Built Language

A built language or artificial language (étymologiquement “made by art”) is a Langue created by one or more people in a relatively short time, contrary to the natural languages whose development is largely unconscious. However, both are in fine creations of the mankind. It is thus difficult to partition the languages in the two categories.

In particular:

contrary to an extremely widespread representation, all the natural languages are to a certain extent mixed languages, since they knew interferences during their development.
Certaines current natural languages underwent processes of planning. It is the case of the Indonésien, the Serbo-Croatian and the Norwegian (Bokmål). These languages are however not regarded today as artificial languages: the term which is applied to them in Sociolinguistique is that of “Langue ausbau” (whereas built languages aiming to the intercommunicability between dialectal forms not mutually understandable, often because of the distance, are described as “language-roof”: case of the Arab arts person, the French (mainly formed starting from the language of oil) or of the Romanche.
Even the initially built languages, having sufficient speakers, evolve/move then following the example very other language (but not inevitably in a way identical to it). It is what watch the case of the Esperanto, who reached the statute of living language and became a language used by a sufficiently important community|date= , and consequently up knowing it ended also processes of transformation and adaptation (See Évolutions of Esperanto).

The difference is thus due more to a scale factor:

the built languages were created in a more or less close past by a limited group, even by only one person and this, in a voluntary way;
Their creative process is spread out over a rather short time (a few years or decades with more);
the natural languages have an origin more moved back much and are created rather than they are not created starting from a mother language by various processes generally not planned transformation and of adaptation (like the phonetic evolution).

Motivations

One can distinguish six types of motivations for the creation of a language:

; An international language: The will to create an international language is before a whole political act:

the people which succeed in imposing his language like international language , also imposes his culture and its lifestyle. A built language would make it possible to safeguard the diversity of the cultures. However, it also contains part of the culture of its manufacturer (choice of the roots, grammar chosen, pronunciation…), and thus imposes it also if the choices of its initiator were not lit by a great knowledge of the other cultures and other languages.
the national languages are complex to learn, and only an elite can manage to control them to play sufficiently well an international part of foreground. Let us note that certain languages of the type Lingua franca like the Indonésien or the Kiswahili are also easy to learn.

It seems that to date only the Esperanto, with a community estimated at approximately two million speakers by the Professor Culbert and at six million by the Guiness book (but of other estimates several hundreds of thousands can go to ten million), succeeded in boring in spite of the power of the English, considered by the majority of people as the international language de facto . Esperanto is besides the only built language which is known general public: its name became besides a common noun, used generally in other fields, without referring to the language itself and knowing it. Thus for the general public “international communications tools” and “Esperanto” are quasi-synonymous.

It is necessary to note the difference between international language and universal language . The universal language claims to become the native tongue of the whole of humanity. Even if this idea seems to start from finer feelingss, it intrinsically conveys the idea of levelling of all the human cultures, although one cannot reduce the culture to the language. The international language has, it, a radically contrary objective: that to become an auxiliary language intended for the international exchanges, coming in complement them national languages which must remain the native tongues privilégiées.
The question is to know if a system of double language can perdurer, and how. Because once this system set up, and the international language thus generalized, nothing would prevent a totalitarian political system from trying to make disappear certain national languages, even any language other than the international one, if such a political system manages to control whole planet. This danger exists however whatever the international language (becoming " then; universelle") used, built or not.

; The application of a theoretical principle: Certain built languages, like the Lojban, were created to illustrate theories Linguistique S.

; A utility need requiring a Interface for communication. Two cases of figure arise:

Of the specific situations, for example the catch in consideration of a handicap and the adaptation of the communication to the performances of the handicapped person. Such languages, like the languages of the signs for the deaf persons, follow a logic different from that of the ordinary languages. Some are on the other hand only Translittération S of common languages (alphabet Braille).
the communication with not-human recipients, for examples of the robots in all kinds. They are sometimes only some words or noises only!

