The Campaign Builder's Guild

Aside from the occasional contribution to someone else's thread, I haven't really done anything in quite a while.  This is an attempt to rectify that.

In this thread, I will attempt to explain how anyone can use constructed languages (or conlang) to improve their campaign setting, and how that you don't need the background in linguistics that I am obtaining via a B.A. to make a useful constructed languages.  I have one request of anyone reading this article: if there is something you don't understand, please ask.  There are probably a lot of technical terms I may throw out without thinking, since I'm familiar with them, but you all might not be.  Whenever I use one, I will try to link to Wikipedia or some other appropriate reference, even when I explain it in the article, just so you can get as in-depth information as you want.

This thread will probably materialize over the course of a couple days, as I have Work and Laziness competing for my attention.

So, What's a 'Conlang'?
'A constructed or artificial language '" known colloquially or informally as a conlang '" is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary have been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally' (Wikipedia '" Constructed language).

But What, Really, is a Language?
A language is a system of communication, either spoken, written or signed.  Moreover, languages are more than simply a system of communication, they convey culture, and are an inseparable part of culture.

So Why Should I Make a Constructed Language?
Constructed languages add a measure of verisimilitude to a setting.  While it is usually easier to use English, or another language to create various names in your setting, making your own constructed language adds a level of fantasy onto your setting, distancing it from the familiar.

Isn't Making a Language Complex?
Yes and no.

First and foremost, you don't need to be a linguist or have any technical training to make a language.  You're free to come up with what works for you.  There's no need to make a complete language.  Most constructed languages, especially for a fantasy setting, never get more complicated than perhaps a phonology, some basic grammar, and a limited vocabulary.

However, if you wish to make a truly complete constructed language, you have a lot of work in front of you.  You'll probably want to first do some basic research into how languages work (i.e. linguistics).  You, of course, know how at least one language works intuitively; this is your first language, or perhaps second third (or more) if you were raised multilingual.  However, you probably don't really understand how a language works.  

Wikipedia is a decent place to quickly get started; it's linguistics articles are fairly accurate and (typically) are useful even for the layperson.  You'll want to check out these articles on specific fields of linguistics to start: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, semantics, and pragmatics.  This is, of course, in addition to the main linguistics article.

You may want to check out a few other areas of linguistics as well.  Historical linguistics, the study of language change over time as well as language taxonomy, is interesting and can add depth to a constructed language.

Continuing
The next few posts will be my advice on how to create a phonology, a vocabulary, and the grammar for your conlang.  I cannot tell you how to do it, of course, but these should start you along the right track.

What's a Phonology, and How Do I Make One?
Basically, a phonology is the rules for how sounds work in a language.

In a spoken language, a phonology includes the language's vowels and consonants, as well as other features such as syllables, stress, and pitch and intonation.  Phonology has actually been applied to sign languages as well.  Even though they contain no sounds, it is the accepted term for classifying hand shapes and movements.

It is important to remember that a language's phonology is usually not transparent.  For example, the variety of English I speak contains 18 vowels and 24 consonants, not simply the 5 vowels and 21 consonants in the English alphabet.  I also speak a little Japanese, which has 5 vowels and 24 consonants, but has 47 characters in its native script, each of which represent a mora (similar to, but distinct from syllables).  Additionally, Japanese uses around 2,000 borrowed Chinese characters, which represent whole or parts of words (but are "read" as morae).  So some languages under-represent their sounds, while others over-represent their sounds.

Languages run from an extremely high number of consonants (Uybkh, spoken in Balıkesir Province, Turkey, has around 84 consonants) to an extremely low number of consonants (Rotokas, spoken in Papua New Guinea, has about 6 consonants), and the same with vowels.  However, languages like Rotokas have many allophones (phones, or sounds, that are different, but don't differentiate words, as phonemes do).  An example of an allophone in English is the pronunciation of 'kitty'.  While most speakers can tell that the sound of <-tt-> is not the same as that of <-t-> in 'cat', they are considered to be the same thing (a 'T').

