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Description
This is a constructed language made for fictional creatures that will be featured in a novel. The creatures are feral goblins, and they are based on Irish mythology. The novel that the goblins and the language will be featured in is titled MaddConn, and it was written by Jon Bendera. It is an urban fantasy novel. The goblins have a language in the novel because there are a number of goblin characters throughout the story. One of the main characters, Maddi, has to survive amongst the feral goblins for a portion of the novel while another main character, Connor, works his way to her. She has multiple close encounters with them, and also has to find her way around their territory, so she comes into contact with the language many times. Although the language in the story was created to have developed prior to humanity, this constructed language was made to look somewhat similar to human language. As it will be involved in fiction that will be read by humans, it needs to be easily understood by humans. The language reveals features of the goblin culture and anatomy. For instance, it can be seen in the language that their shallow, wide mouths and thin lips influence their phonology. Their physiology influences much of their language. Likewise, they have three fingers on each hand, which influences their number system. As the goblins and their language developed before humans and because they are not human creatures, the typology and word order do not follow all of the correlations found in human languages. All in all, the lexicon includes many words that have to do with three of their favorite things: violence, food, and work.
ContributorsMartinez, Randi Nicole (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Maring, Heather (Committee member) / Schreyer, Christine (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
What is it like to create your own language? This creative project is an amalgamation of several paper, visual, and online media and is divided into two sections. The first section is the creation of an original fantasy constructed language ("conlang") called Dieva, including setting and background, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, language rules, an alphabet and writing system, and vocabulary. The second section is an exercise in applied linguistics, wherein the conlang was shared with the public via media including an online Wikia.com webpage; figures including charts and a map; the development of classroom materials for a hypothetical Dieva language class such as introduction worksheets, practice worksheets, and quizzes on the alphabet and numbers; and a "linguistic challenge" logic puzzle. All materials were then shared with volunteers who gave feedback from a myriad of teaching and non-teaching as well as linguist and non-linguist points of view. Volunteers also attempted to take the quizzes and to solve the "linguistic challenge," and their feedback was integrated into the final versions of the language, worksheets, online webpages, and other work.
ContributorsLambert, Allison Mary (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Shinabarger, Amy (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Numerous writers construct original languages for creative or experimental purposes. Language construction can function as a tool for philological study: a way to apply and experiment with theoretical potential. In terms of fictional settings, language construction offers another outlet for expression through writing. It also creates an additional level of detail that authors can use to further enrich the world they are writing about. The goal of this project is to analyze existing constructed languages, followed by my own version of language creation, in order to better understand the process and motivations related to them. A survey of existing “conlang” examples, featuring the languages of J.R.R. Tolkien and Suzette Haden Elgin, highlights the variety of approaches and purposes for language creation. Their perspectives combine an academic background in linguistics with fictional writing, offering a unique way to study the roles of language. Heavily influenced by Tolkien’s work, my own constructed language is outlined in the final section. Considering the languages created by others, I explain my process and reasoning in order to illustrate a personal approach to the described concepts. This is followed by a series of vignettes that place the language in a philological context, featuring relevant lexical elements and history. The goal is to demonstrate how my constructed language adds to a sense of place.
ContributorsCowfer, Emily (Author) / Jakubczak, Laura (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2022-05