Language used in Firefly
In the Fox series, Firefly, crew on the ship usually uses the English language. Most of the time it's modern English(Usually with southern US accent), but sometimes they use another language (or could be different languages or mix of few languages).
They'd either use only few words with this language along with English, or sometimes they use complete sentences using only this language.
(Sometimes they use the word "Gorram", which I understand similar to "God damn" from the context. Not sure this from the same language I mentioned above)
What is the language they used?
Is it a single language or did they used a more than one language/mix of few?
Best Answer
It's primarily a mix of English and Mandarin Chinese with allowances for language drift and substitutions for TV purposes.
From this answer on Science Fiction & Fantasy
The United States and China, the two great superpowers of the Earth, gradually grow together and form the Anglo-Sino Alliance (though their empires remain separate), rather than killing each other as originally predicted. In a somewhat ironic reversal, the American Empire annexes England.
[Firefly website and "A Brief History of the Universe, circa 2507 A.D." In an interview on the site, series creator Joss Whedon first described some of this background to account for the mix of cultures in the Alliance, and the pre-production memo gives further details. This history is implicit in the design of the Alliance flags seen in "The Train Job" and "Bushwhacked," a combination of the present-day flags of the two countries in question.]
You can read more on languanges used at the Firefly Wikia
For instance:
Human beings have happily fouled the gift of language with whatever inventive, vindictive, and insulting expressions they can imagine. While the traditional English swear words have survived intact, a few additional crude cuss words have been added to the common man's vocabulary.
The basics include Gorram ("Run! It's the gorram law!"), Ruttin' ("It's gettin' too ruttin' hot in here."), and Humped ("He's got a gun on us. We're humped!") Cursing in Chinese is considered more imaginative and expressive, and most everyone does it - at least when his mother has left the room.
Pictures about "Language used in Firefly"
What language did they use on Firefly?
Firefly's use of Mandarin Chinese (without subtitles) was a way to depict an integrated futuristic culture, as well as a way to get away with cursing. Joss Whedon's iconic space western Firefly doesn't just take audiences into the future, but plunges them into a culture that's a blend of American and Chinese.Why do they speak Chinese in Firefly?
The Alliance's full title is the "Anglo-Sino Alliance." Joss Whedon intended for it to be the merger of USA and China, the last of the world's superpowers. That's why many characters sometimes speak Chinese. The Alliance flag, seen in the original pilot, is a blending of the US and Chinese flags.How good is the Mandarin in Firefly?
For the most part the words themselves are used correctly but the pronunciation by certain characters (especially Malcolm Reynolds and Jayne) can be very choppy. By comparison, whenever Mandarin is used by Inara it's usually quite well executed.What does Gorram mean in Firefly?
Gorram is an exclamation used to express anger and frustration. Written use of the word dates to at least the 1850s. It was frequently used in the TV series Firefly. Gorram carries approximately the same meaning and emotional connotations as the American English term, "God damn."Firefly Speech and Language Webinar
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Images: Anna Tarazevich, Pixabay, cottonbro, Anna Tarazevich