I find made up languages in fiction annoying at best. So why am I now adding one to this WIP?
It seems to me that if a character comes from a family who speak a different language at hime, then words from that language are going to slip into his speech from time to time. Maybe expressions his parents used, or single words like "No" or "Wait" that he doesn't bother to convert, or long words when he's frustrated or upset.
If those single words and short phrases are going to have some consistency, then I understanding of the syllables and words are put together, and the accompanying grammar. Then once these starts to develop, I start to play with more complicated constructions.
It's a slippery, this language constructing. And, of course, I have no idea if it works :)
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5 comments:
Annoying?
I get a headache. I spent months working on just a single language for my creation. (When I began I foolishly believed I could create one for each race, and perhaps even society within a race. Whoo!)
My work is on hold now. Indefinitely.
You have no idea if your method works? Does that mean you've not finished either?
Oh. I got here via Evil Editor. You've posted help to me. Thanks.
Oh - and Happy New Year!
It can be a time suck, indeed.
I've just finised the "last" draft and now I'm polishing things, which means tweaking characters' dialogue :)
Nice to see you here! (It's a bit d/u/s/t/y/ quiet, because I do most of my posting on LiveJournal.)
What is LiveJournal? Is it for people you already know, or is is open to all?
(How's that for a not-so-subtle self-invite?)
The same as Blogger, but different.
http://monissaw.livejournal.com if you're interested
Thanks. I've added your link to my Favorites.
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