Portal:Constructed languages


Introduction

The Conlang Flag, a symbol of language construction created by subscribers to the CONLANG mailing list, which represents the Tower of Babel against a rising sun

A constructed language is a language for communication between humans (i.e. not with or between computers) but unlike a language that emerges from human interaction, is intentionally devised for a particular purpose. Constructed language is often shortened to conlang and is a relatively broad term that encompasses subcategories including: fictional, artificial, engineered, planned and invented. A constructed language may include natural language aspects including phonology, grammar, orthography, and vocabulary. Interlinguistics includes the study of constructed languages. (Full article...)

Selected language

Lojban logo
Lojban logo
Lojban (pronounced [ˈloʒban] ) is a constructed, syntactically unambiguous human language, succeeding the Loglan project.

The Logical Language Group (LLG) began developing Lojban in 1987. The LLG sought to realize Loglan's purposes, and further improve the language by making it more usable and freely available (as indicated by its official full English title, "Lojban: A Realization of Loglan"). After a long initial period of debating and testing, the baseline was completed in 1997, and published as The Complete Lojban Language. In an interview in 2010 with The New York Times, Arika Okrent, the author of In the Land of Invented Languages, stated: "The constructed language with the most complete grammar is probably Lojban—a language created to reflect the principles of logic."

Lojban is proposed as a speakable language for communication between people of different language backgrounds, as a potential means of machine translation and to explore the intersection of human language and software.

The name "Lojban" is a compound formed from loj and ban, which are short forms of logji (logic) and bangu (language). Find out more...

Did you know...

...that J.R.R. Tolkien originally created his Middle-earth merely as a background for his constructed languages?
...that the earliest known constructed language, Lingua Ignota, was created by Hildegard of Bingen, who also acquired fame as a mystic, visionary, and composer of music?
...that Ill Bethisad is an alternate history project that features dozens of constructed languages?

Current events

(none)

Projects

You are invited to participate in WikiProject Constructed languages, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about constructed languages.

Things you can do


Here are some Constructed language tasks: Several articles about constructed languages have been deleted for lack of verifiability, independent resources or notability. If you think one of the following subjects meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, don't hesitate dig it up from the graveyard, but don't forget to add proper references:

Articles

Constructed language types

A priori language, Artistic language, Constructed language, Constructed script, Controlled natural language, Engineered language, Experimental language, Fictional language, International auxiliary language, Language game, Logical language, Musical language, Oligosynthetic language, Pasigraphy, Philosophical language, Pivot language, Relexification, Universal language, Whistled language, Zonal auxiliary language (Pan-Germanic, Pan-Romance, Pan-Slavic)

General language types

Agglutinative language, Analytic language, Inflectional language, Fusional language, Isolating language, Polysynthetic language, Synthetic language

See also: Interlinguistics/Cosmoglottics, List of constructed languages, List of constructed scripts, List of constructed languages with Wikipedias


Esperanto flag
Esperanto flag

Languages: Adjuvilo, Afrihili, aUI, Babm, Basic English, Bolak (Blue Language), Budinos, Communicationssprache, Dutton Speedwords, Efatese, Esperanto, Esperanto II, Eurolengo, Europanto, Folkspraak, Français fondamental, Globish, Glosa, Guosa, Idiom Neutral, Ido, Interglossa, Interlingua, Interlingue (Occidental), Interslavic, Intal, Kotava, Langue nouvelle, Latino sine flexione, Lingua Franca Nova, Lingua sistemfrater, Lingwa de planeta, Mondial, Mundolinco, Nal Bino, Neo, Novial, Ortatürk, Pasilingua, Poliespo, Romániço, Romanid, Sambahsa, Slovianski, Slovio, Simplified Technical English, Solresol, Sona, Tutonish, Universal, Universalglot, Uropi, Unish, Volapük

Creators: Arturo Alfandari, Louis de Beaufront, C. George Boeree, Léon Bollack, Claudius Colas, Louis Couturat, Reginald J. G. Dutton, Alexander Gode, Ján Herkeľ, Lancelot Hogben, Otto Jespersen, Arie de Jong, Juraj Križanić, Léopold Leau, Matija Majar, Diego Marani, Elias Molee, Charles Kay Ogden, Giuseppe Peano, Jean Pirro, Waldemar Rosenberger, Joseph Schipfer, Johann Martin Schleyer, Kenneth Searight, Jan van Steenbergen, Paul Steiner, Petro Stojan, François Sudre, Edgar de Wahl, Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof

