6.3 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructed language | 3/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructed_language | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:40:46.805051+00:00 | kb-cron |
International auxiliary Balaibalan, attributed to Fazlallah Astarabadi or Muhyi Gulshani (14th century) Solresol by François Sudre (1827) Ro by Edward Foster (1906) Sona by Kenneth Searight (1935) Babm by Rikichi Okamoto (1962) aUI by W. John Weilgart (1962) Mirad (aka Unilingua) by Noubar Agopoff (1966) Kotava by Staren Fetcey (1978) Experimental Láadan by Suzette Haden Elgin (1982) Ithkuil by John Quijada (2004) Artistic Quenya and Sindarin by J. R. R. Tolkien for his legendarium (first published with The Hobbit, 1937) Klingon by Marc Okrand for the science-fiction franchise Star Trek (1985) Kēlen by Sylvia Sotomayor (1998) Naʼvi by Paul Frommer for the movie Avatar (2009) Dothraki and Valyrian by David Peterson for the television series Game of Thrones (2011) Kiliki by Madhan Karky for the Baahubali films (2015) Community Damin (Yangkaal and Lardil people, 19th century or earlier) Eskayan (Eskaya, c. 1920) Medefaidrin (Ibibio, 1930s) Palawa kani (Palawa, 1990s) An a posteriori language (from Latin meaning "from the latter"), according to French linguist Louis Couturat, is any constructed language whose elements are borrowed from or based on existing languages. The term can also be extended to controlled language, and is most commonly used to refer to vocabulary despite other features. Likewise, zonal auxiliary languages (auxiliary languages for speakers of a particular language family) are a posteriori by definition. While most auxiliary languages are a posteriori due to their intended function as a medium of communication, many artistic languages are fully a posteriori in design – many for the purposes of alternate history. In distinguishing whether the language is a priori or a posteriori, the prevalence and distribution of respectable traits is often the key. Examples of a posteriori languages:
Artistic Talossan (Romance) by Robert Ben Madison for micronation Kingdom of Talossa (1980) Brithenig (Latin and Welsh) by Andrew Smith (1996) Atlantean (Indo-European) by Marc Okrand for the film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) Toki Pona (various including English) by Sonja Lang (2001) Wenedyk (Latin and Polish) by Jan van Steenbergen (2002) Trigedasleng (English) by David Peterson for the TV series The 100 (2014) Controlled auxiliary Latino sine flexione (Latin, 1911) Basic English (English, 1925) N'Ko (Manding, 1949) Learning English (English, 1959) Kitara (SW Ugandan Bantu, 1990) Globish (English, 2004) International auxiliary (1868) Universalglot (1879) Volapük (1885) Pasilingua (1887) Esperanto (1888) Mundolinco (1902) Idiom Neutral (1907) Ido (1912) Reform-Neutral (1922) Interlingue (1928) Novial (1937) Esperanto II (c. 1943) Mondial (1951) Interlingua (1961) Neo (1970) Afrihili (c. 1979) Glosa (1986) Uropi (1991) Romániço (1998) Lingua Franca Nova (2007) Sambahsa (2010) Lingwa de planeta Zonal auxiliary
Efatese (c. Vanuatu Oceanic, 19th century) Romanid (Romance, 1956) Palawa kani (Aboriginal Australian, 1992) Folkspraak (Germanic, 1995) Budinos (Finno-Ugric, 2000s) Neolatino Romance (Romance, 2006) Interslavic (Slavic, 2011)
=== Sensitivity === The term planned language is sometimes used to classify an international auxiliary language since the common alternative, artificial, may be perceived as pejorative. Outside Esperanto culture, the term language planning means the prescriptions given to a natural language to standardize it; in this regard, even a "natural language" may be artificial in some respects, meaning some of its words have been crafted by conscious decision. Prescriptive grammars, which date to ancient times for classical languages such as Latin and Sanskrit, are rule-based codifications of natural languages, such codifications being a middle ground between naïve natural selection and development of language and its explicit construction. The term glossopoeia is also used to mean language construction, particularly construction of artistic languages. Classifications are used differently by tradition. For example, few speakers of Interlingua consider their language artificial, since they assert that it has no invented content. Interlingua's vocabulary is taken from a small set of natural languages, and its grammar is based closely on these source languages, even including some degree of irregularity. Its proponents prefer to describe its vocabulary and grammar as standardized rather than artificial or constructed. Similarly, Latino sine flexione (LsF) is a simplification of Latin from which the inflections have been removed. As with Interlingua, some prefer to describe its development as planning rather than constructing. Some speakers of Esperanto and Esperantidos also avoid the term artificial language because they deny that there is anything unnatural about it.
=== Accuracy === Some argue that all human language is artificial, not natural. François Rabelais's fictional giant Pantagruel said: "C'est abus dire qu'ayons langage naturel. Les langages sont par institutions arbitraires et convenances des peuples : les voix, comme disent les dialecticiens, ne signifient naturellement, mais à plaisir." (transl. "It is a misuse of terms to say that we have natural language; languages exist through arbitrary institutions and the conventions of peoples. Voices, as the dialecticians say, don't signify naturally, but capriciously.")
=== Naturalistic === Fictional or experimental languages can be considered naturalistic if they model real world languages. For example, if a naturalistic language is derived a posteriori from another language (real or constructed), it should imitate natural processes of phonological, lexical, and grammatical change. In contrast with languages such as Interlingua, naturalistic fictional languages are not usually intended for easy learning or communication. Thus, naturalistic fictional languages tend to be more difficult and complex. While Interlingua has simpler grammar, syntax, and orthography than its source languages (though more complex and irregular than Esperanto or its descendants), naturalistic fictional languages typically mimic behaviors of natural languages like irregular verbs and nouns, and complicated phonological processes.