<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Mangani is the language spoken by the apes who raised Tarzan in the series of Tarzan of the Apes novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Although the movies (and popular imagination) have tended to portray Tarzan's adopted family as chimpanzees or gorillas, it is clear in the books that they are an unknown type of primate, possibly even a human species. In fact, there are different names in Mangani for gorillas ("bolgani"), humans ("gomangani" for native Africans, "tarmangani" for those of European descent), and their own species ("mangani," the same as the language).

While there is no sophisticated grammar, many words have been translated in the book series. It is possible for fans to communicate with each other in a limited manner in Mangani, although making up new word combinations is often required. For example, a car might be designated an "unk-sopu," using the Mangani words for go ("unk") and nut ("sopu").

Some editions of Tarzan have included a Mangani-English dictionary.

External Links

Tarzan's Dictionary Limited on-line dictionary

English-Mangani/Mangani-English Dictionary Non-canonical dictionary, including works outside the Edgar Rice Burroughs books

Ape-English Vocabulary Organized by category