David Peterson |
| Quenya/Sindarin (word-level) | High | Tolkien fan writing, the most developed family of conlangs |
Limitations or considerations
This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup, not full grammatical translation. Burroughs never developed Barsoomian into a full constructed language. It has no documented grammar, syntax, or morphology. The vocabulary covers attested words from the 11 John Carter novels and fan-compiled glossaries, roughly 30 entries in this implementation. Words outside the dictionary pass through unchanged. This is not encryption. For actual encryption, use the AES block cipher. For other constructed languages, try the Na'vi translator, the Atlantean translator, the Quenya/Sindarin translator, or the Dothraki/Valyrian translator.
Frequently asked questions
Who created the Barsoomian language?
Edgar Rice Burroughs created Barsoomian for his John Carter of Mars series, starting with A Princess of Mars in 1912. He scattered words and phrases throughout 11 novels published from 1912 to 1964. Burroughs also created Tarzan. He never developed Barsoomian into a full constructed language with a systematic grammar. Fan linguists later compiled glossaries from the novels.
Is Barsoomian a real constructed language?
Barsoomian is a partial constructed language. Burroughs included enough vocabulary to give readers a sense of an alien tongue, but he never published a grammar, phonology chart, or syntax guide. The attested vocabulary covers titles, creatures, and cultural terms, amounting to roughly a few dozen words. It is less developed than Na'vi, Klingon, or Dothraki, which were built by professional linguists with intentional grammar systems.
Was Paul Frommer involved in the 2012 John Carter film?
Paul Frommer, who created Na'vi for Avatar (2009), was considered for the 2012 John Carter film's language work. The production ultimately used a mix of Burroughs' original words and new creations rather than commissioning a full language. The film, directed by Andrew Stanton and produced by Disney, was a box office failure, losing an estimated $200 million. The Barsoomian dialogue in the film was not developed into a learnable language.
Does this tool translate full Barsoomian sentences?
No. This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup. It matches each English word to its Barsoomian equivalent from a fixed vocabulary list. Barsoomian has no documented grammar, so there is no morphology or syntax to model. The tool is a vocabulary reference, not a full machine translation system.
What are the main species in the Barsoom series?
The Green Martians (Tharks) and Red Martians are the main species. The Green Martians are tall, four-armed warriors organized into tribes like the Tharks and the savage Warhoons. The Red Martians are the dominant civilized race, living in cities like Helium. The series also features White Martians (therns), Yellow Martians (okar), and the First Born, who worship the goddess Issus. John Carter, a Confederate Civil War veteran, is mysteriously transported to Mars and interacts with all these species.
Conclusion
The Barsoomian translator converts English text to and from the Martian language Edgar Rice Burroughs created for his John Carter of Mars series. Type your message, copy the output, and use it for fan writing or decorative text. For other constructed language tools, try the Na'vi translator, the Atlantean translator, the Quenya/Sindarin translator, or the Dothraki/Valyrian translator.