Languages
Other than comics, languages and language-learning are my number one passion. I love thinking about how grammar fits together, how languages influence each other, how our brains somehow take in some garbled sounds or symbols and turn it into something understandable. Before getting started in comics, I studied linguistics with the vague intention of possibly going into translating or maybe even forensic linguistics. I eventually decided that linguistics really was just an interest rather than a career path, though I still have an extensive collection of language books and am constantly working on expanding it.
I also love conlangs. A conlang is a constructed language, meaning someone actively made it up instead of it developing naturally like pretty much every language we use. The most famous conlangs are probably Klingon from Star Trek and Quenya/Elvish from Tolkien's works, but there are so many interesting ones. You could argue that modern Hebrew is a conlang that became a natlang. Esperanto is the most well-known conlang that wasn't created for a fictional setting and there are people who raise their children speaking Esperanto as a mother tongue. For my linguistics dissertation, I wrote about how conlangs take on a life of their own once they become established; people become a fan of the community surrounding the language rather than learning that language because they like the media it came from. There are people who learn Na'vi and Klingon who don't give a shit about Avatar or Star Trek. God languages are so cool.
Anyway, that's a huge ramble - I make conlangs and conscripts, check 'em out! I am available for hire if you want a conlang of your own for your project. If you're interested in conlanging yourself, How to Create a Language by Jessie Peterson is my number one recommended resource. Another good starting point is to read through The Art of Language Invention by David J. Peterson or The Language Construction Kit by Mark Rosenfelder, and Omniglot for writing system inspiration. Check out the conlang resources on the language links page for more helpful reading!
For pretty much my entire time conlanging, my go-to thing to translate to test a language out has been "First Fig" by Edna St. Vincent Millay:
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!
Below is a catalogue of all my conlangs to date, with a sample translating the first line of this poem, followed by my conscripts. As of early 2025, my favourite conlangs I've done are the Language of the Lords, Lioç, and Vuwcid. Xema and Rac,mamoqei have a special place in my heart too.
My conlangs
| Language at the Fire | zugashe funako-tedi-la sawe baze-la ake shewun shato |
| Language of the Lords | konit dabni ge sha gugti dadna habto |
| Aŝan | ŝeghomo novebp ŝo naĉog |
| Bys-sáma | madimsu ká débém dés sénsa talyn |
| Rac,mamoqei | au noqirin' mafalmeir cinca haqir |
| Xema | matiinansu kidiibiino dis sisiinsa thalwon |
| Addij Vujid | f' odda vuval asol vinnilo |
| Nawdd Vuwcid | ofa oddoa viwvly asol vinniloi |
| Kkimrinn | |
| Zhavise | abazkoichi-ka gla kiivit es athet ketujin |
| Crytype | mmy candlke brnu k sat b;oth endsse |
| Ghefatze' | bad tzen ghi alh 'etem sjare |
| Tot | fùt gìl loʃ as fe lìt çi æç ðùt bin çi |
| Misc conlangs | -- |
