The Art of Language Invention

August 3, 2015
Peterson, the creator of the Dothraki language for HBO’s Game of Thrones and Irathient and Castithan for Syfy’s Defiance, reveals the steps he takes to invent new languages in this detailed guide. Equal parts fascinating, challenging, and geeky, the book focuses on four key elements every “conlanger”—someone who creates “constructed language”—must consider: sounds, words, language evolution, and written language. Popular phrases from a variety of constructed languages are included, as is a helpful glossary. Peterson (Living Language Dothraki) writes with witty flair, and in a lengthy introduction explains the rapid rise of the conlang phenomenon over the last few decades, with references to Princess Leia, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Shatner, and pig Latin. A shorter postscript explores conlanging’s future. Readers with only a casual interest in Peterson’s unique specialty can satisfy their curiosity just with these two sections. Others who stick with him throughout the entire book will finish it either highly motivated to try conlanging themselves or completely turned off by the idea. Either way, they’ll learn more about linguistics than they ever learned in school. Agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary.

July 15, 2015
The creator of languages for Game of Thrones and alien languages for sci-fi shows reveals the deeply intricate secrets behind his "conlanging" (constructed language-making). Peterson, who holds a master's degree in linguistics and has published Living Language Dothraki, a book about a Game of Thrones language, tries to appeal to several audiences-from general readers (who will need a machete for some of the thick textual foliage) to Throne devotees (who will love learning more about the show but may suffer from glazed-eye syndrome at some of the linguistic theory he explains) to other conlangers (who will leap upon his charts and terms, rapidly consuming them). This is no Dick-and-Jane text. The more readers know about grammar, usage, orthography, linguistics, foreign languages, fonts, and phonology (and so much more), the better for them. Peterson deals with several large subjects-sounds, words, evolution of language, writing-explaining the complexities of each and providing examples from his own work. The author inserts humor where he can, suggesting in one place a list of possible conlang words for very specific uses-e.g., the word nipak to mean "the piece you need to finish a puzzle that you are actively putting together." For the most part, this is a nuts-and-bolts text about how a language works, about the differences among languages, and about the vast array of things conlangers must know before they embark upon a voyage of creation. It's not-as the author makes abundantly clear-a simple matter of making a list of weird words and calling it a language. Peterson ends with some mildly hopeful words for aspiring conlangers, recognizing that the gigs he's managed to obtain are not all that prevalent. He suggests that writers of fantasy and sci-fi novels employ conlangers to help them with their work. As dense as Mirkwood in some places, but shafts of sunlight do break through.

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September 1, 2015

If Peterson (Living Language Dothraki) throws readers into the ocean with this new book, he at least throws them in with a life jacket: his considerable knowledge as a conlanger (person who creates constructed languages) and his ability to explain linguistics clearly. Each chapter begins with basic explanations and then--of necessity--dives headfirst into its subject matter. Peterson wisely provides many examples and dapples the text with jokes. While the narrative is likely to lose general readers, it will engage dedicated students of invented languages and linguistics and will make an exciting supplement for undergraduate and graduate linguistics courses. In addition, the author's work on the Dothraki language for Game of Thrones provides valuable context and an instructive example. Unhelpfully, the glossary is thin and includes definitions for the obvious (subject, object) while omitting more challenging terms (apophony, allophonic). The difficult terms are defined in the prose, but a fleshed-out glossary would have supplied a useful reference and obviated the need to dog-ear so many pages. VERDICT A gateway to the rich and rigorous process of language invention and a course in linguistics unto itself.--Paul Stenis, Pepperdine Univ. Lib., Malibu, CA

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