Fantasy Conlanging

[Rob Lang]

in the last couple of months, I've been openly developing a LARP, a fantasy world and a few other bits and pieces for a steampunk/pirate setting. This has all been happening over on the "Observations of the Fox" blog, .

I've just started a new series focussing on a conlang (constructed language) for the setting.

Just thought a few people around here might be interested.

[Rob Lang]

Conlangs are fascinating, would you expect the players to learn the language? What reward would there be in-game for using it?

[Evil Scientist]

[kylesgames]

I used to be really big on conlanging, but I think I've gotten more lazy recently, just borrowing extant languages. Admittedly, I've been borrowing from things like Sindarin and old Gaulish languages, but as I try to keep up with my New Year's resolutions of learning languages (programming and non), I find that just borrowing is a lot easier. The problem is dealing with the fact that your audience may know the actual meaning of the words you use.

[catty_big]

Ah, watch as this topic glides gracefully into my wheelhouse. [Make way there! Gangway!] I've been developing my own language since I was thirteen (and, as of next April, I'm officially old, so that's a fair number of years), and I've recently started developing a synthetic language for an alt-mediaeval gameworld, which I won't bore folks with here, and besides it's the foxy dude's thread so let's concentrate on his language. But yeah, tremendously excited, and yes, the ability to insult doofuses without them knowing it is a big plus, although knowing my luck I'll probably do so to a muscly 6ft geek who's been studying it.

Good on you Kyle, and all the best with the project! Please keep us updated.

[kylesgames]

Right now I'm (mostly) supposed to be working on rules, but I've got a few structural notes for my Elven language, which borrows a number of phonemes and conventions from Sindarin, but is original in its grammar:

In-setting Elvish is loosely derived from the Words of Power that produce magical effects; it is not even truly an elvish creation, but was used by the elven gods to communicate with their creations.

As a young language, Elvish is not fully functional. The elves are set in stone, so Elvish today is almost akin to the Elvish of three thousand years ago. New words can be added to reflect new inventions or the like, but grammar structures never change.

Elven individual names typically start family name first, then have an individual's specific name. A family name may be a common noun ("Trithallos", for instance). Individuals' names tend to use proper nouns, though legendary or familiar individuals may be referred to using a common noun instead. If doing so, it is always proper to include the family name; it would be rude to refer to Eothan Aethersword simply as Aethersword.

Elven proper nouns and elven common nouns are very different from each other. Elven common nouns never contain the letter "e". Names either take the form of what essentially is nice sounding garbage, or they can be formed meaningfully from common nouns or verbs. Eolin, for example, is a garbage name, as is Eothan.

When a common noun is adopted as an individual's name, it adopts the -galad (m) or -gaviel (f) suffix (unlike most of the elven suffixes, it is proper to pronounce a break in a proper-form common noun, though for most suffixes there is no difference). For deities, you capitalize the G (Tinil-Galad [Defender-God], Nil-Gaviel [Home-God]), but for mortals. The -Maron (always capitalized) suffix is used for nations (Gar-Maron [Ice-Kingdom]).

Compound nouns are often used for events, for instance, had there been a legendary freeze it might have been called something like Nilegar [Homeice] or Garenil [Icehome] (the use of a "e" to join is not only a safeguard for pronunciation, but makes sure that it's clear that you're dealing with a proper event). Elvish is not picky about ordering, but once a proper noun is made you use it in that fashion all the time (Nilegar and Garenil would never refer to the same event within the same circle). A compound noun will always have an added "e"; the location is somewhat

Compound nouns can include components that are typically verbs; Waterviews (which, despite its heavy elven influences and allegiance, is actually human-dominant, and is thus written in English) uses the verb form of view, and would be "Gal—thar—e [gerund verbs gain a -e or -u suffix]"—a verb without the conjugation typically ends with a consonant as well, but not always. It would still be called Galthare by people in the setting.

Nouns are softly gendered; there is a tendency for some phonemes, like "ien" to be associated with female proper nouns, and others, like "an" with male proper nouns, but for the most part the -galad/-gaviel suffixes are the only place you see exclusive male/female usive.

Elvish plural and singular nouns are the same; when specificity is needed a u- or e- prefix is added for common or proper plural nouns.

