The construction of a new language for the purpose of fictional works of art: A

Literature Review.

Marilena Kokkini

(AM:3921044)

Department of Language and Intercultural Studies, University of Thessaly

Course name: Writing a research paper in English

Dr. Anastasia Gkainartzi

January 7, 2023
Introduction
The subject of this literature review is the construction of a language and its presence
in works of fiction. Linguists focus their academic research on the already existing
and naturally occurring human languages. However, some languages did not develop
naturally. People have been creating languages since ancient times for a number of
distinct reasons. Such as to facilitate trade and to cultivate a more perfect language, or
to accommodate the needs of fictional works of art. In the past, the term glossopoeia
was used to describe this phenomenon. Glossopeia derives from the Greek word
glossa (tongue) and the ancient Greek verb poieo (I make, create). Nowadays the term
conlang (constructed language) and its derivatives (conlanging, conlanger) are used.

Conlangs

First of all, a constructed language also known as a conlang is a complete language

system that was consciously devised for a certain purpose by a person or a group of
people. Dr. Marc Okrand, creator of the Klingon language for the television series
Star Trek, originally coined the term conlang to refer to a constructed language. There
are around 3,000 constructed languages in the world. Conlangs are considered to be
real languages whose phonology, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary did not develop
naturally like natural languages (natlang). Moreover, conlanging is the creation of a
conlang and is similar to what painting is to art history (Emrys 2009). Linguists,
through research, have determined three types of conlangs. The first category consists
of philosophical languages that were created in the seventeenth century as a way to
better capture the reality of the world. An example of this type can be found in Plato’s
dialogue “Cratylus” where Hermogenes claims that words are not inherently linked to
what they refer to. He insists that people apply "a piece of their own voice ... to the
thing". Secondly, there are international auxiliary languages (auxlangs) constructed in
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in order to solve practical problems
of international communication. For instance, Esperanto is the most widely known
auxlang. Lastly, many languages (artlangs) have been created in recent decades for
the purposes of fiction (e.g., novels, film, television), especially in the realms of
science fiction and fantasy, or simply as an enjoyable hobby. The latter type of
conlangs is concerning this literature review.
Artlangs

Fictional works are often based on real-world cultures, and this can lead to the
creation of newly constructed languages. Some authors choose to use an existing
language in their work, while others create a new language from scratch. This article
will look at some of the more interesting examples of fictional languages created by
authors for their works.

Elvish languages One of the most prominent conlangers (people who develop
constructed languages) was J. R. R. Tolkien. He is responsible for the creation of
fifteen Elvish languages used in his books. The best-known are Quenya and Sindarin
which are used by the Elves in Middle-Earth. Tolkien had been working on them
since 1915 but were officially introduced to the public with the publication of “The
Lord of the Rings” in 1954. Most Elvish languages have their own phonology,
grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. They both use the Tengwar script for the writing
system. The two languages are quite distinct but with methodically worked out
pseudo-diachronic development both appear to be derived from 'Primitive Elvish'
(Brown 2006). Researchers have found that Tolkien was influenced by the Welsh
language for the creation of Sindarin. On the other hand, Quenya derives much of its
grammar and sounds from Finnish. It has been said by many conlangers that Tolkien's
work was an inspiration for them to begin their own creations.

Klingon Since the creation of the Elvish languages, there was another great artlang
developed. Klingon is the language constructed by the linguist, Marc Okrand, for the
alien race of Klingons in Star Trek II and subsequent series. The language has been
developed from gibberish to a proper tongue with its own writing system, grammar,
vocabulary, figures of speech, and regional dialects.

Na’vi In 2009 Paul Frommer, a professor at the Marshall School of Business with a
doctorate in linguistics, constructed the language of the Na'vi, used by the sapient
humanoid Indigenous inhabitants of the fictional moon Pandora in the film series
Avatar. He drew inspiration from the Maori of New Zealand and created a language
that consists of 2,600 words.

Dothraki More recently Dothraki was devised by David J. Peterson for the sake of
the television series “Game of Thrones” which was based on George R. R. Martin's
fantasy novel series “A Song of Ice and Fire.” Peterson used languages such as
Estonian, Turkish, Swahili, Russian and Inuktitut to help him develop the new
language. Dothraki lacks a writing system but nevertheless, it is one of the most
complete conlangs with 4,000 words as of 2015.

Finally, there has been an increase in the number of artlangs being created lately.
Some examples are Mandalorian from Star Wars and Trigedasleng from the television
show “The 100” and many more.

The process of creating a constructed language

Constructing a completely new language is not easily achieved. Tolkien and other
conlangers took into consideration a number of factors while creating their respective
languages. This process requires time, imagination, and of course knowledge of
linguistics. It is important to already know how a human language works in order to
create a new one from scratch. A language is a living organism, and it can change as
the years go by. A good upfront understanding of the context (real or fictional) in
which the language will exist will help to shape all the other decisions needed to make
for the language. The first step of developing a brand-new language is to create the
sounds or else phonology. The second step is to build the syntax and grammar rules.
Most languages use SVO (subject-verb-object) word order. The third step is to make a
vocabulary with basic terms and their meaning in English (or any other language with
proficiency). The fourth step is morphology and typology. The last step is to name the
new language. The name of a language is its most crucial characteristic, and it should
primarily reflect the nature of the creatures or people who speak it. Even freshly
invented languages designed for artistic purposes can help people communicate,
allowing people to express original ideas and spread crucial knowledge throughout
the world. Finally, it makes sense that this procedure is flexible and may be tailored to
the conlanger's preferences.

Conclusion

Summing up a conlang is a crafted language having planned and cohesive phonetic,

grammatical, and syntactical structures that are designed for human communication.
People have been creating languages to accommodate their needs, especially in works
of fiction. Through conlanging, one creates a new language. Any type of conlang can
be characterized as real because they have grammar which is the fundamental basis of
any language. However, they cannot be considered natural because they are artificial.
Conlangs lack the normal development that a human language has, e.g., Greek,
Spanish, French, etc. Nonetheless, there is still a need for additional study and
advancement because constructed languages are a critical part of the linguistics
discipline.

Resources

Emrys, S., Fink, A., & Peterson, D. (2009, December 28). Conlanging 101 - 26C3
- welcome to Conlang.org. The Conlanger's Library. Retrieved January 7, 2023, from
https://conlang.org/26c3.pdf

Brown, R. (2006). Glossopoeia & Glossopoeic Languages. Glossopoeia Pages.

http://www.carolandray.plus.com/Glosso/Glossopoeia.html

Goodall, G. (2023). Constructed Languages. Annual Review of Linguistics, 9.

https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-030421-064707

Schreyer, G. (2021). Constructed Languages. Annual Review of Anthropology, 50,

337-344. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-101819-110152

Richards, N. W. (2018, October 16). ConLangs: How to construct a language

[PDF]. MIT OpenCourseWere. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/24-917-conlangs-how-to-
construct-a-language-fall-2018/

[TED-Ed]. McWhorter, J., Stanneke, J., & Urban, W. (2013, September 26). Are
Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na’vi real languages? [Video]. TED-Ed.
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/are-elvish-klingon-dothraki-and-na-vi-real-languages-john-
mcwhorter
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