Magical Incantations: Conlang at University of Rochester

Magical Incantations

The art and invention of created languages

Conlang: n. an artificially constructed language

Far from gibberish

Whether it's Klingon from the Star Trek films, Na'vi, the alien language in the movie Avatar, or Dothraki in HBO's Game of Thrones, casual viewers might think they're simply hearing a string of gibberish. But not University of Rochester Professor of English Sarah Higley, her students, and enthusiasts of invented languages worldwide.

“Conlangers” like them understand that these seemingly nonsensical words are in fact languages with rules of grammar, pronunciation, and sometimes completely new alphabets. They're also part of a long tradition that extends back to at least the Middle Ages, and probably before.

Student conlangers

University of Rochester students discuss their experiences conlanging.

As part of Professor Higley's class, Magic Language in the Middle Ages, students were introduced to the world of constructed languages, and they even created their own.

[The language I created is] the culture inside of me... The better parts of myself.
JP Pelletier '17

Artist: Trent Pehrson
Artwork: “Khanuhtlah Istiya”
Language: Idrani

Language as art and art as language

According to Higley, conlangers pursue their hobby as an art form that can be enjoyed for its sounds, its script, or, for real aficionados, its grammatical structure. A conlanger's work may encompass imaginative use of strange alphabets and ciphers in addition to their invented language.

J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and creator of the Elvish language, often stated that he'd written his novels so he would have a world in which to place his conlang, not the other way around.

Author J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of Middle Earth and *Lord of the Rings* (photo credit: public domain)

The conlang Esperanto has approximately two million speakers worldwide.

Did a medieval German nun invent conlanging?

Not exactly, but Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century German nun, is one of the earliest people on record to create an entirely artificial language. The Lingua Ignota ("unknown language") is the first systematic list of over one thousand created nouns with compounds and gendered endings, and it resembles modern constructed languages. Hildegard even made up her own related alphabet dubbed the litterae ignotae.

For more on this conlanging nun, read professor Higley's book, Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion.

Artist: Steven Travis
Artwork: “Journal 1997”
Language: Tapissary

Conlang in popular culture

University of Rochester students discuss pop culture conlangs.

Producers are realizing that the language a culture has is just as important as the wardrobe they wear.
Cassidy Clayton '17

David Peterson, the first serial conlanger

Hollywood's go-to conlanger, David J. Peterson

Viewers who've watched shows like Game of Thrones, Defiance, The Shannara Chronicles, The 100, or Emerald City have heard the constructed languages of a single man, David Peterson. Fans of these shows know him as the first celebrity conlanger to make his living inventing languages for movies and TV. David spoke at the University of Rochester as part of the Neilly Lecture Series.

Watch the entire presentation.

During his talk, Peterson revealed that it can take him months to create a rich language that a show's actors don't actually learn. Instead, he records himself speaking the relevant translated lines and sends the recordings along to the actors.

"[The actors who] do the best," he said, "basically listen to what I say and repeat it exactly."

Artist: Sally Caves
Artwork: “Nemral ilid vaiuan”
Language: Teonaht

A showcase of language architects

Language Architects Through the Ages, an exhibition prepared by Professor Higley, and sponsored by the Robbins Library and the Department of English, showcased new and old examples of conlang art from medieval to modern times.

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (from Three Books of Occult Philosophy, English translation, 1651, Rare Books)

Folio 78 from The Voynich Manuscript, early to mid 15th century.

John Wilkins, (from An Essay Towards a Real Character and Philosophical Language, showing his syllabary, 1668, Rare Books)

Sylvia Sotomayor (Ceremonial jacket, illustrating the interlace alphabet of Kēlen)

Teaching magic languages at Rochester

In professor Higley's recent course, Magic Languages in the Middle Ages, students examined how magical, religious, invented, and even foreign languages served to hide, protect, conjure, and transform. As part of the class, the students compared historical case studies with contemporary concepts like encryption, conlanging, and the philosophy of language. The students then went on to create their own alphabets.

Higley herself has been conlanging since she was a child, when she created — and continues to refine — her own language, called Teonaht.

"The University of Rochester has been particularly tolerant of my quirks and interests," explains Higley. "I'm a medievalist, but they let me open up my courses to pop culture, science fiction, and all sorts of things. This freedom has allowed me to combine my interests in fiction and narrative with academic study and research. I love it. This was one of the best semesters of my professional life."