To determine the sounds of a language, it is useful, though not necessary, to learn even the basics of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).  The IPA is a system for representing sounds on a one-to-one basis.  Even if you don't learn it, there are sites that let you hear it so you can find some interesting sounds for your conlang.  This one is particularly good.

While there are no rules for phonologies, there are some general things to keep in mind.  Most languages have a 5-vowel system, similar to Spanish, represented in IPA as /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, and /u/.  Another common system is a 3-vowel system, like that of Arabic, represented in IPA as /i/, /a/, and /u/.  Finally, almost no languages lack the consonants /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, and /n/ (here the IPA corresponds directly to English).

I don't really have much experience with linguistics, so this might help me a bit with a few different things. From what I see so far, this looks pretty good, but I'd like to make one minor nitpick:

Quote from: limetomBut What, Really, is a Language?
A language is a system of communication, either spoken, written or signed.  Moreover, languages are more than simply a system of communication, they convey culture, and are an inseparable part of culture.

This strikes me as a rather simplified definition of a language. You mention syntax later on, but I don't really see this as taking it into account. For example, it's one thing for Nim Chimpski to manage stringing together the signs for "dog", "bite", and "man", and by this definition, that would constitute as the use of language (as opposed to the imitation of the use of language), since it successfully communicates that there was a biting, and both a dog and a man were involved. However, the sentences "dog bite man" and "man bite dog" have two different meanings in every language that I know of.

This is a very minor nitpick, since your definition works for what you're using it for, and it's simple nature is easily understood, but I think it might be advisable to point out that the precise definition of the word "language" is still heavily debated.

Edit- I hope it's alright to post in here. If you're creating a discussion thread, please have somebody move this to that thread.

How Do I Create a Vocabulary?
A vocabulary, of course, is the words in a language.

There really is no set method for creating a vocabulary, but I do have two pieces of advice.  First, create only the words you need, you can always make up more later, and there is really no need to stress over it.  Second, it may be useful to use what's called a Swadesh List as a base.  A Swadesh Lists is a 100-word (originally a 207-word) list created by Morris Swadesh, who used them to compare languages; a method that was later discredited.  However, they contain fairly common words and give a bit of a guide as to where to start.

[spoiler=Swadesh 100-List]

I
*you (

singular)
*we
*this
*that
*who
*what
*not
*all
*many
*one
*two
*big
*long
*small
*woman
*man (adult male)
*man (human being)
*bird
*dog
*louse
*tree
*seed
*leaf
*bark
*root (of a tree)
*skin
*meat
*blood
*bone
*fat ([noun)
*fire
*egg
*horn
*tail
*feather
*fish
*hair
*head
*ear
*eye
*fingernail
*nose
*mouth
*tooth
*tongue (organ)
*foot
*knee
*hand
*belly
*neck
*breast
*heart (organ)
*liver
*to eat
*to drink
*to bite
*to see
*to hear
*to know
*to sleep
*to die
*to kill
*to swim
*to fly
*to walk
*to come
*to lie (as in a bed)
*to sit
*to stand
*to give
*to say
*sun
*moon
*star
*water
*rain
*stone
*sand
*earth
*cloud
*smoke
*ashes
*to burn
*road
*mountain
*red
*green
*yellow
*white
*black
*night
*warm
*cold
*full
*new
*good
*round
*dry
*name[/list][/spoiler]

Quote from: limetomBut What, Really, is a Language?
A language is a system of communication, either spoken, written or signed.  Moreover, languages are more than simply a system of communication, they convey culture, and are an inseparable part of culture.

It's fine to post here.

Yes, the definition of language is debated, but you are conflating it a bit with communication, I think.  The important distinction between language and communication is probably the fact that language conveys not just information, but also abstractions and culture.  While a chimpanzee could string together the signs for MAN, DOG, and BITE (the correct word order in American Sign Language), it does not mean it's using language.  It wouldn't, for example, raise it's eyebrows while signing MAN, to indicate a topic, or know any of the many variant signs for DOG.  Much more importantly, the cimpanzee doesn't transmit any abstractions or cultural information, in this case, it probably doesn't realize that there is irony involved, because it probably has no concept of irony.

