Constructed Languages: They do exist!

Some languages are constructed instead of evolving as a cultural part of a people. For several reasons, linguists and amateurs are dedicated to create and develop artificial tongues with elaborate grammar and vocabulary – there is also the Language Creation Society in the US which gathers people interested in artificial languages. These tongues may be used for secret codes, logical experiments or merely for entertaining. Some of them are:

Esperanto

This is the most widely spoken constructed language in the world; it was created by eye doctor Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof and had its final version published in 1887. Its purpose was to enable an effective and easy learning universal communication in a language that did not belong to any specific nation. Although it never reached its purpose, the estimate is that 1 million people speak Esperanto around the planet.

Klingon

Constructed languages are also developed for TV and movie screens. The most famous of them is Klingon, spoken by the aliens of the Star Trek saga; it was created by American linguist Marc Okrand especially for the TV Series. In 1992, fans founded the Klingon Language Institute, a non-profit organization that organizes publications and events dedicated to the alien tongue.

Quenya e Sindarin

The J. R. R. Tolkien’s elvish world also has its own languges; Quenya and Sindarin were created by Tolkien and appear in the books and movies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit sagas. They are practiced by fans, and there are online courses and primers for those willing to learn the elves’ dialects.

Dothraki

Other two highly successful created languages are Dothraki, spoken by the Nomadic Horse Warriors Inhabitants and Valyrian, both of the Game of Thrones TV series; they were developed by linguist David J. Peterson for the saga TV version from the few phrases appearing in the George R. R. Martin’s books. Despite being two of the most recently constructed fictional tongues, there are many sites offering contents for the practice by the fans of the books and series.