Creating a language

This question might have much more meaning in fantasy and sci fi realms, where new definitions are coined in every chapter. However, everyone can make up words and meanings. Anyone here speak Klingon? Elvish?

I wanted to talk a little about the process of making up words for your reality. I'm sure there are many ways of creating words, and I use more than one. I loved the idea that Tolkien made up entire languages. And some of them are based on ancient roots.

I'm neither a linguist or philologist. In fact, I can barely speak my own native tongue. However, I am familiar with aspects of ancient languages, without actually knowing more than a few words I can't string together into a sentence. Words were fewer in early human history. To convey a meaning, a writer would bridge together several words, and it would take on a new meaning.

For instance, what translates as "King," might actually be "ruler of stars". In the evolution of languages, someone could have blessed their leaders with a common saying, such as, "You shall rule over this kingdom as the stars rule over the night." And the term star could have over time come to mean prince or ruler.

So when you string the words together, what is translated as "King" could literally have been "Ruler of Princes".

Also in ancient language, the same word could have multiple meanings, and it is contextual. For instance, we might see "Yar" repetatively "Bayar, Malyar, Yartobin" One might mean Prince, the other cheif, the other Captain. How can the same word have multiple meanings. It is like our word "love" which can mean lust, cherish, befriend...etc. We know what it means from how it is used in a sentence, "I love ice cream"

In my story, I do not use the word 'Yar', but I will use this word to illustrate the point. In this situation, "Yar" is a common word that means "Above". And it can be used to signify "Lord over". But it is contextual, meaning that it's meaning changes depending on the context you use it. In one context it could mean lord over the janitors, which is head janitor. Or in another, "Lord over Princes", or the Cheif Prince. It could also mean "Captain", as he is given authority over the men who are under him.

But once you define the word, and people begin to understand how it is applied, then you do not have to repeatedly define every word, although it doesn't hurt to have an appendix. Tolkien used this type of technique to create the language of Rohan- using the Eo sound repeatedly. "Eo"-was the word for horse, and so you see words that mean "Horse Lord" or "Horse Master". EOwyn, EOmer, ThEOdin...etc.

I have not sought to mimic Tolkien. However, I want my languages to simulate real languages, with root words, so that someone might recognize, "Lord of the Stars" when they see it.

What ways have you used language in your stories? Do you have any techniques you'd like to share.

azbikergirl said:

I invented a language with which humans and whales can communicate. Well, not in real life (that I know of), but in my fictional world.

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Excellent. In the first age (not called an age) of my fantasy world, the animals speak a common tongue. This was one of my worries when I began the story. I didn't want readers to think I was going Disney.- all cutsie animals talk. Not that I don't like Disney, but it is meant to be an edgier kind of story.

But in order to accentuate that the world we've inherited is a lesser world, I wanted to portray the world in its blissful ignorance. So, they not only talk, but like three-day-olds who could talk, wondering if humans could fly. The human doesn't know the answer to the question, and makes some feeble attempts. He doesn't land well either!

It's a risk going from Hobbit like lightness, to Silmarillion like darkness in the same book, but that's what it does.

It also magnifies the sadness when the "Dullness of thought" overtakes the animals. In a sense, it was meant to portray that the animals suffer for our stupidity. They did nothing but inherit our curses. And obviously this becomes heart-wrenching to those who've befriended the animals. Still, that is a small part of the story.

Sage said:

One of the major themes in my WIP is language, so this is a really interesting thread for me.

My WIP uses English (of course) & bits of Japanese. It also has a language that is "made up," but with the exception of some specific words & specific rules I made up for those words, I don't have the language mapped out our anything (it's not LOTR ).

Much like your "eo" explanation, there are specific suffixes & prefixes I add to the words of the language when they apply. For example, I know that if a word is referring to a person, it will have the suffix "nin" to it. If it is the best or the ultimate version of something it will have the prefix "te." Thus the ruler of the entire world (as far as the people know the world) is called the "terei'nin," while a lower prince of a specific region (or the son of the main King (women rulers have a slightly different word)) would be known as "rei'nin."

But at the same time, I have places where characters are speaking in that other language and my MC doesn't understand what they are saying. In some cases, I just put sounds (that make sense to pronounce & that sound right based on other examples of that language) together & call it done. There aren't many cases of the language in the story except for the specific words (which are ones that encompass a foreign concept to the MC's culture, & therefore don't have a word to translate to), & those are the only ones that are really worth knowing the definition to.

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Sounds great. I'm trying to do something similar, and I've split the difference with Tolkien. Though the Silmarillion is a great story, it is a terribly hard read, and not reader friendly. And that's not an insult. He never felt it was ready and it was published after his death by his son, who had to guess which order and which versions of the story to use.

Occassionally, I'll translate words through the characters. "In, the "At..." tongue, it means..."

jules said:

Have you read Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series? That's a talking animals story that's quite a long way from being Disneyish...

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No, I'm sorry that I haven't. I've read other stories with talking animals that were serious. Animal farm...etc.

My concern wasn't talking animals, but what tone I set at the outset, and would it appeal to the audience I hoped to get. YA- adult.

Adults tend to be more forgiving of cutsie than teens. C.S Lewis addressed his Narnia stories to his neice, who he pressumed would be "too old to read them" until she grew up. It's a human nature thing, where at a certain age, teens don't want to have anything to do with anything smacking of "Children's book".

But those who read further will quickly find it is far too grave a story for children.

Mdlle. Nancy said:

Might be helpful...

Words that are contextual in one language are not necessarily in another. Our thousand meanings for love could be a thousand separate words in WallyWorldSpeak. In Latin, they didn't really have a word for please. They would add "amabo te" onto a sentence--literally, "I will love you [if you go get me a soda]".


And Sage...as a teen, I can tell you that the "talking animal" thing isn't cutesy if it's done right. Ever heard of Tamora Pierce? She's hugely popular, but the "talking animals" thing is major in many of her books. Be realistic--if the alien-non-animal is meant as a sentient being, it can think in a human (trivial) way. But if it's a lower-order being...it probably won't be concerned with how Susie The Other Slimemold has a higher-paying job.

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Hopefully a good story will take care of readers tollerance. But I think having a realism, that the same prefix could have two meanings, might be interpreted as an error by some, when in fact that happens in real translation. I think a Savvy reader will hang in and give the writer the benefit of the doubt.