Harry Vanderspeigle's language

Now I will die without having a conversation in my beautiful language. I will be forced to talk to myself. (begins vocalizing in his language)"
"I'd tell you to keep it down, but we're in New York. Weird is normal here, so..."

Harry Vanderspeigle and Asta Twelvetrees, "Escape from New York"

On the series Resident Alien, the alien Harry Vanderspeigle and other members of his species use an alien language which is depicted in both chyrons on-screen and in text seen within the series.

Overview[]

According to Wikipedia, it is Esperanto written in a right-to-left script. This is strongly supported by the evidence from the show, but with some minor deviations (see Notes below).

Heather, a Blue Avian, knows how to speak the language, describing it as being one of the most beautiful languages in the universe.

Known aspects of the language[]

Harry's language uses the same base 10 numbering system used on Earth. Most of the time (see Notes below), the numbers are written with the most significant digit first, that is, on the right, as the script is right-to-left. The character in quotes next to each glyph is the character used to represent that glyph in the transcriptions below.

Alphabetic Glyphs:

"A" It looks like a short shepherd's hook pointing right with a curl on the upper end pointing right and a small vertical bar that crosses the top of the hook.

"B" It is a circle, expanded vertically, with a vertical bar in a center that extends through the circle on both ends.

"C" It is similar to a trident pointing downward, with the center prong vertical and a nub on top. The center prong extends further down than the other two.

"D" It is similar to a backwards S. The top of the S is a curl. There is a small vertical bar attached to the bottom.

"E" It is a circle, expanded vertically.

"G" It is a vertical bar with a curl on the bottom pointing to the right.

"I" It is a vertical bar. It is distinguished from letter "J" (below) by being a shorter bar.

"J" It is a vertical bar. This is distinguished from the letter "I" (above) by being a longer bar.

"K" It is a left half circle and a horizontal bar.

"L" It is the same as the glyph for "A", except the vertical bar extends to the bottom of the shepherd's hook.

"M" It is a vertical bar with a curl at the top pointing left.

"N" It is similar to the left half of the glyph for "C", except both prongs are the same vertical length.

"O" It is a circle, extended vertically, with a vertical bar extending from the center through the top of the circle.

"P" It looks like a short shepherd's hook pointing left with a curl on the upper end pointing left and a small vertical bar that crosses the top of the hook and another vertical bar immediately below it that extends to the bottom of the shepherd's hook.

"Q" It is a circle, extended vertically, with a vertical bar extending from the center through the bottom of the circle.

"R" It is a vertical bar with a curl on the top pointing to the right.

"S" It is similar to a letter S. The top of the S is a curl. There is a small vertical bar attached to the bottom.

"T" It is a right half circle with a horizontal bar.

"V" It is a right side of a trident pointing upwards without a nub.

"Z" It is a vertical bar with a crossing horizontal bar and a curl at the bottom pointing left.

Numbers and other symbols:

"0" It is a circle, extended vertically, with a small vertical bar in the center.

"1" It is a single horizontal bar.

"2" It is two stacked horizontal bars.

"3" It is three stacked horizontal bars.

"4" It is four stacked horizontal bars.

"5" It is four stacked horizontal bars with a vertical bar in the middle connecting them.

"6" It is the same as the glyph for the digit "5", but with the top left prong missing.

"7" It is the same as the glyph for the digit "5", but with the two top left prongs missing.

"8" It is the same as the glyph for the digit "5", but with the three top left prongs missing.

"-" It consists of two curls, back-to-back, both pointing down.

Notes[]

