Constructed Languages

Constructed languages are those which were deliberately invented by an individual or group. This is in contrast to natural languages, which evolved without conscious activity. For example, an ancient Briton never sat down and invented English. Someone did sit down and invent the languages on this page. Unlike the other comparison pages on this site, this page does not show languages which have some genetic relationship. Rather this page is intended to gather together the fruits of this unique form of human expression: the invention of a new language for artistic or academic means. I don't want to go crazy adding every constructed language that two best friends ever tried to invent in their treehouse, but several constructed languages made enough of a cultural or historical impact to be reasonable additions to this site. A few examples beyond what is already collected here might be Ido, Volapük, and J.R.R. Tolkein's Elven languages.

Esperanto: Notes: Esperanto was created by Dr L. Zamenhof as a second language for everybody to use when travelling or speaking with foreigners. Obviously it never entirely caught on, but there may be as many as 2 million speakers worldwide who keep in touch through clubs, newsletters, websites, and travel. The language was designed to be very easy to learn, with a completely regular grammar and spelling. There is translated and original Esperanto literature, not to mention songs, movies, and every other kind of medium. Speaker: János McGhie (S)

Klingon: Notes: A linguist named Marc Okrand was hired to create a language for this alien race on Star Trek. There was enough interest among Trek fans that he published a dictionary and grammar. Now there are Klingon clubs, newsletters, and summer camps, and Okrand regularly publishes badly needed new vocabulary items. Speaker: Mark E. Shoulson (S)

Láadan: Notes: Láadan is a constructed language invented by science fiction author Suzette Haden Elgin. It is interesting linguistically because it aims to eliminate the perceived sexism of Western languages by including particles that allow speakers to unambiguously convey how they feel about every statement. Speaker: Colm Doyle (S)

Loglan: Notes: In the 1950s James Cook Brown created this logical language to be completely unambiguous and culturally neutral. Much of the grammar is actually based on predicate calculus. You can read more about it at www.loglan.org/what-is-loglan.html. Speaker: James Jennings (S)