Gallifreyan (language)

Various forms of written Gallifreyan have appeared. By the time of the Doctor, the archaic Old High Gallifreyan language spoken in the days of Rassilon had given way to a more contemporary form of the language. (DW: The Five Doctors) This later "vulgate" was presumably the Doctor's native language.

Old High Gallifreyan
Old High Gallifreyan was the ancient language of the Time Lords. It was not known by many; by the Doctor's era, it was virtually extinct, superseded by modern Gallifreyan. The Eleventh Doctor claimed that Old High Gallifreyan once possessed immense power when correctly harnessed, such as raising empires or destroying gods. (DW: The Time of Angels) The truth of this statement is unknown.

The written form of Old High Gallifreyan resembled, to human eyes, a mixture of Greek letters and mathematical symbols.


 * Inside the Tomb of Rassilon in the Death Zone on Gallifrey, an old rhyme was written in "Old High Gallifreyan," which explained the outcome of the "Game of Rassilon". (DW: The Five Doctors)
 * Within the Doctor's rooms on Gallifrey there was a painting of a woman, holding a scroll with the words "Death is but a door" written in High Gallifreyan. (PDA: The Infinity Doctors)
 * The First Doctor wrote his Five Hundred Year Diary in High Gallifreyan to make sure no one else could read it. (DW: The Power of the Daleks)
 * River Song could write in Old High Gallifreyan. Who taught it to her is unknown. (DW: The Time of Angels)


 * In The Time of Angels, Amy asked what writing in Old High Gallifreyan meant, implying that the TARDIS did not translate it, River Song explicitely stated that the TARDIS could not translate it in A Good Man Goes to War.

Modern Gallifreyan
While Old High Gallifreyan was the original language of the Time Lords, it had gradually been replaced with a more contemporary form by the time of the Doctor. (DW: The Five Doctors)


 * Two Time Lords looked at a visual archival of information on the Third Doctor, which displayed both a photo and writing in modern Gallifreyan. (DW: Colony in Space)
 * A vaguely Arabic-looking script, in a letter written by the Fourth Doctor to warn the High Council of an assassination, consisted of modern Gallifreyan. (DW: The Deadly Assassin)
 * The Seventh Doctor left a note for the Supreme Dalek in a script other than English. This included the Doctor's "name" (Theta Sigma) in Greek. (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)
 * This implies that the Renegade Daleks knew how to interpret Gallifreyan writing.

Circular Gallifreyan

 * A complex system of interlocking circles was used by the Doctor's TARDIS output screens in "coral desktop theme" mode and was the one seen in the notes that the Doctor scattered around the console room. (DW: Rose onwards) Previous to this, the TARDIS' displays had appeared in English.
 * Simpler handwritten circles appear on The Doctor's Betamax tape used to trap the Wire, and are scribbled over, presumably saying what the contents of the tape were at one time. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern)
 * The Visionary wrote interlocking circles, which Rassilon and the other Time Lords could understand. One of the words was "Earth" (DW: The End of Time)
 * Text in circular Gallifreyan was seen carved into the Doctor's cot. It was implied that this writing was his name. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)