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The Ultimate Guide to Circular Gallifreyan in All of Time and Space

                                                                                     Introduction

Gallifreyan, is the language used by the Time Lords of Gallifrey. It is (allegedly) a fictional language used in the BBC TV show Doctor Who. 

There are three known forms of written Gallifreyan; Old High Gallifreyan, Modern Gallifreyan and Circular Gallifreyan. 

Old High Gallifreyan, the original ancient language of the Time Lords, was declared by the 11th Doctor to possess the power to “raise empires and destroy gods”. But by the Doctor’s era, it fell in disuse and was known only to very few. Modern Gallifreyan, an evolved form of Old High Gallifreyan was common at the time of the Doctor.  

By the end of the last great Time War, Gallifreyan could be written using a complex system of interlocking circles, hexagons and connecting lines. This form of Gallifreyan is known as Circular Gallifreyan. 

Circular Gallifreyan is a language closely linked to the TARDIS. The TARDIS contains a translation matrix, giving it the ability to adapt to every other language, at least for those of us who aren’t Time Lords. In Muggle terms, Circular Gallifreyan is more of a cipher or code than an actual language. It can be used to write any language that can be translated to the same script as English. Since 2005 this version of Gallifreyan is used very commonly on the Dr Who TV show. 

                           Guide to Circular Gallifreyan

 Step 1) Learn the Basic Alphabet 

Getting familiar with the basic alphabet is incredibly helpful

I recommend memorizing the individual alphabets because it makes the reading and writing process much faster, but if you don’t want to do that, then you can use the chart below for reference to the consonants.

In circular Gallifreyan, there is no version of ‘C’. When there is a ‘C’ in a word, you replace it with either ‘K’ or ‘CH’ depending on whichever sounds closer to it. 

Some people write a version of ‘C’ that looks like ’D’ but with 4 dots. But that version is rather confusing because that can have different interpretations, so I prefer to stick to the ‘K’ method. 

Step 2) Vowels in Relation to Consonants 

Vowels are generally attached to the consonants directly before them. In which case they will be placed “in relation to the consonants” as seen in the chart below.

Vowels can also be put separately if there is no consonant before them, or if that is more convenient. In such a case, they are placed as seen in the alphabet chart.  (see step 1)

Step 3) Reading and Writing Simple Individual Words

Circular Gallifreyan is written and read anti-clockwise starting from the central bottom part of the circle.

Things to Keep in Mind :-

1) When you are writing the words, make small markings for the lines and dots you need for the alphabets and join them later. This way you can visualize the whole word. The lines can be drawn in any direction, what is important about them is their number. 

2) When writing words with double letters, like Gallifrey that has 2 L’s, make a smaller circle within the bigger one. Similarly, 2 T’s and all the other alphabets can be doubled by making a smaller version of themselves within the original letter.  Examples :-

Step 4) Grouped Words

In Gallifreyan, words in a sentence are grouped together, making the individual word circles form a larger circle. This is done by putting the individual circles in an anti-clockwise pattern. 

When reading Gallifreyan sentences, start at the lowest part of the circle at the bottom of the main circle and read it anticlockwise. Then do the same for all the other circles in the main circle, going in an anticlockwise direction. 

Examples :-

Eventually, with practice, you should be able to read and write extensive  passages in circular Gallifreyan

Examples :-

(Examples above are - ‘Love the running’ and ‘bad wolf’)

Step 5) Punctuation 

In order to read and write large sentences in their proper grammatical context, the following system of punctuation is used in Circular Gallifreyan.

The punctuation of a sentence can be done by placing the necessary punctuation next to the pertaining word circle or by placing it in the outer circle of the word.

Step 6) Number System

 There are many systems for writing numbers in Gallifreyan. There is even an entire system of doing advanced mathematics! But, since the last time I saw my mathematics book I stabbed it with a knife, killing it like the horcrux it is, I’ll stick to the two most basic methods. 

I personally prefer the second method, because it’s much easier to use for really large numbers, like if you’re writing the date (or star date). But, method 1 is the one that is seen used in Doctor Who. The second version is more like using roman numerals, to an extent. 

Step 7) (optional) Decoration

Circular Gallifreyan has a beautiful script, so it will look good whether you write it free hand or elaborately with a compass. If you do want to make it more decorative, then there are various things you can do:-

• Draw an extra outer circle 

• Indent the inner circle

• Join the lines of the different circles together

• Change the thickness of certain circles in bigger phrases

Step 8) Test Yourself

If you need any help or translations, feel free to ask me!

- Medini Sriram

doctorwho

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lil sumth’n for @pasteilian , happy 3k 🫶🫶

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Unhelpful Part 12

Previous, Next

Masterpost

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Leo tries out his new arm (Trying to learn how to animate properly)

The gif was too big D:<

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No but seriously the things turtles can do are unhinged.

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After fleeing her small town, she has adventures where she is treated like this in both China and Japan as a soldier until she is 12, reaching New York.

Summary of little Esther at the age of 11: eat eat eat eat to live

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Wake up babes new au just dropped!! Deity AU inspired by Chinese mythology, most definitely because I got very into nezha and wukong in general 😭

Don // Dūo Nà // The Forge

Cares for the ambitious and the innovators. His choice of weapon is his metal Bo, though with an affinity for metal, he can morph the bo into whatever he seems fit.

Leo // Lí Ò // The All Seeing

Cares for the lost. Has the ability to see the true selves of people. A nomad and healer.

Mikey // Mí Kāi // The Judge

A psychopomp who judges souls fairly. Comforting and joyous but please don’t piss him off.

Raph // Lā Féi // The Heart

Protector and shield, especially to children and young. Has many arms to hug many people.

Extra sketches!!

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FUTURE DONNIE OVERALLS PLS

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Evil Leo expressions study 💙

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Really wanted to draw the old idea

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And with that, first place prize for the Replica Holiday Special Cover Contest is complete! Thank you again @abbeyofcyn for your patience and your amazing, winning cover!

Cyn's request was simply to have Donnie from their Krang Infection AU interacting with Replica Donnie. It was supposed to just be a colored piece but I got the idea of Rep!Donnie giving teen Donnie some pointers and decided to do a short comic instead. This was so fun to make, so thank you for the inspiration and your wonderful version of Donnie! He's one of my all time favorites.

If you haven't read it I highly recommend checking out abbeyofcyn's Krang Infection AU as well as it's continuation. It's such a wonderful story!

[phoenix7artist]

from @lara-cairncross 's rottmnt fairy hollow AU! when your brother offers to fly you somewhere but stops every five seconds to talk to someone The designs are really fun to draw, mixed elements from a couple of different iterations from across the au!

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Screenshot redrawl

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Color graces my page once more!

More screenshot redraws for you today. I drew these while listening to lectures and class readings, it was incredibly satisfying. I did one more page of rise screenshot redraws that is like my magnum opus, but it's not finished yet, i'm gonna try to prioritise it after my apprentice cover because I think you guys will like it!

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you are sixteen when you kill everything you've ever loved.

it's not funny.

Finally I managed to draw this doofus' shell

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we bleed.