Some "Game of Thrones" fans study the show like its their homework, but for some UC Berkeley students, it kind of will be.

David J. Peterson, the creator of Dothraki and High Valyrian, has signed on to teach the course "The Linguistics of 'Game of Thrones' and the Art of Language Invention" at the university this summer. Valued at three units, the class will meet four days a week during the May 22-June 30 summer session. Peterson's goal is to teach his students about what it takes to create a naturalistic language, meaning one that shares hallmarks with real tongues that have evolved around the world.

The expert-turned-instructor, who himself went to Berkeley, knows a thing or two about how to accomplish that feat. He got into linguistics as an undergrad and later pursued a master's degree in the field as well. That's why it so convincing when "Game of Thrones" characters switch into one of the show's distinct foreign tongues.

Since Peterson started working on the HBO series, it seems like he has become Hollywood's go-to guy for realistic, fake languages. You can hear ones he developed in "about a dozen other shows and movies," as he told Berkeley News. We like that he is teaching the next generation, so for his sake, we hope his class doesn't turn out a bunch of linguistics who want to fight him for his Iron Throne.

[via: Berkeley News]