The alphabet of Esperanto is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, Z, Ĉ, Ĝ, Ĥ, Ĵ, Ŝ and Ŭ. The lowercase equivalents are acceptable as well. On the other hand, Harry's language does not have two cases; one glyph is used for each letter of the alphabet.
By translating into Esperanto and comparing with instances of the language, most of the Esperanto alphabet can be mapped to Harry's language. However, "U", "V", & "Ŭ" all map to the same glyph. "Ĵ" and "Ĝ" are written the same as "J" and "G". Following that pattern, presumably "Ĉ" and "Ŝ" would be written the same as "C" and "S". In addition, no instances have used the letters F, H, Ĥ. These letters may have other glyphs, may be mapped to existing glyphs, or may not exist in the language at all. Also, even though the letter "Q" does not exist in Esperanto, a glyph is provided for it in Harry's language (used in the name Albuquerque).
A glyph for the digit 9 has not appeared. However, since Harry's language uses a base 10 numbering system, a glyph for the digit 9 must exist.
In the majority of cases, numbers are written most significant digit first. However, in "Best of Enemies", the number 28 is written least significant digit first.
There is little to no evidence about how the language is spoken. The ship's computer speaks the language in "Heroes of Patience," but it is drowned out by the background music. Harry possibly speaks the language when stating his alien name. It sounds like a series of noises that is difficult for humans to pronounce. However, in "An Alien in New York", his silent distress call is made perceptible to humans by his human vocal cords, so these sounds may be different from what would be produced by his alien form. Below are approximate transcriptions of his utterances.
- Harry's Name (in the trailer for "End of the World As We Know It"): /nək͡ǂʔkatʔtelaʔʉ/
- Harry's Planet's Name (in "Old Friends" @ 08:47): /taŋklankǂʔǁʔǁkowatinari/-clap-whistle-gurgle
They have a call they can use to call their young. Their young use the same sounds to communicate. It is a combination of sounds made in the back of the throat and sounds made by puffing out the cheeks with the mouth closed (see "The Weight", "The Alien Within"). To some humans, it sounds like bird calls.
The "Full Extinction Event" placard has two underlines on it, but the lines do not split where the words do. It is not yet known what these lines indicate.
Based on the translations, the language is sometimes written top-to-bottom, sometimes bottom-to-top. It is possible that either is considered acceptable.
The symbols from Harry's radio stream by very fast on repeat, but Harry and Asta are both convinced that the message did not go through, even though it had been transmitting for 56 seconds.
Even though it is well-established that the script is written right-to-left, the phone number in Harry's radio is written left-to-right.
There was no space between "La" & "Montoj" in "La Montoj de Pacienco." Perhaps this exception only applies to "La."
There is a historical precedent for the combination of U & V in a single symbol.
Several of the symbols are rotated or flipped versions of other symbols.
Below is a list of all symbols whose meaning has not yet been established on the show. The numbers are completely arbitrary and have no connection to meaning of the symbol in this language.

02. This is one of the symbols in the left side header on Harry's radio. It is a trident pointing upward with a nub. It is the glyph for the letter "C" rotated 180 degrees.

03. This is one of the symbols in the left side header on Harry's radio. It is similar to the left half of unknown symbol 02, but with both prongs the same vertical length. It is also the glyph for the letter "N" flipped vertically.

06. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. Based on the other digits, it is probably the digit 9. It is 4 short horizontal bars stacked on top of each other with a vertical bar joining them on the left side.

07. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is a circle, expanded vertically, with a small plus sign in the center.

08. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is a circle, expanded vertically, with a small horizontal bar in the center.

09. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is a circle, expanded vertically, with a horizontal bar in the center extending through the right side of the circle.

10. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is a circle, expanded vertically, with two horizontal bars in the center extending through the right side of the circle.

11. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is a circle, expanded vertically, with four horizontal bars in the center extending through the right side of the circle.

12. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio and one of the symbols on Harry's spaceship. It is a circle, expanded vertically, with one vertical bar in the center and two horizontal bars in the center extending from the vertical bar through the right side of the circle.

13. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is a circle, expanded vertically, with one vertical bar in the center and four horizontal bars in the center extending from the vertical bar through the right side of the circle.

14. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is two concentric circles, extended horizontally.

15. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is two concentric circles, extended horizontally, with a small plus sign in the center.

16. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is two concentric circles, extended vertically.

17. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is two circles stacked vertically, with a small vertical bar in the center.

18. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is two circles overlapping horizontally with a small horizontal bar in the center.

19. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It is a circle touching a left half circle on the right side, extended vertically, with a small vertical bar passing through the intersection point.

20. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It has two symbols written inside a cartouche. The right symbol is the glyph for the digit "1". The left symbol is the unknown symbol 18.

21. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It has two symbols written inside a cartouche. The right symbol is the glyph for the digit "5". The left symbol is the unknown symbol 17.

22. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It has two symbols written inside a cartouche. The right symbol is the unknown symbol 05. The left symbol is a circle extended horizontally, with a vertically bar extending down from the center of the top down through the center.

23. This is one of the symbols that streams on Harry's radio. It has two symbols written inside a cartouche. The right symbol is the glyph for the digit "5". The left symbol is a circle, extended vertically, with a small plus sign in the center, four horizontal bars protruding from the right side and a vertical bar connecting the horizontal bars.

24. This is one of the symbols on Harry's spaceship. It looks like an upside-down short shepherd's hook pointing right with a curl on the upper end pointing right.

Analysis[]

The following is a table of all the English translations and the corresponding Alien language transcriptions.

