Who Speaks Tho Fan? Deconstructing the Constructed Language of Jade Empire

Abstract

Despite being the largest East Asian country, China is underrepresented in video games, particularly those produced in the West. This article examines the video game Jade Empire (2005), developed by the acclaimed Canadian studio Bioware. Despite its age and now historical status in video game culture, Jade Empire remains one of the few relatively successful standalone video games based on Chinese culture (or appropriation thereof) created in the West. In addition to the borrowed elements of Chinese culture, the game uniquely introduces its own constructed language, Tho Fan, for world‐building. This article contextualizes this constructed language within the broader scope of constructed languages in Western fantasy and video games in particular, analyzing its creative and communicative potential. My analysis suggests that Tho Fan acts more as a tool of exclusion than of immersion, aligning with postcolonial critiques of video games. Conversely, Tho Fan has subversive potential when viewed as a metaphor for the inability of “the Subaltern” to “speak.” This ultimately presents a paradoxical issue of perceived authenticity in fantasy worlds that inherently defy historical accuracy.