Invented Languages

Not quite sure where to put this, but I was tasked with coming up with a language for a book that has been abandoned. I'm no longer under any contractual obligation. If there are any aspiring writers that think they could make use of my work I'm offering it free of charge.

This isn't the only con-lang (constructed language) I've created but it's definitely the one I've spent the most time on and I'm kind of sad to see it go by the way-side.

I've included a couple of pictures of the syllabary and a display of what the writing system looks like. If anyone is interested at all please let me know. I enjoy this forum a lot so I figure it's best to give you guys first dibs. I'll also entertain any questions about con-langs (inception, processes, etc.) and how they might help or hurt your project.

Yes this language is its own entity; it has its own sound inventory, syllabic structure, unique morphology, etc. I came up with around 200 words to show off the syntax of the language to the author but I didn't get around to "fuck yo momma" haha. It would be doable though!

I always start from the ground up... I look at typical patterns in languages, e.g., the most common stops are /p/, /t/, and /k/, and if you want your language to be atypical you usually stray from the norm. So if I want a language that is extremely atypical (like this one) I stay away from the norms and create my own sound system, grammar, writing system, etc.

In regards to your second question I think it's important to accept influence, it then just becomes a definition of degree. For instance, with this language I looked at Proto-Eskimo, Koyukon and a couple of other languages, made a stew out of their sound inventories, and then became a picky eater when developing my sound inventory and deciding if I wanted an alphabet, logographs, or a syallabary to represent those sounds. I've seen some very abstract con-langs (time travel con-langs that have like 24 tenses, TONS of sound structures, and varying writing systems dependent on tense) and while I admire them I tend to stay a little more grounded--it's all about originality and practicality in my opinion though, regardless of how you get there.

I spent a pretty good chunk of time on this language, over a span of 6 months I worked on it lightly and took my time. Others I have done over the course of a couple of weeks, but I think the longest was helping to develop a sign language to accompany a con-lang--that took about a year of intense work. If I had to calculate an average I'd say 3-4 months for something that I could be proud of.