Constructed Languages in Media

From the time I was a child, I was interested in constructed languages. The first example of something like a constructed language was Al-Bhed from the video game "Final Fantasy X," however, this is not an actual constructed language. Al-Bhed is a cipher for English, it simply switches the letters used in English to a different letter. My brother and I spent a while learning it and could speak to each other a little bit using it, but we mostly used it to pass notes because it was very easy to write. This cipher was the beginning of my interest in conlangs.

As referenced in the video, the main focus of making a language for a movie or show is phonology. This is extremely important because it will be the face of the language. Most people who hear Klingon are not going to learn it and speak it to their friends, but they will recognize the sounds that it reminds them of, it makes Klingons seem alien as well as brute-like, by making the language sound guttural and harsh. This helps develop the idea of Klingons without straight exposition. The Na'vi language however, does not sound guttural, it sounds rhythmic and uses sounds that make it sound tribal, like clicks. This helps give the Na'vi people character and helps invent the world.

Languages in media also have another important part that isn't mentioned in this video: graphemics. Graphemics is the study of graphemes, the writing systems and their parts. In media such as novels, the face of a language will be its actual look. In order for a conlang to work when it can't be heard, it must be seen and give a feeling that portrays the people who would speak and write it. Quenya, the language of the elves in Lord of the Rings is a conlang and its writing system makes it seem more elegant than English, because the elves are supposed to be elegant.

Conlangs are used in media in order to add depth to a fictional world, this can help to make something seem more alien and detached from our world, while it can also make it seem more realistic because something so different from us would not speak English, Japanese, or any other earthly language. Languages in media are created to add depth to those speaking it and the world they are in, and phonology and graphemes are extremely important parts of these languages.