The elvish pronouns are likewise simple:

"Go" for I, expanded into "ugo" for we [dash is dropped].
"Do" for you. Not typically expanded; "u-do" is the proper plural form.
"Lo" for he/she/it, expanded into either "ulo" or "elo" for

Forming a gerund verb is done by adding an "e" for proper nouns or an "u" for common nouns; Waterviews would be "Galthare", while a view (or multiple views) of water would be "galtharu".

Nouns are not declined, though a -d suffix is added to show possession (in written elven, you should always include dashes for noun suffixes). Legaethiel's Redoubt, prior to being turned into a ghost town, may actually have been called Legaethiel-d Nil [Legaethiel's Home]. Nouns pretty much always end in a consonant, which sets them apart from a verb.

Verbs are conjugated with a series of suffixes (again with dashes). There is a past (-a), present (-o), and future (-i) suffix, and you simply combine too to achieve something like future perfect. Using a noun instead of a verb is permitted, and is similar to saying "X is Y" in English, so "Gar-i-a nil" (pronounced "Garia") means "Home will be ice", or "Thar-i" means "Will see". It is not common to write the dashes for verb conjugations.

Elven language functions in a rVOS format; there are no advanced clauses or the like, and the reference refers to whether or not you should be considering it as an extension of a prior idea, and if so how (I haven't come up with the elements because I don't hope to ever write it, but it essentially has four parts: new idea [assumed, but there is a proper word for it], Verb described, object described, subject described). Fragments are acceptable in elvish, as a means of describing things.

Essentially to say "Frank gave a gift of flowers to Melissa", you would say "Gifted Melissa Frank" followed by "Melissa flowers-d". (literally Frank gave Melissa... flowers of Melissa).

Compare this to the much simpler "Eolinia ugo nil" for "Eolin will be our home".

EDIT: Elvish pronunciation goes from left to right trying to find large syllables. The first vowel is stressed where possible. There's a limited set of phonemes. Galthare is pronounced "Gal-there", but Galtharu is pronounced "Gal-thar-u". Different forms of words can differ dramatically in pronunciation.

[Onix]

I developed a language for The Artifact (Scimrahn) that is mostly useable. I've also done some work on the two other major languages (Chezbah and Kelrath). One thing that helped out a lot was I ran across a study that had the most used 250 words in almost all languages. It filled in some important gaps in my word list. I lost track of it or I would share the list. You can pretty easily find the 100 most used words on wikipedia.

I really enjoy giving languages a set of constraints, Scimrahn is a dialect of Chezbah where the insane structure of word particles are settled into common words. Chezbah is a language where there are a predefined set of thirty or so particles that are combined to make words. In planning this isn't super hard to figure out, it's just hard to not get super long words. Then for Scimrahn, I remove a few sounds that would be hard to pronounce because the language is supposed to be whispered.

Kelrath has odd constraints because words can't start with a vowel and only certain vowel sounds are allowed after certain consonants. It gives the language a hard edge and it's identifiable when heard because of the sound combinations.

We were never fluent, but we would use "native" words spontaneously in game. Our one player who we call "our resident Scimrahn" because he always plays them would reply to other players in the language.

Fun stuff.

[vulpinoid]

This series is mostly about devising a conlang, and doing it with the intention of weaving a culture's history through the words they use. I. Theory the end result will be communicable, but the game world that this language is a part of (previously developed on the blog for a LARP system, and detailed through a "worldbuilding" series) also includes Spanish, English, and Maori as common languages. This language is being used to fill voids in parts of the world that are currently undefined.

Just something I'm playing with.

[Evil Scientist]

China Miéville's "Embassytown" features a rather interesting language (it's not a full conlang, because it's not constructed as a whole, but there are quite a few words and the system is fleshed out), which is spoken by two-mouthed aliens - with each mouth uttering a different syllable at the same time. Telepathically linked human twins are used to reproduce this language... It's quite an interesting concept (and the book is type-set with the double-words on top of each other). The aliens' language is also literal - they cannot lie, use metaphors or anything else.

It's not strictly a conlang, it's more like an elaborate plot-device - but that's a good reason to create a language, isn't it?

[Rob Lang]

I've just caught up with Vulp's blog posts and they're superb!

I love the decomposition of language into its patterns and practises. Strikes me that we do the same for software development, especially when teaching newbies.

Thanks Michael, they've been great to read.