Conlang
From KneeQuickie
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A conlang is a language created artificially at a particular time, as opposed to a language that arises naturally over time (a natlang). The term derives from "constructed language". Other terms for the concept include "artificial language" and "model language".
Conlangs may serve a variety of purposes, both practical and artistic. The earliest conlangs have often served philosophical and religious agenda, such as bridging the gulf between nations. Others have sought quite the opposite, ensuring secrecy and marking speakers as a distinct community. Many serve as works of art, either as part of conworlds and concultures or else stand alone projects.
A person who creates language are generally referred to as conlangers.
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Components
In theory, a conlang includes all the elements of a natural language such as grammar and lexicon and can communicate anything a natlang can. The vast majority of conlangs are works in progress, however, with plenty of room for expansion and development.
Conlangers often begin by sketching the phonology of their conlang, the inventory of sounds it uses and how they interact. For many budding conlangers, the project stalls here.
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. Artlangs serve as artistic projects, either by themselves or as components of a setting. Auxlangs represent attempts to provide a universal means of communication, usually devoid of the irregularities of natlangs. Engelangs often have a similar agenda, but focus more on logical or scientific precision (often rendering them rather unusable for the general public). 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. The former avoid following any particular natural language as a model, though they may incorporate general traits and individual features. The latter usually derive rather transparently from one or more natlangs, though often heavily modified.
Famous examples
Probably the most famous conlang is Esperanto. Unfortunately this has left many people with the impression that conlanging centers on creating easier, more rational alternatives to natural languages. Quite the opposite is true; many conlangers are people who enjoy the study of real languages and find inspiration in their diversity and even irregularity. Indeed, many conlangs have drawn from particular natlangs, whether for their beautiful phonology or for interesting quirks of their grammar.
Many consider Tolkien the patron saint of conlanging for his groundbreaking and well-crafted work in the artform. 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. While by no means the first to create languages, he pioneered the creation of languages as an artform.
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.
