The structure of language is where those who study language find value. In fact, the absence of such structure will often cause fictional languages to be overlooked in from a scholarly perspective. However, I still tend to agree with Ria Cheyne who states, “‘Completeness’ is not a relevant criterion, because [science fiction] texts are not language primers” (p. 389).
Regardless, there are some authors who have gone to the extreme in the creation of their fictional languages. Cheyne also cites sources that mention how attention should be paid more closely to fully developed ‘ideal’ languages.
Structure of language could turn into a bottomless depth of exploration for me (as a writer). Since many storytellers’ first form is the written word, it’s easy to analyze and overanalyze how something looks on the page. There are also many things within the formation of a language’s building blocks that can be considered. Again, if you’re overly interested, zompist.com is a great resource, but below is a list of the things you might consider
Structure of language considerations
- Nouns: Do they have gender as in the Indo-European languages, Semitic, and Bantu? How do you make them plural? Possessive?
- Adjectives: Do they agree with the nouns’ genders?
- Are there honorifics?
- Is there anything about the nouns or adjectives to refer to the position in society?
- Diminutives?
- Augmentatives?
- Verbs: Do they imply a number or person? Can it tell you time? If an action is completed or ongoing? The mood of an action? Telling or issuing an order? Static or Dynamic? Deference?
- Who benefits from the Action? Benefactive?
- The emotional reaction of the speaker?
- Personal pronouns: What do these indicate in speech? Number, gender, formality, animacy?
- Numbers: This one verges on style, but consider what makes for natural groupings of numbers in this culture and why? This could be partly because of the length of the day or time it takes for your planet to make a full orbit. A year on Earth consists of 365 and a quarter days. Take a look at Andy Weir’s The Martian. It’s a diary of sorts, and he records entries in Sols, effectively a day on Mars. Fabulous worldbuilding by the way, and if you’re interested, you can check out my book review here: What an optimistic voice and perspective!
- Articles
Resources & References
- Cheyne, Ria. “Created Languages in Science Fiction.” Science Fiction Studies 35, no. 3 (2008): 386-403. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25475175.
- http://r-spec.org/files/R-SPEC_Notes_on_Conlangs_May_2018.pdf – Focuses on top fantasy & science fiction languages: Klingon, Mando’a, Tengwar, Cirth, Dothraki, Valyrian. Alphabets included.
- Star Wars’ Mando’a: http://www.mandoa.org/
- Zompist
- International Phonetic Alphabet
Free Worksheet!
Click below to get a copy of your free language brainstorming worksheet. This worksheet is to help you begin your process. The process will continue on from there, but this should get the juices flowing.
Did you miss the prior posts?
Check them out here:
- Worldbuilding & Language – Series introduction.
- Sense, Structure, and Style: Worldbuilding & Language – An overview of three major areas of language creation
- Sense: Sense, Structure, and Style Part 2 – An article focused on the senses that may be used when creating a language.
Upcoming in the Worldbuilding & Language Series
- Language Style: Sense, Structure, and Style Part 4
- Language in as it relates to other aspects of worldbuilding
- Science Fiction Novels with Constructed Language
Enjoying this series? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!