In 2015, I graduated from the University of Aberdeen with an undergraduate degree in linguistics. I've always loved languages and was intent to study linguistics at university with the intention of perhaps going into forensic linguistics or translation, but as university went on I realised I was more interested in drawing stupid little faces as a career than actually working in linguistics. For my final dissertation, I finally got to write the essay I'd been wanting to write and been discouraged to write since middle school - something about conlangs, particularly Esperanto.
The essay below is partly comprised of my original 2015 dissertation exploring the speech communities of Esperanto, Klingon, and Na'vi, with new chapters on Quenya & Sindarin, Dovahzul, and Dothraki & High Valyrian. Extensive new research has been done for the Na'vi chapter and I conducted new preliminary surveys and interviews to parallel my work in 2015.
This rewrite was not done for any academic reason other than the fact that I adore languages, particularly conlangs, and I wanted to do it. If you enjoyed reading this, feel free to reach me at my socials in the footer of this page. If there were any glaring errors, please also feel free to contact me. If you have a bone to pick with my assessments, my socials are nowhere to be found and I'm afraid it's simply impossible to get in touch.
Contents:
- 1. Introduction
- 1.1. Research questions
- 1.2. Previous research
- 1.3. My own history with conlangs
- 2. Background
- 2.1. Natlangs vs conlangs
- 2.2. Language and identity
- 2.3. Fandom and identity
- 2.4. Role of the language admin
- 2.5. References
- 3. Esperanto
- 3.1. History and background
- 3.2. Zamenhof as admin
- 3.3. Culture and identity of Esperanto
- 3.4. Changes and standardisation
- 3.5. References
- 4. Klingon
- 4.1. History and background
- 4.2. Okrand as admin
- 4.3. Culture and identity of Klingon
- 4.4. Changes and standardisation
- 4.5. References
- 5. Quenya & Sindarin
- 5.1. History and background
- 5.2. Tolkien as admin
- 5.3. Culture and identity of Quenya & Sindarin
- 5.4. Changes and standardisation
- 5.5. References
- 6. Na'vi
- 6.1. History and background
- 6.2. Frommer as admin
- 6.3. Culture and identity of Na'vi
- 6.4. Changes and standardisation
- 6.5. References
- 7. Dovahzul
- 7.1. History and background
- 7.2. "Paarthurnax" as admin
- 7.3. Culture and identity of Dovahzul
- 7.4. Changes and standardisation
- 7.5. References
- 8. Dothraki & High Valyrian
- 8.1. History and background
- 8.2. Peterson as admin
- 8.3. Culture and identity of Dothraki & Sindarin
- 8.4. Changes and standardisation
- 8.5. References
- 9. Discussion and conclusion
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to the members of the Thuum.org, Klingon Language Institute, and Languages of Ice and Fire Discord communities for their responses to my questions, but in particular to the members of the LearnNavi.org and Kelutral.org Discord communities who took considerable time to answer my many, many follow-ups and additions.
Abstract
1. Introduction
The problem of mutual intelligibility has been a source of frustration for has long as there have been languages. Discussion over language differences has lasted centuries, originating with the legend of the Tower of Babel and since producing countless proposed solutions in the form of constructed languages, also known as “conlangs”. While many have created these artificial languages in order to facilitate international communication, some have been created solely for pleasure or entertainment; the author JRR Tolkien often referred to his conlangs as his “secret vice”, prompting him to imagine an entire world in which to house his elven tongues (Tolkien 2020).
I have had a longstanding fascination with conlangs, having tried my own hand at creating a language from scratch several times and studied Esperanto on-and-off over the past few years. When it comes to constructed languages, or conlangs, it often seems to be assumed that the creator has full administrative control over the language. After all, having created a language, one would expect to be entitled to dictate the development of that language, regardless of who is speaking it or how many speakers there are. However, the vast majority of natural languages do not have such an administrator; instead, the speakers of that language are the ones with the authority to change and develop the language as they please. What factors, then, might affect a conlang admin’s control over their conlang? Is it possible for speakers of a conlang to retain a similar amount of control over the language as speakers of natural languages do?
1.1. Research questions
In this dissertation I will attempt to answer the following question, with two subquestions:
In what ways does one’s identity as a conlang speaker inhibit the control of that conlang’s admin?
a. Is an admin’s control affected if the speaker identifies as, for example, a Klingonist rather than a fan of Klingon or Star Trek?
b. Does an admin's desire for control over their conlang affect the extent of their control?
The conlangs that will be examined in this dissertation are the auxiliary language Esperanto and the art languages Klingon, Na’vi, and Dovahzul. This paper does not aim to determine whether particular linguistic features of a conlang contributes to its success, nor will it spend time outlining the features of these conlangs. It is more concerned with how a conlang may develop past its initial success as a fan community and evolve to a point at which an admin may no longer be necessary, resulting in a language that may have a much closer resemblance to natural languages.
1.2. Previous research
Little work has been done on conlangs outside of historical research on the origins of languages such as Esperanto and Volapük, or sociolinguistic studies on Esperanto and Klingon as having formed speech communities. Both Michael Adams’ From Elvish to Klingon (2011) and Arika Okrent’s In the Land of Invented Languages (2010) give brief overviews of Esperanto and Klingon, alongside various other conlangs not examined in this dissertation, while Andrew Large’s The Artificial Language Movement (1985) goes much more in-depth into the development of Esperanto and its rivals. Judith Hermans’ 1999 thesis gives a sociolinguistic overview of Klingon speakers, and in 2004 Yens Wahlgren conducted a study on how speaking Klingon attributes fans of Star Trek greater cultural and linguistic capital within the community, and how Klingon is evolving into something more than a language for a fictional race. Tolkien linguists Helge Fauskanger (2003, 2008, 2009) and Carl F. Hostetter (2006) have written extensively on the particularities of developing Tolkien's languages beyond what their creator left behind. Christine Schreyer, who created the Kryptonian language for the 2013 film Man of Steel, has written on the Na’vi language from Avatar (2009) and how writing as a tool for communication between speakers of Na’vi has contributed to its development, as well as delving into the reasons behind learning the conlang and how the Na’vi fandom coincides with the Na’vi speech community. Little, if anything, has been written on Dothraki, High Valyrian, or Dovahzul as having speech communities.
1.3. My own history with conlangs
I have been interested in languages for as long as I can remember, and conlangs for equally as long. Throughout my childhood I created many conlangs, some simply just English cyphers and others with detailed grammars that I have continued to develop to this day. I have spent perhaps far too much time reading, thinking, and learning about conlangs, with a particular fondness for Esperanto - most recently I have been enjoying exploring Toki Pona and Illitan. As mentioned, I completed an undergraduate degree in linguistics in 2015 and while I have not gone on to work in any linguistic field I have continued my work on my many conlangs and conscripts, all of which has been archived here on this site. I feel confident that I understand the appeal of learning and speaking a constructed language, so while much of my own interest in conlangs is for personal use (just like I play World of Warcraft with no intention of engaging with the multiplayer aspect) I have tackled this paper's question with full empathy for the communities I am researching.