Minish (Language)
From Zelda Wiki, the Zelda encyclopedia
The Minish Language is a strange and ancient tongue spoken only by the tiny Minish. In The Minish Cap, when Link first encounters the Minish in Minish Village, he cannot understand their language and has to visit Festari in the sanctuary in the north of the village. Festari explains that Link has to obtain and eat the Jabber Nut in the Greenhouse in the eastern part of the Village. Link can then freely speak to all Minish.
Trivia
- It is almost certain that the name "Picori" for the Minish and their sword comes from humans misunderstanding what the Minish called themselves. Oddly enough, as Ezlo points out, the Minish Woods use their real name, so this discrepancy is odd.
- It would seem that there are several dialects of the Minish Language, as Ezlo (who is later revealed to be a Minish) admits that even he couldn't understand most of what the Forest Minish said when they encountered Link.[1] While not outright stated, it can be inferred that the dialects differ according to region, as in human society.
- The German, French, and Italian version of the game use actual words for Minish, just written backwards. For example, in the German version, one of the Minish Link meets when first arriving at the village says: "Hcsnem nie!", which is just "Ein Mensch!" (A human!) written backwards. However, Link still needs to obtain the Jabber Nut in order to progress in the game.
References
- ↑ "Ah, yes. That was the language of the Minish! I'm afraid it's a little different from the dialect I am most familiar with. I'm afraid I didn't catch most of what they said myself." — Ezlo (The Minish Cap)