; A Language of fiction: The creation of a language (like that of a mythology or a history for example) makes it possible to give a depth to a civilization. Several authors thus created languages for the heroes of their work (for example languages elfic of J.R.R. Tolkien). In the same way, a group of progressive music of the years 1970, Magma, sang only in Kobaïen, language created for the occasion.

; Pleasure of creation: This motivation can seem astonishing when one thinks of the time which the creation of a language requires. However, it is enough to launch a research on Internet with the key word conlang to see that the number of languages built without another finality which the pleasure of creating is impressive.

; The resolution of a precise conflict. When two camps are engaged in a long Guerre, a better comprehension is essential, and the creation of a common local language, based on the two cultures concerned only, would make it possible to limit the foreign influences (one thinks immediately of the israélo-Palestinian conflict, but there are others of them). To note that we do not know a realization of this case.

A little history

The first vaguely known test of creation of a universal language brings back for us to the 2nd century. Precursor in the field of the medical experimentation, Galien builds a system of signs of which it remains for traces only some historical notes. Ten centuries are passed then without notable event in this field until the abbess Hildegarde von Bingen works out a system of written language (was spoken?) by it only, Lingua Ignota.

; Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) Italian poet: Between 1304 and 1307, it wrote It Convivio ( “the Banquet” ), where it foresees the possibility of a language common to all Italy.

“There is a language which is not the property of anybody, who is audible in each city, in each area but which does not belong to any city or definite area. It is a new sun which will shine where was the darkness. And… one criticizes it by personal pride… because one knows.

; Francis Bacon (1561-1626): Scientist and philosopher English, chancellor of England under Jacques Ist Adversary of the scholastic and in favor of the experimental method in Instauratio magna, it establishes a theory of induction in Novum Organum (1620) and a new classification of sciences; it prepared the diagram of a universal language.

; Rene Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher and scientist: November 20th, 1629. Letter with his/her friend, the Father Mersenne:

“It will be necessary that humanity creates an international language; its grammar will be so simple that one will be able to learn it in a few hours; there will be only one variation and only one conjugation; there will be exceptions nor irregularities and the words will derive from/to each other by means of affixes. ”

; Comenius (Jan Amos Komenský, known as) (1592 - 1670) humanistic Czech: Author of Open door on the languages (1631), he is a precursor of modern pedagogy. A common language is necessary for the world. It must be “entirely new” and “easier than all the languages”.

; Montesquieu (Charles de Secondat, baron of) (1689 - 1755) French writer: The communication of the people is so large that they absolutely need a common language.

; Amp (Andre-Marie) (1775 - 1836) French physicist and mathematician: He invented at 18 years, “a universal language with the service of peace and bringing together of the people. ”

; Zamenhof (Lejzer Ludwik) (1859 - 1917), Polish ophthalmologist and linguist: Initiator (in 1887) of Esperanto.

“When the people can include themselves/understand, they will cease being hated. ”

; Leon Tolstoï (1828 - 1910) Russian writer: “The sacrifices which any man of our European world will make by devoting some time to the study of Esperanto are so small, and the results which can result from this so immense, that one cannot refuse to carry out this test. ” Letter with the Posnednik Editions of the 4/27/1894.

; Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand), known as Mahatma, “the Great Heart” (1869 - 1948): Philosopher, ascetic and Indian politician. He was the principal craftsman of the independence of the India, which he undertook to obtain from the Great Britain by active non-violence.

“I am for the same calendar for the whole world, as I am for the same currency for all the people and a world auxiliary language like Esperanto for all the people. ”

; Ferdinand de Saussure, founder of linguistics, “Course of general linguistics” :

“The man who would claim to compose an immutable language, that the posterity should accept like such, would resemble the hen which brooded a duck egg: the language created by him would be exported gladly badly liking by the current which carries all the languages. ”

; Antonio Gramsci, the Italian revolutionary thinker, characterizes Esperanto as a “corpse which empeste which attacks the life in its becoming”:

“The success and the diffusion of a given language depend strictly on the complexity and the social activity of the people which speak it. Esperanto, the single language, is anything else only one superstition, the illusion of mentalities cosmopolitan, humane, democratic, which were not made fertile yet, not demystified yet by the historical criticism. ”

The construction of a language

Basically, a language is built around five pillars:

a system of writing,
a phonological system ,
a Lexicon,
a Grammar (morphology, syntax),
a culture of reference (see for example Culture and Esperanto).

