Whether your characters are deciphering long-buried runes or interfacing with alien minds, how you present fictional languages can provide depth and complexity to your stories and worlds. In this Research for Writers two-part seminar, we will explore the theory and practice of creating realistic languages to help enrich characters and cultures in fictional settings.

In the first of our two seminars, we will trace the history of invented languages, from ancient Greek comedies to modern attempts at a universal tongue. We will follow Tolkien as he pursued his “secret vice” that gave rise to all of Middle-Earth, and we will see how his expertise in historical linguistics led to the first fully imagined languages in fiction. From there we will trace the history of invented languages in both fantasy and science fiction—from Jawas to the Na’vi, from Klingon to Dothraki—as well as Láadan, a women’s language meant to convey the female experience

In our second seminar, we will examine in detail how languages are designed and constructed, and how languages can be both realistic in function and yet unlike anything spoken today. We will explore processes of word creation in both fictional and real-world languages, and we will survey some of the intricacies of grammar which can be recombined in unexpected ways. We will trace the diversification of ancestral languages into language families, and we will see how earlier languages leave their imprint on the later languages which replace them. We will conclude by considering how languages in contact will absorb and transform words from each other, and how these processes can be used to more deeply inform the histories and cultures of your fictional worlds.

Please note: This class or event is hybrid. Some attendees will be in-person and some will attend online. There may be a limited number of in-person seats available. If you are participating online (using Zoom or a similar live platform), students or attendees should have a stable internet connection. Class participants: you should have a computer or device with a webcam and microphone; and your Zoom link will be automatically sent to you after you register. Check your spam box if you don't see it.