Fictional language

Some authors use fictional languages (also known as artistic languages, as opposed to International auxiliary languages intended for actual use) as a device to underline differences in culture, by having their characters communicate in a fashion which is both alien and dislocated. Primary examples of this are:

Related Topics:
Artistic language - International auxiliary language

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• George Orwell's Newspeak in Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Václav Havel's Ptydepe in The Memorandum
• Anthony Burgess's Nadsat in A Clockwork Orange
• Iain M. Banks' Marain in his Culture novels and
• Ursula K. LeGuin's Pravic in The Dispossessed.
• Christopher Paolini's "ancient language" in the Inheritance trilogy

Some of these languages are presented as distorted versions or dialects of modern English. Jack Womack's Dryco novels feature a future form of English with a modified grammar.

Related Topics:
Dialect - English - Jack Womack

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A fictional language is separated from an artlang (language constructed for beauty or fun) by both purpose and relative completion: a fictional language generally has the least amount of grammar and vocabulary possible, and it is made usually for a novel or movie.

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Others have developed languages in detail for their own sake, such as the languages of Middle-earth of J. R. R. Tolkien, Star Trek's Klingon language and the languages in Star Wars.

Related Topics:
Languages of Middle-earth - J. R. R. Tolkien - Star Trek - Klingon language - Languages in Star Wars

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See list of fictional languages for a more complete list.

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See also:

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• Archive of fictional things
• constructed languages