New Languages

[mekolo_deisne]

Hey Guys,
I was wondering if anyone wanted to help me make up a new language, or at least give me some tips as to how to do it. If this works, it'll be AWESOME!!!

:hooray:
Mekolo :D :snoopy:

[Sage]

Definitely check out the Sci-Fi/Fantasy subforum where there are many many threads about this. First thing you'll read is that you need to honestly have a really good knowledge of languages and language theory before attempting to create a language for a novel.

I'll go find you some links and post them :)

[maxmordon]

From those threads there is the highly recommendable Language Construction Kit:

http://www.zompist.com/kit.html

[Sage]

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93429

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108025

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107551

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81474

Just some I got by searching "language" and recognizing the titles

[TWK]

Ima bena ira 'friend' amb i 'language'at. (My friend and I have a language, though it's not very complete. We only made the basics a week or so ago.)'

I don't make new languages for my novels, but I do have heavy influence from Italian, Spanish, Catalan and French in my current novel (because of its location in Spain/Italy). I've studied all of those languages (Italian - 3 years; Spanish - 1 year; French - 2 years; Catalan - what I picked up in Barcelona). They add flavor to my books, I think.

[butterscotch]

well, I have been trying to make up a lingo mekolo, but it is harder if you want to do like, gramer and stuff like that. I have tried both ways and find it easier to just make up words for what comes up, but its not as cool eather.

[Evaine]

In the early days of Star Trek fandom, I saw what purported to be a Vulcan phrase book. It was dire. Not only did it not spell the words that had been in the TV series properly (as James Blish did in his novelisations) but it had things like an 'o' ending for masculine words and 'a' ending for feminine words - which isn't even universal on Earth, let alone an alien planet.
Oh, yes, and "itisha" meant "it is". I mean, really - "it is" with "ha" on the end?
Avoid stuff like that, please.