Types of built languages

One distinguishes three types of built languages, according to whether their vocabulary and their grammar are inspired or not by the natural languages: in the first case one speaks about built language a posteriori , in the second case of built language a priori . The intermediate cases, more difficult to analyze, are those of the languages known as mixed.

The tendency of a language to approach the natural languages names the naturalism. The opposite tendency is described as schematism.

It goes without saying this classification is only one convenient but summary tool. In the same type, various built languages can present more or less an high degree of naturalism or schematism. Thus, in the category of the languages a posteriori , the Interlingua represents an extreme case of naturalism, the Novial, the Occidental or the Ido presenting this tendency to least degrees.

A built language a posteriori can be often recognized by the use which it makes coming of words from one or more natural languages (thus in Esperanto, ground = tero , sky = ĉielo , water = akvo , fire = fajro ), although this use is not always immediately transparent (algorithm of the Lojban…).

Without it being possible to make a general information of it, the built languages a posteriori are rather majority and have vocation to be used as international auxiliary languages, for obvious reasons of practical aspect of training and enrichment of the usual vocabulary (Esperanto, Afrihili…). All the languages a posteriori do not have therefore this claim and some hold simply of the theoretical or philosophical exercise (Brithenig, Novlangue…).

According to their objectives, the built languages a priori are often more theoretical or with artistic and fictional calling. They have a vocabulary which has its own tone (Klingon, languages invented by J.R.R. Tolkien…), and use even sometimes figures, symbols (language Bliss, Pasigraphie S…), of the notes of music (Solresol).

The mixed built languages represent for their part a vaguer category and multiple reasons can result in classifying a language there. One will first of all quote the Volapük proceeding of a mixture between on the one hand, an extremely diagrammatic grammar with the elements often a priori (pronouns, conjunctions, terminations, etc) and on the other hand natural roots deformed considerably by the ideas and imagination of the creator of the language. A very different case apparently is that of the Bolak which relatively associates to a grammar naturalist with arbitrary phonetic rules generating mechanically words quite as arbitrary. These two steps almost opposite give rise to two languages presenting finally more common points than it can seem there as of the access.

Other categories

For practical needs and transversely with classification presented above, one distinguishes different other categories of languages, built on varied criteria. One thus distinguishes from the inflected languages (Interlingua), insulating (Glosa), logics (Loglan), fictional (klingon), simplified (Latino sine flexione), philosophical (project of Delormel), etc

The english-speaking distinguish:

Conlang: built language (the term more used)
Artlang: artificial or artistic, rather personal language
Auxlang: auxiliary language, more or less " mondiale" , style Esperanto

Examples of built languages

Examples of languages built in works of fiction

languages of the Dwarves, the Elves, of the Orcs, in the work of Tolkien, in particular the Quenya (language of the Top-Elves) and the Sindarin (language of the Gray Elves), as well as the Black speech which one knows only one ten words
Novlangue (simplification of the English aiming at making impossible the expression of the ideas subversive, then to limit personal freedoms, in the novel 1984 of George Orwell)
klingon (language of Klingons in Star Trek , created by Mark Okrand)
the Language large-monkey of the " large singes" in the Tarzan of Edgar R. Burroughs. A lexicon was established by Francis Lacassin in its Tarzan (10-18).
syldave (language of the Syldavie, of the adventures of Tintin)
Schtroumpf, which is the language of the Schtroumpfs
the language of Utopiens, inhabitants of the Utopie of Thomas More

Examples of languages built in musical works

Kobaïen, invented by Christian Vander for Magma
Klokobetz, invented by Nosfell
Vonlenska, invented by Jón Þór Birgisson for Sigur Rós

See too

Information center and of study on the international language
Linguistic
Langmaker

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