I would have to say to everyone, that second part of the definition is probably the more important part when distinguishing it from communication or imitation.

(And lol @ "Nim Chimpski".)

What, Really, Is Grammar, and How Do I Create It?
Grammar is the rules that govern how a language works.  Grammar is essentially made up of two parts: morphology, or how words are made, and syntax, or how words work in sentences.

One of the first things you might want to consider is word order.  The most common word order is SOV (Subject-Object-Verb; like in Japanese), followed by SVO (like in English), and VSO (like in Irish).

For example:
Japanese: 'Watashi wa Nihongo wo

• hanashimasu [V]." ("I speak Japanese.").  
  
  English: "I speak [V] English
  • ."  
  
  Irish: "Tá [V] Gaeilge
  • agam." ("I speak Irish;' note the Subject '" mé ('I') '" is dropped, and is instead part of the preposition agam, lit. "at me".)
    
    Another thing to keep in mind, to quote one of my linguistics professors, is that "it is not a rule if there aren't exceptions."  In the above example, Irish shows some exceptions to what would be the assumed sentence order (i.e. omitting the pronoun).
    
    There are many other parts of grammar you may want to consider, only a few of which I will list here.  One is how morphemes combine to make larger words.  A morpheme is the smallest unit in language that has meaning; only a subset of morphemes are words, however, and these are called free morphemes.  Other types of morphemes include bound morphemes (also called affixes) which are morphemes that cannot stand for words on their own, but must join with other morphemes to do so; they are typically prefixes and suffixes.  Overlapping with bound morphemes to some extent are derivational and inflectional morphemes.  The derivational morphemes combine with other morphemes to change a word's meaning, while inflectional morphemes combine with other morphemes to convey grammatical information about a word, such as number, tense, gender, etc.
    
    For example, the word antidisestablishmentarianism is made up of one free morpheme 'establish' (meaning 'to set up, put in place, or institute ').  Next is added the derivational morpheme (also just called a prefix) 'dis-' for 'disestablish' (meaning 'ending the established status of a body').  Then is added the derivational morpheme (also simply called a suffix) '-ment' for 'disestablishment' (meaning, in this context 'separation of Church and State').  Next is added the derivational morpheme (again, more simply called a prefix) 'anti-' for 'antidisestablishment' (meaning 'opposition to disestablishment').  Then is added the derivational morpheme '-arian' for 'antidisetablishmentarian' (meaning 'someone who is opposed to disestablishment'.  Finally is added the derivational morpheme '-ism' for 'antidisestablishmentarianism' (meaning 'the ideology that opposes disestablishment'; note that '-ism' is also free morpheme 'ism').
    
    This leads to the next part of grammar: morphological typology, which is the classification on how words are formed from morphemes.  The two main types are analytic languages and synthetic languages.  Analytic languages have a very low number of morphemes per word, typically in a one-to-one ratio.  Synthetic languages, on the other hand, can have many morphemes per word.   Additionally, synthetic languages are subdivided into two categories: agglutinative languages, which leave combined morphemes fairly intact, and fusional languages, which tend to 'mess with' their combined morphemes.  A third category was also proposed, called polysynthetic languages, used mainly for the indigenous languages of the Americas, which can have many morphemes per word, even ending up with one word expressing what would be a sentence in other languages. However, there is no real clear-cut distinction between any of these categories.  
    
    English is, despite the above example of 'disestablishmentarianism' which has 6 morphemes in 1 word, a fairly analytic language.  Other Germanic langauges, and Indo-European languages in general (the language families under which English falls) are typically fairly synthetic.
    
    More to be added later...

Quote from: Sdr$g$n1984This strikes me as a rather simplified definition of a language. You mention syntax later on, but I don't really see this as taking it into account. For example, it's one thing for Nim Chimpski to manage stringing together the signs for "dog", "bite", and "man", and by this definition, that would constitute as the use of language (as opposed to the imitation of the use of language), since it successfully communicates that there was a biting, and both a dog and a man were involved. However, the sentences "dog bite man" and "man bite dog" have two different meanings in every language that I know of.

