Conlang
From KneeQuickie
| Aspects of Conlanging |
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A conlang is a constructed language; that is, a language created artificially at a particular time, as opposed to a language that arises naturally over time (a natlang).
Conlangs may be created for many reasons: as a form of secret writing, to aid communication, to build new communities, or purely as an art form in themselves. Conlangs of this last type (artlangs) are often associated with conworlds and concultures.
A person who creates language are generally referred to as conlangers.
Types of conlangs
As with any artform conlanging contains a number of genres, though just what those are depends on what sort of classifications one uses. One popular approach groups conlangs into three main types based on function: artlangs, auxlangs, and engelangs. To this some have added personal languages, fictional languages, and all manner of specialized subgenres specifying source languages, prominent traits, and so on.
Many have also classified conlangs as either a priori or a posteriori, i.e. made from scratch or derived from existing languages.
Famous examples
Probably the most famous conlang is Esperanto, which is unfortunate, as it leaves many people with the vague idea that inventing languages that will be easier to learn than real languages is what conlanging is all about. Quite the opposite is true; many conlangers are people who enjoy the study of real languages and consider their diversity a good thing. Indeed, many conlangs have been inspired by particular natlangs, whether for their beautiful phonology or for interesting quirks of their grammar.
Many consider Tolkien to the patron saint of conlanging; his many artlangs include the first great examples of the form, and the popularity of his novel The Lord of the Rings ensured that conlanging became widely known. Nonetheless, he is hardly the first to create languages.
See also
If you want to investigate conlanging further, good places to start are the Language Construction Kit, the ZBB, and the C&C Category, which contains articles on many conlangs created by ZBB members.
