Linguistics is a really complex field of study, so creating a language for a science fiction world is a pretty daunting task.
That’s not going to stop me from trying, though. Today’s worldbuilding is all about making a language for fictional peoples.
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If you’re new to World Workings, it’s helpful to know that I like to use real-world species as a baseline for the species in my sci-fi worldbuilding. For instance, the pentapardi of the Drifting Amalgams universe is based on leopards, and they’ll be my example for this chat.
I also like to base my worldbuilding on real-world knowledge, so my language-building framework will take advantage of a basic explanation of the elements of language.
Intro complete; let’s get started.
Is there a Baseline to Emulate?
As I mentioned, I like to use a real-life species as a baseline for my sci-fi species. Doing this can decrease the legwork on creating a language.
While humans are thought to have the most complex communication structures, many species have, at least, a rudimentary type of language.
What’s interesting here is that not all species’ languages are as vocal as humans. Many use movement, like bees, or hand signs like orangutans. Some are even thought to communicate in ways humans typically don’t–like through scent. These make for interesting mechanics to explore when building a language for a fictional species.
Another reason that using a baseline species can be easier is because many species’ communication has already been studied. This allows me to assign sounds to important ideas that the baseline species commonly communicates.
For the pentapardi, who are based on leopards, I was mindful about their most important communications, like “Go away,” or “Let’s be friends.” I made sure to include words for these ideas and to keep in mind that their language would probably have few words since leopards are solitary creatures.
As another nod to their baseline creature, I designed the pentapardi to leave scents when communicating danger. Similarly, the pentapardi are cognizant of the movement of their ears and tails since, for leopards, the lighter color on the tips of these appendages serves to give away their position to young who are learning to hunt.
I also like to use an existing language as a baseline for creating a new language. In these instances, I mimic many of the baseline language’s linguistic elements, but then I make minor strategic tweaks to match the language to the species unique traits and needs for communication.
The Linguistics Behind World Building Language
There are several language elements from a linguistics point of view. Here are the five I like to focus on.
Morphology
When thinking about language morphology, which looks at the structure of a word, I typically think about how complex a language needs to be for the species it’s being designed for. Here, it’s important to understand that morphology includes aspects like use of plurals as well as the use of suffixes and prefixes.
Syntax
With syntax I’m looking at word order like whether adjectives are placed before nouns, and I’m looking at grammar. Obviously, this can become involved, so I only build as much of the syntactical standard as I need for a linguistic interaction.
For both morphology and syntax, I like to think about whether the species’ neurology and anthropological development are advanced enough to:
Understand and communicate a three-part word like “unbelievable,”
Put common words together like “not believe that,” or
Not yet have the need or ability to communicate this concept at all–and maybe shake their head in disbelief to communicate this idea.
For instance, the pentapardi have a pretty strong word economy because, traditionally, they’re not highly social. This allows me to exclude aspects like plurals from their language–assuming that, when speaking to another pentapardi–they will understand whether the speaker is communicating singular or plural, based on context.
Meaning
My focus is usually strongest on meaning when I create a language. Meaning refers to pragmatics, which is the context, as well as semantics, which refers to connotation and denotation of a word. Here, I think about whether it makes sense for the species’ method of communication to be more literal or perception based. With the pentapardi, who convey meaning through scent-marking, the meaning of words can be accented by the scent they choose to punctuate those words.
Variety
For many languages, there are variants such as pidgins, creoles, and dialects. Variety is a good way to introduce minor differences to mark regionality or affinity. With the pentapardi, an industrialized species that had ancestors who scratched objects to indicate territorial borders, I have developed a land parceling distinction in different regions–wherein some parcels are triangular vs. others that are quadrilateral.
Phonology
Phonology is the study of how speech sounds are organized. Think of this as the sounds and combinations of sounds that exist in the language. The “ch” or “sh” sounds, for instance, don’t exist in every language.
To make decisions about this convention, I think about whether soft or harsh sounds make sense for the species’ disposition. Also, are there sounds the species physiology would prevent?
It’s all well and good to want a species to use soft sounds, but if the species doesn’t have a tongue and teeth to form a “th” sound, it may make little sense to take that route.
Frankly, creating a language can be as basic as coming up with a couple words that are sprinkled throughout the narrative, or it can be as complex as fully fleshing out a complex means of communication. For me, what’s important is showing how language tells the story of a people.
Until next time, keep creating.
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