An American scholar has written a book about artificial languages.
While studying for her PhD at the University of Chicago, linguist Arika Okrent found herself disappointed with the lack of literature on the subject, and penned In the Land of Invented Languages to fill the gap. It was published in hardback in 2009 and made it to paperback in May this year.
In her research, first presented at a linguistic conference in 2003, Okrent discovered a "vast graveyard" of languages invented by "dreamers," in an attempt to create the perfect tongue.
Her studies have touched on real languages, such as Esperanto, and fictional languages, such as Klingon, created for the sixties science-fiction TV series Star Trek.
Her book uncovers the "humour and craziness" of its subject, as well as looking with "compassion and understanding" at the linguistic visionaries who engineered artificial languages.
Such endeavours have historically stemmed from the "dream of oneness," Okrent told the Philadelphia Enquirer this month, and the noble, but misguided idea that easier communication could eliminate strife. For this reason, attempts to make new languages thrived in the war-torn 19th and 20th centuries – though they rarely came to anything.
In the age of the internet and mass media, the field is a "more playful enterprise," Okrent said, reflecting the spirit of authors such as JRR Tolkien, who created a fictional language for The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The most recent success story in invented languages is Na'vi, the lingo created for the 2009 blockbuster movie Avatar. Though still in its infancy, the language has already attracted a sizable group of devotees.
21 June 2010
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