conlang n.

an artificially created language; esp. a language invented to represent the speech of an alien race

[< constructed language (attested from 1928 in OED)]

SF Criticism

Language

  • 1991 B. LeChevalier R. Hale-Evans on SUPERL & Lojbab (message to lojban-list) 3 Aug.

    For a con lang to be successful as a language will require at least some of us to take a professional attitude towards our work. Linguists see con langs as a radical fringe, spawned by people ignorant of language and its inherent complexity, and usually motivated by universalist ideals that themselves are not universally accepted.

  • 2000 Linguistics & Science Fiction Newsletter Jan.โ€“Feb. (unpaged)

    Plus links to conlang/auxlang mailing lists, resources for constructing languages of your own, and a great deal more.

  • 2000 S. H. Elgin Language Imperative vii. 211 Suzette Haden Elgin

    In science fiction conlangsโ€ฆthe emphasis tends to be more on how fancy the language is than on its usefulness for the ordinary person.

  • 2009 B. Zimmer On Language: Skxawng! in N.Y. Times 6 Dec. (Magazine section) 20/2

    While Frommer was working out the structure of Na'vi in 2005 and 2006, however, he studiously avoided looking at Klingon or any other constructed language (or โ€˜conlangโ€™ for short).

  • 2011 M. Adams From Elvish to Klingon (back jacket) Michael Adams (I) bibliography

    Take a tour of the brave new world of invented languages, and explore their fascinating landscapes with some of the leading linguists and creators of new languages (or conlangs), including Marc Okrand, the inventor of Klingon.

  • 2019 Washington Post 16 May c1

    The conlang forums are full of stories about parents disturbed to discover their children scribbling strange symbols in their bedroom.


Research requirements

antedating 1991

Last modified 2021-01-29 17:07:37
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.