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October 27, 2011

Klingon as a Second Language: Invented Languages in Scifi & Fantasy

Total Read Time; 2 minutes


Sorry, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to use that Family Guy clip. :)

One of the many quirks of speculative fiction is the need for naming things that don’t exist in our current reality. Hobbits, jawas, quidditch, and tribbles all evolved from a writer’s idea into words that are recognized by people all over the world.

Some writers take this even further by using languages of their own invention, either to name things, or have their characters communicate. I can’t think of Dune without having words like Muad’Dib and Kwisatz Haderach come to mind, or Lord of the Rings without thinking of Gandalf reading the language of Mordor written on the One Ring.

Some people find these invented languages to be pompous or distracting to the story, but I really enjoy having this kind of cultural layer. It makes sense to me that different creatures or people would speak different languages.

When I travel to another country, I certainly don’t expect everyone to speak English. I make a point of knowing a few phrases in the native dialect, and I’m willing to do the same for a good book that takes place in a different reality.

However, there are writers who go overboard. I find a smattering of new language interspersed throughout a novel is fine, but long stretches of foreign dialogue, or ten-syllable words quickly become tiresome and frustrating.

Overall, I feel like when an invented language is well-executed, it enhances the illusion of an existing, alternate world.

Where do you stand? Do you enjoy reading books with fictional language?


(For anyone who is interested, I will also be covering creating your own language in Tuesday’s post.)

4 comments:

  1. I enjoy the flavor that invented words add to a story, but whole languages are tricky.

    Despite a book being written in English (for example), the reader can imagine it's the pov character's "native tongue" more easily if the author has made up a few additional vocabulary words for things (animals, cultural rituals, etc.).

    But using whole sentences of a language doesn't make sense unless it is a different one than the pov character is "speaking" in. And ancient prophecy, a meeting of two characters who don't share a language, etc. Even then, writers need to be careful how much they use.

    Thought-provoking post!

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  2. @Tere Kirkland Thanks for the comment!

    Using invented language definitely seems to be a balancing act, but I agree it can add a believable foreign flavour.

    I think a lot of us assume that all the characters in the books we read speak the same language we do until we see words or phrases we don't recognize.

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  3. I have been following your blog for a while through google reader. Found this post interesting. I personally don't like fictional language. I like to use it in my stories when I show a person doing spells, but that's rare. I couldn't even follow Tolkien's language.

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  4. @Sabine A. Reed
    Hi there!

    Casting spells is another great example of when it makes sense to use some made-up words or phrases. I think this adds to the mystical feel.

    Thanks for commenting. :)

    ReplyDelete

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