Analysis of Alien Language
English Translation	Alien Language Transcription	Esperanto	Notes (including Episode & Time of Occurrence)
Four Months Ago	ANTAV KVAR MONATOJ	Antaŭ kvar monatoj	"Pilot" @ 03:28
Full Extinction Event	ESTINGIG OKAZAI	Estingiğ-okazaĵo	"Pilot" @ 45:04 Direct Esperanto translation would be "event of being extinguished"
Three Months Ago	ANTAV TRI MONATOJ	antaŭ tri monatoj	"Homesick" @ 01:00
Four Months Ago New Mexico	NOV-MEKSIKO KVAR MONATOJ ANTAVE	Nov-Meksiko kvar monatoj antaŭe	"Homesick" @ 22:56 "Secrets" @ 26:33
Somewhere in New Mexico	IE EN NOV-MEKSIKO	Ie en Nov-Meksiko	"Secrets" @ 42:18
Five Years Ago New York City	NOVJORKO ANTAV KVIN JAROJ	Novjorko antaŭ kvin jaroj	"Love Language" @ 00:53
Present Day	NVNTEMPO	Nuntempo	"Love Language" @ 03:55 "Sexy Beast" @ 44:41
50 Years Ago Maine	ANTAV 50 JAROJ MAJNO	Antaŭ 50 jaroj Majno	"Sexy Beast" @ 00:55
Four Months Ago	ANTAV KVAR MONATOJ	Antaŭ kvar monatoj	"Sexy Beast" @ 06:29
Two Weeks Ago New Mexico	NOV-MEKSIKO ANTAV DV SEMAJNOJ	Nov-Meksiko Antaŭ du semajnoj	"Sexy Beast" @ 35:50 "The Green Glow" @ 27:31
One Week Ago New Mexico	ANTAV VNV SEMAJNO NOV-MEKSIKO	Antaŭ unu semajno	"Sexy Beast" @ 42:58
30 Years Ago New York City	ANTAV 30 JAROJ NOVJORKO	Antaŭ 30 jaroj Novjorko	"Welcome Aliens" @ 01:09
Five Months Ago	KVIN MONATOJ ANTAVE	Kvin monatoj antaŭe	"Heroes of Patience" @ 02:10
The Mountains of Patience 24 Years Ago	LAMONTOJ DE PACIENCO ANTAV 24 JAROJ	La montoj de pacienco Antaŭ 24 jaroj	"Girls' Night" @ 01:08
Sorocco, New Mexico	SOROCCO NOV-MEKSIKO	Sorocco, Nov-Meskiko	"Girls' Night" @ 34:52
Jessup, Colorado	JESSVP KOLORADO	Jessup, Kolorado	"Radio Harry" @ 20:02
Six Months Ago	ANTAV SES MONATOJ	Antaŭ ses monatoj	"An Alien in New York" @ 01:02
Goliath	GOLIATO	Goliato	"An Alien in New York" @ 17:27
Tapajos National Forest, Brazil 33 Years Ago	TAPAJOS NACIA ARBARO BRAZILO ANTAV 33 JAROJ	Tapajos nacia arbaro, Brazilo Antaŭ 33 jaroj	"Escape from New York" @ 01:30
???	???		"Escape from New York" @ 08:27 This is written inside a cartouche on Harry Vanderspeigle's spaceship. It contains symbols that are currently unknown. Assuming the picture shows this right-side up, the currently known characters are _S_5DC, where the _ represents currently unknown characters.
Patience, Colorado 81 Years Ago	PACIENCO KOLORADO ANTAV 81 JAROJ	Pacienco, Kolorado Antaŭ 81 jaroj	"The Ghost of Bobby Smallwood" @ 01:20
Albuquerque, New Mexico	ALBVQVERQVE NOV-MEKSIKO	Albuquerque, Nov-Meksiko	"The Weight" @ 38:46
60 Years In The Future	60 JAROJ EN LA ESTONTECO	60 jaroj en la estonteco	"The Alien Within" @ 01:37
60 Years In The Future	60 JAROJ EN LA ESTONTECO	60 jaroj en la estonteco	"The Alien Within" @ 40:49
300 Years In The Future	300 JAROJ EN LA ESTONTECO	300 jaroj en la estonteco	"The Alien Within" @ 40:59
500 Years In The Future	500 JAROJ EN LA ESTONTECO	500 jaroj en la estonteco	"The Alien Within" @ 41:56
Brazil 33 Years Ago	BRAZILO ANTAV 33 JAROJ	Brazilo antaŭ 33 jaroj	"The Alien Within" @ 43:32
New York City 28 Years Ago	NOVJORKO ANTAV 82 JAROJ	Novjorko antaŭ 82 jaroj	"Best of Enemies" @ 00:48
Three Months Ago	ANTAV TRI MONATOJ	Antaŭ tri monatoj	"I Believe in Aliens" @ 43:24
One Week Later	VNV SEMAJNON POSTE	Unu semajnon poste	"Lone Wolf" @ 02:37
70 Years Ago	ANTAV 70 JAROJ	Antaŭ 70 jaroj	"The Upper Hand" @ 00:46
5 Years Ago	ANTAV KVIN JAROJ	Antaŭ kvin jaroj	"Avian Flu" @ 00:50
Somewhere Underground in Montana	IE SVBTERE EN MONTANO	Ie subtere en Montano	"Lovebird" @ 22:27

Occurrences[]

Occurrences of Harry Vanderspeigle's language are featured throughout the series, though are not present in every episode. They are most depicted as a chyron which displays a timestamp, location, or both, followed by resolving into the language of the market the program is being broadcast in. In certain cases, however, they are presented in-universe.