Files
Abstract
This thesis looks at the phenomenon of constructed languages, or “conlangs,” through an anthropological lens. As part of the thesis, I developed my own conlang, and also examined conlangs from an anthropological perspective. The thesis includes an exploration of the academic, historical, and anthropological value of conlangs, and the ways that my creative project illuminated these areas for me. It begins by providing historical context for conlangs, introducing the topic and then exploring in more detail the different types of conlangs developed during different historical periods. Next, the analysis turns to what we can learn from conlangs in a variety of contexts: practical applications, ethnographic studies, use in fiction, and interrelation with the real world. I then discuss the conlang that I developed and the process of creating it in more detail, explaining the creative decisions embedded in the language. Furthermore, I explore how my conlang is related to the fictional culture of the fantasy world it inhabits, connecting this project back to the anthropological ideas of language and culture and speculative anthropology in fiction. To conclude, I reflect on what can be learned from such a project, and on the role of constructed languages in the world at large.