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- From: Rick Harrison <rico_harrison@yahoo.com>
- Newsgroups: alt.language.artificial,alt.answers,news.answers
- Subject: artificial languages FAQ
- Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 00:19:49 -0400
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- Archive-name: language/artificial-languages-FAQ
- Last-modified: 2002.06.25
-
- contents:
-
- [0] what terminology is used to describe artificial languages?
- [1] how are artificial languages useful and interesting?
- [2] what resources are available for constructed language enthusiasts?
- [3] how does one design a language?
-
- ------------------------------
-
-
- [0] what terminology is used to describe artificial languages?
-
- An artificial language is a language that has been deliberately
- designed by one person or a small group of people over a
- relatively short period of time. Synonyms for the term
- artificial language include planned language, constructed
- language, model language, and invented language. Artificial
- languages designed for specific purposes are also known by an
- array of other terms. Those used in works of fiction are
- called imaginary languages or fictional languages. Those
- designed to facilitate global communications are called universal
- languages, auxiliary languages (auxlangs), interlanguages or
- interlinguas, international languages, etc. The realm of
- artificial languages also includes logical languages, number
- languages, symbolic languages, and pasimologies (gesture
- languages).
-
- ------------------------------
-
-
- [1] how are artificial languages useful and interesting?
-
-
- [1.1] linguistic research
-
- Linguists sometimes create small model languages to study the
- ways in which people learn languages. In this situation, a
- specially created language has the advantage that its
- characteristics can be carefully controlled. The model language
- is then taught to a group of people, and their ability or
- inability to learn it, or its effect on their brain activity or
- their perceptions of the world can be analyzed and conclusions
- drawn.
-
-
- [1.2] artificial intelligence
-
- Artificial languages are used in conjunction with computers.
- Examples are the "pivot languages" or "interlinguas" used in some
- methods of automated translation. Some of the knowledge
- representation schemes used in artificial intelligence research
- resemble the "philosophical languages" and the systems of
- "semantic primitives" that were once trendy in the auxiliary
- language milieu. When humans want to teach computers how to
- perform certain tasks, the instructions must be written in
- computer programming languages, which are also a type of
- artificial language. (Although some object that programming
- languages are not really *languages* because the recipients of
- the instructions are neither sentient nor sapient.)
-
-
- [1.3] international communication
-
- Many people believe that an artificial language could serve as a
- neutral, easy-to-learn auxiliary language for those who engage in
- international communication: tourists, businessmen, researchers,
- scientists, etc. International organizations such as the United
- Nations and the European Union could benefit greatly from the use
- of a politically neutral auxiliary language; representatives
- would be able to speak directly with one another, and the
- possibility of dangerous or costly misunderstandings arising from
- misleading translations would be reduced. The cost of providing
- translations would also be minimized.
-
-
- [1.4] works of fiction
-
- Novels and movies sometimes use invented languages as "props" to
- add flavor to an imaginary culture. In some cases, these
- fictitious languages become popular and take on a life of their
- own. Tolkien's "elvish" languages, the Klingon language from
- Star Trek, and the feminine language Laadan from Suzette Haden
- Elgin's novels are examples of this fascinating social
- phenomenon.
-
-
- [1.5] art for art's sake
-
- Some people view language design as an art form; they do it as a
- hobby, because it gives them pleasure, just as others derive
- pleasure from making quilts or building model railroads.
- Artificial languages created primarily in response to aesthetic
- impulses are called artlangs.
-
-
- [1.6] secret languages
-
- Individuals and groups will sometimes invent secret languages to
- keep information private from persons who have not been
- initiated. Pig Latin, used by some English-speaking children, is
- probably the most famous example, but it is little more than a
- re-arrangement of the phonemes in English words; other cultures
- have produced secret languages that are more effective at
- concealing information. Damin is an example.
-
-
- [1.7] psychiatry
-
- A psychiatrist can gain insights into a patient's mind by
- studying the patient's invented language(s) or by studying the
- ways in which a patient uses an artificial language to express
- himself. Dr. W. John Weilgart, inventor of the artificial
- language aUI, was a pioneer in this field.
-
- ------------------------------
-
-
- [2] what resources are available for constructed language enthusiasts?
-
-
- [2.1] World Wide Web pages
-
- Assembling and maintaining an all-inclusive list would be
- difficult or impossible. The list-of-links pages mentioned below
- will get you started. They also mention a variety of relevant
- mailing lists and other resources. Spending some time with a good
- search engine can also unearth dozens or hundreds of constructed
- language projects.
-
- http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~jrk/conlang.html
-
- http://www.langmaker.com/
-
-
- [2.2] Usenet newsgroups
-
- soc.culture.esperanto is the main newsgroup for discussion in/of
- Esperanto.
-
- alt.language.artificial is available for discussion in/of planned
- languages other than Esperanto.
-
-
- [2.3] mailing lists
-
- Mailing lists also exist to support users or developers of many
- constructed languages including Ido, Loglan, Lojban, Klingon,
- Tolkien's elvish languages, and many others.
-
- The oldest English-language mailing list devoted to a variety of
- artificial languages is conlang, founded in 1991 by John B Ross
- and others. Recent archives are here:
-
- http://listserv.brown.edu/archives/conlang.html
-
- And older archives are here:
-
- http://ri.xu.org/conlang/index.html
-
-
- [2.4] hardcopy
-
- From time to time periodicals have been devoted to artificial
- languages. International Language Review and Journal of Planned
- Languages covered a variety of language projects during their
- lifespans. (JPL is on hiatus now but might attempt a comeback
- someday.) Periodicals devoted to particular auxiliary language
- projects (e.g. Rund um die Welt and Cosmoglotta) sometimes
- covered other language proposals, or so I've been told -- they
- are not easy to find.
-
- A bibliography of relevant books is at
-
- http://www.invisiblelighthouse.com/langlab/bibliography.html
-
- ------------------------------
-
-
- [3] how does one design a language?
-
- A language design includes many interacting elements such as
- phonemic inventory, phonotactics, choice of writing system,
- morphology, grammar and syntax, semantics, and the communicative
- needs of the culture that might use the language. And as Jeff
- Prothero observed, "To make any sort of optimality argument, or
- indeed any sort of rational engineering decision, one needs a
- fairly precise characterization of the problem to be solved."
-
- Before embarking on a voyage of language creation, newbies would
- be well advised to spend a few years studying general linguistics
- and examining the artificial languages for which detailed
- descriptions are available. Reading some descriptions of natural
- languages that are drastically different from your own native
- tongue should also be considered a prerequisite. Books about
- Navaho, Swahili, Chinese and other non-Indo-European languages
- are readily available from libraries and on-line bookstores.
-
- Some ideas about language creation are discussed in the web
- pages listed below. Ready to use vocabulary lists, software
- that randomly creates new words, and parsers to help you
- explore syntax design are also available throughout the web.
-
- www.srv.net/~ram/essays.html
-
- http://www.zompist.com/kit.html
-