So, we all seem to know about the made-up language Esperanto, but do you know of any others?
On another thread we heard that the Star Trek languages Klingon and Vulcan have been developed into full languages (as I found out, you can even do Klingon language searches in Google ... why? I don't know.)
See:
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/
What other made-up languages do you know?
What real world languages are they based on?
What are your opinions of them?
What do you think made up languages say about the people who created or use them?
I once came across a website describing a Romance language called, "Tundrian", complete with a descriptive grammar guide, dictionary, and Latin comparison chart. The site seemed authentic enough and I almost bought into it, until I read further a description of Tundrian being the language spoken in Tundria, "an island country off the western coast of France". Uh-huh...
My opinion on conlinguists? They're probably super bright and highly imaginative people, but I also have to wonder about their social skills and just what the heck they do for a living that gives them so much free time.
Dear Harvey,
Since the seventeenth century about 200 artificial languages have been developed. The first ones were invented by scholars for communication among philosophers. Later ones were developed by less scholarly men for trade, commerce and international communication. The first modern-type artificial language was Volapük invented by a German priest Johann Schleyer in 1885. It was probably the most hilarious too. Schleyer claims to have based Volapuk on English yet it resembles languages like Finnish and Hungarian more than English. Volapük had a strong following in France and Germany in the 1880's however it was soon eclipsed by Esperanto, invented by Ludwig Zamenhof in Poland in 1887(then part of Russia).
The following are samples of some artificial or "constructed" languages which have been invented over the past century or so:
Volapük (1885)
Vatükob = I wash
Vatükomoks = They wash themselves
Eflapook me spatin at = I have struck myself
with this walking stick.
Kapdan - Captain, Joklad - Chocloate,
Telfon- Telephone, Jilön - Lioness
Esperanto (1887)
Cxu vi scias kie mi povus trovi iom da akvo?
Do you know where I can find some water?
Jes. Cxi tie, apud la rugxa sxargxauto
Yes. Over there, near the red truck.
Kapitano - Captain, Cxokolado - Chocolate
Telefono - Telephone , Leonino - Lioness
Novial (1928) by Danish linguist Otto Jespersen
Me prega vu non tu neglekte tum.
I ask you not to neglect it.
Multes audid li kanto, keles pasad li hause.
Many heard the singing who passed the house.
Komunisme es quasi religione.
Communism is almost a religion.
Interlingua 1920's - 1950's
Ille fuma opium qual vitio lo ha adquirite durante le
guerra.
He smokes opium, a vice which he acquired during
the war.
Capitan - Captain, Chocolate - Chocolate,
Telephone - Telephone, Leonessa - Lioness
Loglan (1960)
Radaku da prano u dzoru
Anyone who runs can walk
Vizka la Spat. Vizka lepo la Spat. Prano, hoi Spat.
I prano!
See spot. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run!
Most of these are based on Latin and the Romance languages or mixed Romance and Germanic elements although Volapuk was based mostly on English elements and a little German and French. Loglan is a diverse blend of elements from English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Japanese and Chinese. The producers of "Star Trek" had a linguist who invented the Klingon and Vulcan languages but I can't remember his name.
Don't forget to acknowledge your references.
Why are you always such a jerk. Go away if you don't want to identify yourself.
I agree.
I was curious. Brennus looked for information that, let's face it, most people don't have at the tip of their fingers. Where he found it is unimportant.
Please stop making this place so hostile.
I don't know why no one wants to talk about it. I bet if it was about France or Belgium it would already have 100 responses.
Do any of us identity ourselves?
Let's not be hostile, no, but acknowledgement of references doesn't hurt ... no critisim of Brennus (it's better to give an answer without references then to give no answer at all). If you have the references, you can follow up on things. Though, without them you can still find the source using a search engine (if it's on the net) as I guess . did.
"Do any of us identity ourselves? "
Of course we do! My name really is Cro Magnon. Honest! I'll admit it's an unusual name, but no worse than ".". :)
Seriously, I think conlangs are interesting. I question the sanity of the speakers of some of them (particularly Klingon), but making up languages IS an interesting concept.
I identify myself as well.
me too. how about you ...?
Just a tiny correction:
The word "cxi" (pronounced: "chi") expresses closeness, hence:
cxi tie = here
tie = there / over there
Interlingua looks a lot like Romance. Latino sine Flexione is awful! And Novial is even worse...
What is the use of a made-up language, it seems to me that the made-up language game is mainly for people who watch a lot of Star Trek and read comic books in their spare time.