Technically, in most 'free' word order languages, you can swap dog and man around. Even in German, they're swappable (though there's case to be taken into account there, so the article would change). But that too is a minor nitpick.

Although I (obviously) am probably not going to be making much use of this article (as I've been making conlangs a while), I do find your take on it interesting.

QuoteConstructed languages add a measure of verisimilitude to a setting. While it is usually easier to use English, or another language to name your setting, making your own constructed language adds a level of fantasy onto your setting, distancing it from the familiar.

Naming your setting is only one of its many uses. Naming characters, giving them phrases to put into their dialogue, naming places and objects, creating inscriptions to put onto books...  

Quote from: Wensleydale...creating inscriptions to put onto books...  

Especially if you put so much into it that it actually has it's own alphabet. I see incredible props being passed around with this idea.

Quote from: Wensleydale

Quote from: limetomConstructed languages add a measure of verisimilitude to a setting. While it is usually easier to use English, or another language to name your setting, making your own constructed language adds a level of fantasy onto your setting, distancing it from the familiar.

Especially if you put so much into it that it actually has it's own alphabet. I see incredible props being passed around with this idea.

Didn't proofread that part.  Should have read "to create various names in your setting," to be in line with Sdragon and Wensleydale said.

I think this is a brilliant idea limetom, and it has already gotten me thinking about a few things.  It would be really neat if you and Golem teamed up on some of your thoughts - I know he does a lot of conlanguaging - and posted some sort of joint tutorial, too!  Thanks for this post, I look forward to more.

Wonderful thread. Kudos. I eagerly await the rest. Etc. ^_^

Nice thread.  I've only tried this out once, but it was a pretty ambitious attempt - a bit too ambitious, a language with its own alphabet and everything.  It's a great intellectual exercise but the more you try to make a really "alien" language, the more time consuming it gets.  The one I constructed was for a reptilian race, so I stressed "s" and "z" consonants and ran with that "gimmick."  The end result is that I can read and pronounce this:



Excuse the poor penmanship, but it was made to look like a quick school exercise, not fine printing. :)

Unique alphabets and pronunciations are fun, but in the end not very useful (except, in the case of alphabets, to write inscriptions on things).  I've yet to find a player who cares much about proper pronunciation of conlangs, especially when they involve sounds that aren't usually found in english.

One of the things that I think would help me, anyway.  Is a list of say 50-100 most common words in a language (or RPG language).  When ever I have tried to create a language the problem I encounter is that I don't know what I should include. So any advice in this area would be greatly appreciated.  

Quote from: limetom[spoiler=Swadesh 100-List]

I
*you (

singular)
*we
*this
*that
*who
*what
*not
*all
*many
*one
*two
*big
*long
*small
*woman
*man (adult male)
*man (human being)
*bird
*dog
*louse
*tree
*seed
*leaf
*bark
*root (of a tree)
*skin
*meat
*blood
*bone
*fat ([noun)
*fire
*egg
*horn
*tail
*feather
*fish
*hair
*head
*ear
*eye
*fingernail
*nose
*mouth
*tooth
*tongue (organ)
*foot
*knee
*hand
*belly
*neck
*breast
*heart (organ)
*liver
*to eat
*to drink
*to bite
*to see
*to hear
*to know
*to sleep
*to die
*to kill
*to swim
*to fly
*to walk
*to come
*to lie (as in a bed)
*to sit
*to stand
*to give
*to say
*sun
*moon
*star
*water
*rain
*stone
*sand
*earth
*cloud
*smoke
*ashes
*to burn
*road
*mountain
*red
*green
*yellow
*white
*black
*night
*warm
*cold
*full
*new
*good
*round
*dry
*name[/list][/spoiler]

Quote from: IshmaylI think this is a brilliant idea limetom, and it has already gotten me thinking about a few things.  It would be really neat if you and Golem teamed up on some of your thoughts - I know he does a lot of conlanguaging - and posted some sort of joint tutorial, too!  Thanks for this post, I look forward to more.

That would be good. I must warn you though, my experiences with phonology are quite small, because I concentrate a lot more on vocabulary and grammar. :P