It is rumored that the film's directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, have created the minion's language all by themselves. The directors, however, denied these rumors. Coffin said, "I have (the minions) speak Indian, French, English, Spanish, and Italian. I mix up all these ridiculously sounding words just because they sound good, not because they necessarily mean something." Coffin has the minions speak nonsense because it's hilarious, not because there is an encrypted message in the words. To further deny the rumors, Renaud admitted that many of the minions' words are actually foreign names of food from other countries.
Amidst the directors' statements, some die-hard minion fans who have a lot of free time deciphered a few of the minions' words. These sounds that the minions make are used often throughout the movie to refer to specific things. Here is a list of a few of these words:
Without the minions, the Despicable Me series will not be as successful as it has been. The minions are vital to the stories- not only do they provide a significant amount of humor, but they also help depict the evil villain Gru as the good guy. Most viewers will only see the minion language as nonsense, but what if the language actually made sense? What if the random sounds had meaning to them? What if understanding what they are saying can completely change our viewing experience? Perhaps what they are saying can convey a secret message, and being able to understand this message will make us view the movie from different perspectives. Who knows, maybe they are only saying random names of exotic food. But maybe, just maybe, the minions are trying to tell us something. They could be discussing politics, or they could be foreshadowing what might occur later on in the movie.
Several other movies with "make-believe" characters actually hired linguists to devise an entire language system for their characters. For example, Avatar has the Na'vi language and Star Trek has Klingon. As an avid minion fan, I truly hope that one day, the minions will have an entire language for themselves. Whether that language already exists, no one (except for the makers of the movie) may ever know. As for now, we just have to take the minions' "nonsense" for what it is and enjoy it as purely comedic gibberish.
Is it just nonsense???......
Or is there actually meaning???.....
Fascinating and insightful. Perhaps the minions work because we hear what we want to hear when they mumble and groan. There's a famous experiment in which audiences 'see what they want to see' in a similar way you may remember reading about the Kuleshov effect in "The Storytelling Animal."
ReplyDeleteThe idea that entire languages are created to further the plot and story of films, television show, and novels is seemingly unfathomable. To think an entire language is created so that the Ewoks of Star Wars can talk to each other seems like to much. In all honesty who would really know or care if the elves in the Lord of the Rings language was actually a real comprehendible language. Peter Jackson could have had them utter gibberish or even speak English and it probably would not have effected my viewing of the movie much. However, I feel as though the development of these complex languages for fictional characters makes the story seem all the more authentic and real because just as we humans have developed language so have these fictitious beings thus making there existence seem just a bit more plausible making the film, television show, or novel all the more enjoyable to its audience.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have never seen this movie but these little guys are so cute!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic, creative too. As an Italian student i do recognize some of the italian in the words, so the creators weren't completely lying. The point that stands out to me the most is that what if the minions are trying to tell us something? What if they're foreshadowing? What if they're speaking of politics? etc. It really is something to think about. What if the simple sounds are really something much bigger than what Coffin claims. To be able to decode their language is one thing but to reveal the bigger picture connects you closer with everything from the characters all the way back to the film makers. Almost like on the Beatles's record, you can flip the track, play it backwards, and get the message of "Paul is dead, miss him." Well, it's not exactly the same but it still contains a stronger message that the naked eye is blind to. The key point is, that with a better understanding of the minions it could change how we see the movie all together. Was this on purpose? Or is it just creative minds venturing off road? Well that's something we have to decide for ourselves but like you said, it hasn't been determined yet so we'll just have to enjoy their cute sounds for entertainment only. I love that you tied something so serious together with something, well, not so serious. You brought about some great points and really wen't in depth. Great job!
I've watched Despicable Me hundreds of times and never once thought about what the minions were saying. I thought the minions language was indeed "nonsense" that used random words and sounds to make people laugh. However, now that I think about it, the minions nature and language could be a symbolism to slavery because they do whatever their master, Gru, says and they are very uneducated. The minions are controlled by Gru and use their own language to communicate. It sounds like comedic gibberish to us but what they are saying could definitely have meaning behind it. We've already showed us what some of their random sounds mean so that leads us to believe that all of their words have meaning. The minion's gibberish also has effects on the movie by furthering the plot and giving comic relief. I know I wouldn't have enjoyed the movie as much as I did without their hilarious sounds. Before, I thought the minion's gibberish was just for comedy but now I'm starting to believe that there is meaning behind their words.
ReplyDelete