Abstract/Description/Artist Statement
Constructed Languages (CONLANG) are frequently found in creative mediums like books or television. Famous stories like Lord of the Rings (Elvish), Star Trek (Klingon) or Game of Thrones (Dothraki) create these languages to help immerse us in the world of the characters. Despite the language being different from our own, this display of human culture helps us to understand their existence better and connect the way we would with others despite linguistic similarities and differences. My presentation of /βi.ðe/ or Vitae, a CONLANG inspired by my own creative writing, seeks to guide the audience in how they can discover a creative side to language and understand its purposes better. I will demonstrate the process I used in creating sounds and sound systems (phonetics and phonology) of a constructed language. Drawing on course work in phonology and applied linguistics and David J. Peterson’s book, The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves to Sand Worms, the Words Behind World-Building, I was able to understand the possibilities of my language and what it can represent in my writing. So far, this CONLANG consists of a phonemic inventory, possible sound constraints, and syllable structures based on what is humanly possible and what would fit the characters of my story.
Keywords: linguistics, language, phonology, phonemes, constructed language, CONLANG, creative writing, worldbuilding
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Staci Defibaugh
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Email
sdefibau@odu.edu
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department
English
College/School Affiliation
College of Arts & Letters
Student Level Group
Graduate/Professional
Presentation Type
Poster
Included in
/βi.ðe/: A CONLANG
Constructed Languages (CONLANG) are frequently found in creative mediums like books or television. Famous stories like Lord of the Rings (Elvish), Star Trek (Klingon) or Game of Thrones (Dothraki) create these languages to help immerse us in the world of the characters. Despite the language being different from our own, this display of human culture helps us to understand their existence better and connect the way we would with others despite linguistic similarities and differences. My presentation of /βi.ðe/ or Vitae, a CONLANG inspired by my own creative writing, seeks to guide the audience in how they can discover a creative side to language and understand its purposes better. I will demonstrate the process I used in creating sounds and sound systems (phonetics and phonology) of a constructed language. Drawing on course work in phonology and applied linguistics and David J. Peterson’s book, The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves to Sand Worms, the Words Behind World-Building, I was able to understand the possibilities of my language and what it can represent in my writing. So far, this CONLANG consists of a phonemic inventory, possible sound constraints, and syllable structures based on what is humanly possible and what would fit the characters of my story.
Keywords: linguistics, language, phonology, phonemes, constructed language, CONLANG, creative writing, worldbuilding