Language comparisons: Esperanto and Ido, Esperanto and Interlingua, Esperanto and Novial, Ido and Interlingua, Ido and Novial

See also: Arcaicam Esperantom, Esperantido, Proto-Esperanto, Reformed Esperanto


Lojban logo
Lojban logo

Languages: An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language, aUI, Blissymbols, Characteristica universalis, CycL, Gibson Code, Ilaksh, Isotype, Ithkuil, Kalaba-X, Láadan, Lincos, Lingua generalis, Loglan, Logopandecteision, Lojban, Loom, Ro, Toki Pona

Creators: Charles K. Bliss, James Cooke Brown, George Dalgarno, René Descartes, Hans Freudenthal, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Francis Lodwick, Kenneth Lee Pike, John Wilkins

Language comparisons: Lojban and Loglan


Artistic and fictional languages

Languages: Adûnaic, Aklo, Al Bhed, Alltongue, Asa'pili, Ascian, Atlantean, Aulëan, Babel-17, Balaibalan, Baronh, Barsoomian, Belter Creole, Black Speech, Brithenig, Chakobsa, Chorukor, Cirquish, Common Eldarin, Darkovan, D'ni, Doriathrin, Dothraki, Dritok, Enchanta, Enochian, Furbish, Galach, Gargish, Gnommish, Goa'uld, Huttese, Iotic, Kēlen, Khuzdul, Klingon, Klingonaase, Koalang, Kobaïan, Ku, Láadan, The Languages of Pao, Lapine, The Lexicon of Comicana, Linguacode, Loxian, Lydnevi, Mandalorian, Mangani, Marain, Mänti, Mezangelle, Moss, Nadsat, Na'vi, Newspeak, Old Tongue, Pravic, Ptydepe, Quenya, Rihannsu, Shyriiwook, Simlish, Sindarin, Speedtalk, Spocanian, Starckdeutsch, Stark, Starsza Mowa, Syldavian, Taliska, Talossan, Telerin, Teonaht, Tho Fan, Transpiranto, Tsolyáni, Utopian, Vendergood, Verdurian, Valyrian, Wenedyk, Zaum

Scripts: Aurebesh, Cirth, Sarati, Tengwar

Creators: Richard Adams, M. A. R. Barker, Anthony Burgess, Sally Caves, Samuel R. Delany, Suzette Doctolero, Diane Duane, Suzette Haden Elgin, Paul Frommer, Václav Havel, Frank Herbert, Hergé, Madhan Karky, Ursula K. Le Guin, Barry B. Longyear, Hiroyuki Morioka, Marc Okrand, George Orwell, David J. Peterson, Poto and Cabengo, George Psalmanazar, Mark Rosenfelder, David Salo, Andrzej Sapkowski, Jan van Steenbergen, Daniel Tammet, J. R. R. Tolkien, Stanley Unwin, Christian Vander, Xul Solar, Marion Zimmer Bradley

See also: Alien language, Codex Seraphinianus, Elvish languages, False writing system, Languages in Star Wars, Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien (Elvish languages (Middle-earth)), North Slavic languages


Constructed languages for special uses

Languages: Bongo-Bongo, Boontling, Brajabuli, Damin, Eskayan, High Icelandic, Iazychie, International Sign (Gestuno), Kesen dialect, Lingua Ignota, LoCoS, Medefaidrin, Nuwaubic, Palawa kani, Polari, Runyakitara, Tadoma, Timerio, Yerkish

See also: John Lyons, Voynich manuscript


Constructed writing systems for natural languages

Writing systems: Cherokee syllabary, Cree syllabics, Deseret alphabet, Hangul, Landsmål, Nynorsk, Shavian alphabet

Creators: Ivar Aasen, James Evans, William Fulco, Ronald Kingsley Read, Heinrich Schmid, Sequoyah


Organizations and regulating bodies

Akademio de Esperanto, Centre de documentation et d'étude sur la langue internationale, Esperanto Museum and Collection of Planned Languages, International Auxiliary Language Association, International Volapük Academy, Klingon Language Institute, Logical Language Group, Uniono por la Linguo Internaciona Ido


Miscellaneous

A Secret Vice, Bible translations into fictional languages, Conlanger, Conlanging - The Art of Crafting Tongues, Cosmoglottics, Esperantology, Ill Bethisad, Interlinguistics, ISO, SIL, and BCP language codes for constructed languages, Langmaker, Language planning, Language reform, Zompist.com

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject: