Esperanto, Loglan, Dothraki…

Why do people invent new languages?

Melanie Mueller NerdNite Amsterdam 2017-02-03

Mi nomiĝas Melanie.I am-named Melanie.

Mi salutas vin en Esperanto.I greet you in Esperanto.

Ne timu!Don’t fear!

Mi ne daŭrigu prelegi en Esperanto.I not shall-continue talking in Esperanto.

Bonan vesperon!Good evening!

I like patterns, and playing with them.

So: • I played with Lego, • got a PhD in physics, and• learned to speak Esperanto.

ESPERANTO?!? Are you crazy?

Bonan vesperon!Good evening!

1) Constructed languages: Why?

Outline

2) ConLanging 101: Mini-course Esperanto

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs- philosophy- science

AuxLangs ArtLangs

A language of the universe• John Wilkins 1668: An Essay towards a Real Character, and a Philosophical Language

A language of the universe• How to say ‘shit’?

A language of the universe• How to say ‘shit’?

Category XXXI subcategory IV sub-sub category 9 right branch (Motion) (purgation) (from gross parts) (downward) Ce p u s

shit = a serous watery purgative motion from the consistent and gross parts from the guts downwards

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs- philosophy- science

AuxLangs ArtLangs

Wilkins’ language

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Structure of language determines / influences

thought

• Orwell “1984”: Newspeak No word for ‘freedom’

~1930:

•Example: I woke up and drank a coffee.

• James Cooke Brown 1955 to test Sapir-Whorf• Loglan = logical language, maximum precision

Loglan

• I woke up first and then drank a coffee.• I simultaneously woke up and drank a coffee.• I woke up a coffee and drank it.

At least 20 ways to say ‘and’ in Loglan.

and

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs- philosophy- science

AuxLangs ArtLangs

Wilkins’ languageLoglan & Lojban

Toki Pona• Sonja Lang 2001• 120 root words, 14 sounds• Minimalist happy Dada/Zen Sapir-Whorf

• Friend = jan pona = good person

• Motto: ale li pona = everything is good• Toki Pona = “language good”

Toki Pona

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs AuxLangs ArtLangs- philosophy- science

- idealism- pragmatism

Wilkins’ languageLoglan & Lojban

Toki Pona

Esperanto• Ludwig Zamenhof 1887 (‘Doktoro Esperanto’)• Bielostok (Poland), 4 languages: Russian, Polish, German, Yiddish

• Esperanto to unite humanityNeutral, easy-to-learn language

1,000 native 10,000 fluent 100,000 can use actively 1,000,000 understand passively10,000,000 have studied sometime

Esperanto

• Translated literature• Original literature, poems, music,…

• Esperanto-land: >100 meetings/year

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs AuxLangs ArtLangs- philosophy- science

- idealism- pragmatism

Wilkins’ languageLoglan & Lojban

Toki Pona

Esperanto

Solresol• François Sudre, 1827

• Beginning with sol = related to arts/science

solresol = language

• Smallest alphabet: 7 letters / sounds

solresool = languages

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs AuxLangs ArtLangs- philosophy- science

- idealism- pragmatism

- art, creativity- fun

Wilkins’ languageLoglan & Lojban

Toki Pona

EsperantoSolresol

Nobody believes me when I say that my long book [Lord of the Rings] is an attempt to create a world in which a form of language agreeable to my personal aesthetic might seem real. But it is true. JRR Tolkien

ArtLangs

• torgha essheyi = under a roof = in secret

Dothraki• David J Peterson 2009 after ConLanger contest

• 3000 words, 8 words for horse, no word for thank you

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs AuxLangs ArtLangs- philosophy- science

- idealism- pragmatism

- art, creativity- fun

Wilkins’ languageLoglan & Lojban

Toki Pona

EsperantoSolresol

Tolkien’s languages Dothraki

1) Constructed languages: Why?

Outline

2) ConLanging 101: Mini-course Esperanto

ConLanging 1011. Purpose

2. Sounds

3. Dictionary

4. Grammar

: Unite the world (at least Europe)!

: 28 letters, 1 letter = 1 sound

: from ‘known’ languages75% Romanic (Italian, French,…)20% Germanic (German, Danish,…)

:

→Auxiliary language, easy to learn, neutral

a b c ĉ d e f g ĝ h ĥ i j ĵ k l m n o p r s ŝ t u ŭ v z

•16 grammar rules, no exceptions•Lego principle

The Lego principle• Word formation

- analytic (Chinese, Toki Pona) - synthetic (German, Esperanto)

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (Beef labeling monitoring delegation act)

The Lego principle

La ĉielo estas blua. The sky is blue.

-o noun bluo = blue color -a adjective blua = blue-as verb (present) bluas = be blue

Word root: blu-

La ĉielo bluas. The sky is bluing.

ConLangs17th 18th 19th 20th century

EngeLangs AuxLangs ArtLangs- philosophy- science

- idealism- pragmatism

- art, creativity- fun

Wilkins’ languageLoglan & Lojban

Toki Pona

EsperantoSolresol

Tolkien’s languages Dothraki

Koran dankon!

Constructing Esperanto

ConLang World