Introduction
The Old Tongue is the ancient language of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, the language of the Age of Legends spoken by the Aes Sedai and ancient peoples. In the series' current age, it is a dead language used for scholarship, prophecy, and naming, similar to Latin in medieval Europe. Jordan included hundreds of words and phrases across 14 novels (1990-2013), completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death in 2007. Type a message above and the tool looks up each English word in an Old Tongue vocabulary dictionary. Unknown words pass through unchanged. All processing runs in your browser.
What this tool does
- Word-level translation between English and the Old Tongue using a dictionary of attested vocabulary from the Wheel of Time novels and fan-compiled glossaries.
- Bidirectional: switch between English-to-Old-Tongue and Old-Tongue-to-English modes with one click.
- The settings panel shows the full vocabulary table so you can browse attested Old Tongue 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-Old-Tongue mode, the dictionary maps English words like "night" to "cor" and "guardians" to "ashaman". Multi-word phrases like "maidens of the spear" map to "far dareis mai" using a longest-match-first algorithm. In Old-Tongue-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 Old Tongue works
Robert Jordan introduced the Old Tongue in The Eye of the World (1990), the first Wheel of Time novel. The Wikipedia article on the Wheel of Time covers the full 14-novel series, published from 1990 to 2013. Jordan died in 2007 before completing the final three volumes, and Brandon Sanderson finished the series based on Jordan's notes. The Wikipedia article on the Old Tongue describes it as the language of the Age of Legends, a prior age in the series' cosmology. In the current age, educated characters know fragments of the Old Tongue, and Aes Sedai use it for rituals and prophecies.
Jordan never published a complete grammar for the Old Tongue. He included hundreds of words and phrases throughout the series, enough to give the world a sense of historical depth. The language draws from Germanic and Celtic roots, with words like "aes sedai" (servant of all) and "car'a'carn" (chief of chiefs) reflecting the series' invented cultures. The Tar Valon Library, a fan-maintained Wheel of Time wiki, catalogs the attested vocabulary. The Old Tongue uses apostrophes heavily as morphological markers, which is a stylistic choice that distinguishes it from English.
The Amazon Prime Video adaptation premiered in 2021, with showrunner Rafe Judkins and Rosamund Pike starring as Moiraine. Season 3 launched March 13, 2025. The show stars Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, and Josha Stradowski as Rand al'Thor. The Old Tongue appears in the show in prophecies and Aes Sedai rituals, with the production team developing pronunciations for the attested vocabulary. The language functions in the show much as it does in the books: as a marker of ancient knowledge and authority.
How to use this tool
- Select the mode: "English to Old Tongue" to translate English words into the Old Tongue, or "Old Tongue 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 "maidens of the spear" 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 Aes Sedai terms
A user types "servant of all" in English-to-Old-Tongue mode. The tool recognizes the multi-word phrase and outputs "aes sedai", the name of the order of channelers who serve the world. The user also types "guardians" and gets "ashaman", the term for male channelers trained as weapons. The output reads "aes sedai ashaman". The user copies this into a Wheel of Time fan fiction scene involving the political tension between the two orders.
Translating Aiel warrior society names
Someone wants to write a scene featuring Aiel warrior societies. They type "maidens of the spear" and get "far dareis mai". They type "mountain dancers" and get "hama n'dor". They type "thunder walkers" and get "sha'mad conde". Each multi-word phrase maps to a single Old Tongue expression. The user pastes these into a roleplay dialogue where Aiel characters identify their society affiliations.
Decoding Old Tongue prophecies
A fan encounters the phrase "tarmon gai'don" in the novels and wants to confirm its meaning. They paste it into Old-Tongue-to-English mode. The tool looks up the phrase and returns "the last battle". The fan also tries "mashiara" and gets "truly beloved", a term of deep affection used in the series. Words not in the dictionary, such as character names like "Rand al'Thor" or "Lan Mandragoran", pass through unchanged so the reader can identify them manually.
Comparison with similar methods
| Method | Complexity | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Old Tongue (word-level) | Medium | Wheel of Time fan writing, roleplay, prophecy translation |
| 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 |
| Na'vi (word-level) | Medium | Avatar fan writing, developed by Paul Frommer |
Limitations or considerations
This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup, not full grammatical translation. Jordan never published a complete grammar for the Old Tongue. He included hundreds of words and phrases throughout the series, but there is no documented verb conjugation system or noun case chart. The vocabulary covers attested words from the 14 novels and fan-compiled glossaries from the Tar Valon Library, roughly 48 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 Dothraki/Valyrian translator, the Quenya/Sindarin translator, the Na'vi translator, or the Tengwar/Cirth translator.
Frequently asked questions
Who created the Old Tongue?
Robert Jordan created the Old Tongue for the Wheel of Time series, starting with The Eye of the World in 1990. He included hundreds of words and phrases across 14 novels but never published a complete grammar. Brandon Sanderson completed the final three volumes after Jordan's death in 2007, using Jordan's notes. The language draws from Germanic and Celtic roots and uses apostrophes as morphological markers.
Is the Old Tongue a real constructed language?
The Old Tongue is a partial constructed language. Jordan developed enough vocabulary to give the Wheel of Time world historical depth, but he did not publish a full grammar, phonology chart, or syntax guide. It is less developed than languages like Klingon or Dothraki, which were built by professional linguists with intentional grammar systems. The Tar Valon Library, a fan wiki, catalogs the attested vocabulary from the novels.
Does the Old Tongue appear in the Amazon TV show?
Yes. The Amazon Prime Video adaptation, with showrunner Rafe Judkins and Rosamund Pike as Moiraine, premiered in 2021. Season 3 launched March 13, 2025. The show stars Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, and Josha Stradowski as Rand al'Thor. The Old Tongue appears in prophecies and Aes Sedai rituals, with the production team developing pronunciations for the attested vocabulary from the novels.
Does this tool translate full Old Tongue sentences?
No. This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup. It matches each English word to its Old Tongue equivalent from a fixed vocabulary list. Jordan did not document a complete grammar, so there is no verb conjugation or noun case system to model. The tool is a vocabulary reference, not a full machine translation system.
What role does the Old Tongue play in the Wheel of Time?
The Old Tongue is the language of the Age of Legends, a prior age in the series' cosmology. In the current age, it is a dead language used for scholarship, prophecy, and naming, similar to Latin in medieval Europe. Aes Sedai use it for rituals. Characters with education know fragments of it. Many place names, personal names, and organizational titles in the series derive from the Old Tongue, giving Jordan's world a sense of historical layering.
Conclusion
The Old Tongue translator converts English text to and from the ancient language Robert Jordan created for the Wheel of Time series. Type your message, copy the output, and use it for fan writing or roleplay. For other constructed language tools, try the Dothraki/Valyrian translator, the Quenya/Sindarin translator, the Na'vi translator, or the Tengwar/Cirth translator.