Thread: Fantasy novel help

Quesion is simple as this make up a language for what I hope turns into a series, or somehow place it in part of the world a long time ago and translate the names into a local language?

If you have any questions about this, or need more explanation let me know.

I'm a bit confused... You want to make up a conlang to name things in?

Essentially I'm trying to decide wether to create a language and claim my characters are some made-up or fictional race making it seem logical. But so far they have been planned to be human, but in a fantasy world and did not know if it would be better to simply translate it into another language, such as French and base my story in France....which I'm not actually planning. In my opinion it just seems common fantasy in the making if I create a language.

Okay, but what's the purpose in making up the language? To name people, places, and things?

If I understand the question and concern, I don't think there is a need to make up an entire language, especially at the outset, even if what is planned or hoped for is a series.

If you need to, set or establish the foundation and the 'rules' and some examples. Create more as you need it. With the foundation and examples you can then be consistent, and be able to create what you require as needed. This is along the lines of 'over researching' a topic that may be important in the novel but ends up being a black hole--sucking away valuable time, devouring the actual purpose which is to produce a novel.

Spend your time writing the first novel and focus on getting it (the first in the series) published. My novel has instances of a created language, but it's sparsely used, and only to add a bit of flavor and characterization while moving the plot forward. Too much of a 'good' thing isn't good.

Hopefully, I understood your question/concern.

Good luck moving forward.

Terry

I think I understand what your saying. Just make up the names of places, people, and things as I go. And if it does get large enough or so then formally make it the series' language?

Originally Posted by saxguitar

I think I understand what your saying. Just make up the names of places, people, and things as I go. And if it does get large enough or so then formally make it the series' language?

That's not what I said.

When you set the foundation, you do not just make up names of places and people, and then later try to fit or organize them into some logical structure. You set up the plan, you just flesh it out as much as needed as you go along.

That's how I'd go about it, but whatever works for you.

Good luck.

Terry

I think I get what your saying now...I hope...Whatever I want to name things, name them as that, and claim they are part of this language my story uses at times. Although just add to it as needed through the novel and don't start off by writing a 15 page outline of the language.

I change names of things to suit me as I go along. Some I just change a touch, making it obvious, say if it is an animal, but not what we call it here, and maybe it's not exactly the same animal, haven't really gotten into that fully. I did take a bit to set up numbers, months and names for human relations, ie, aunt, daughter in law, like that. I have two primary languages, and one is very close to mine. The other I made up, using what I knew of other languages to try and create consistency. But I do as above, when suddenly I am typing along and realize I need something, I make it up, record it in a specific document and carry on.

For most stories, unless there is a deliberate linguistic focus, all a "language" needs is a phonology and maybe some phonotactics, so that you can have some aural consistency for the words/names, and that the writer keeps track of lexical items(vocabulary). Morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics are generally unecessary.

We don't all have to be Tolkein or Mark Okrand or whoever made up Na'vi.

For example:
______________Stop _________Fricative ___________Nasal
Labial _________p/b _____________________________m
Dental/Alveolar _t/d __________s/z ________________n
Velar __________k/g _________kh/gh ______________ng

___________Front Back
High _______i ____u
Low _______a ____o

cv(c)

padagi
toku
ngiko
khat

The lack of an /e/ vowel or an rhotic consonants(/r/, /l/) gives it a distinctive flavor, compared to English, or Japanese, say, which both have phonemes(sounds) in those two categories. The velar fricatives are something both those languages lack, though German has /kh/ in the words/names like "Bach".

Whether or not you have SOV or VSO word order--or nomintative/accusative or ergativeabsolute morpho-syntactic alignment--is something most readers won't notice or care about.



You might also take a look at Zompist's Language Construction Kit, which goes into much more detail about how conlanging and worldbuilding fit together.