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Re: tolkien?

From:J. K. Hoffman <ryumaou@...>
Date:Saturday, December 13, 2003, 17:59
> ------------------------------ > > Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2003 17:08:37 EST > From: J Y S Czhang <czhang23@...> > Subject: Re: tolkien? > > Science-fiction and Postmodern/HyperModern poetry (as well > as *EEK!* AuxLangs). > > I found depictions of futuristic language - i.e. "StreetSpeak" > in the sci-fi movie _Blade Runner_ & the _Star Trek_ series, etc. - > sorely lacking in linguistic _veritas_. And it was not much better in > written works either. > Reading Walter Meyer's _Aliens and Linguists: > Language Study and Science Fiction_ - esp'ly the section on the > future of English - is practically a handbook on how to create plausible > linguistic creations. > > In recent years, I have found some interesting poetry that has more > sci-fi and > linguistic components than most sci-fi. > > Most recently, Christophe G. turned me onto the linguistic mangling in > Japanese anime and manga.
You know, the funny thing is, reading about how Tolkien created all his languages started to actually intimidate me after a bit. My original inspiration was from an article in Dragon Magazine called "Even Orcish is Logical" by Clyde Heaton. It's a really basic look at how to make a language for an RPG, but that's what I was into, so it got me going. Somewhere, probably at the bottom of a landfill, there's a notebook filled with that first attempt. Since then, I've gotten inspiration from a number of places, including _Blade Runner_ and Frank Herbert's _Dune_ books. Not to mention _The Fifth Element_, _Stargate_, _Star Wars_, Klingon, _The Wizard of Earthsea_, Enochian, _Alien Nation_, and H.P. Lovecraft. Recently, I've also read _Aliens and Linguists_ which is better than I can describe as a source of inspiration. But, also, since the web has been around, there's also been Mark Rosenfelder's Virtual Verduria. What I think will be interesting will be to see how many people are inspired by the LOTR movies, which feature language quite prominently. Thanks, Jim -- "It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." -Chinese Proverb and The Motto of the Christophers http://www.christophers.org