Invented languages take on a life of their own / Once the province of a few, new tongues flourish through Net (San Francisco Chronicle)

In any language, Sonja Elen Kisa was depressed. The world was overwhelming, and the thoughts that swirled through her mind in French, English, German or Esperanto echoed that. So Kisa, 28, a student and translator in Toronto, decided to create her own...

In any language, Sonja Elen Kisa was depressed.

The world was overwhelming, and the thoughts that swirled through her mind in French, English, German or Esperanto echoed that.

So Kisa, 28, a student and translator in Toronto, decided to create her own language, something simple that would help clarify her thinking. She called it Toki Pona - "good language" - and gave it just 120 words.

"Ale li pona," she told herself. "Everything will be OK."

Kisa eventually sorted through her thoughts and, to her great surprise, her language took off, with more than 100 speakers today, singing Toki Pona songs, writing Toki Pona poems and chatting with Toki Pona words.

It's all part of a weirdly Babel-esque boom of new languages. Once the private arena of J.R.R. Tolkien, Esperanto speakers and grunting Klingon fanatics, invented languages have flourished on the Internet and begun creeping into the public domain.

The Web site Langmaker.com now lists more than 1,000 language inventors and 1,902 made-up languages, from Ayvarith to Zyem.

The language inventors have, of course, created a word to describe what they do - "conlang," short for constructed languages.

Created languages may have no hope of supplanting the real thing, but for most conlangers, that is hardly the goal. Hobbyists such as Kisa find it a fun or therapeutic practice. Linguists can use conlangs to dissect how real language works. For a select few who write fiction or work for Hollywood, conlanging can even be a moneymaker.

But to the majority of linguaphiles, conlangs are simply art. Their palette holds not paints but the buzz of the letter "z," the hiss of an "s," the trill of an Italian "r."

And sometimes the howl of a Klingon scream: "Hab SoSlI' Quch!"

"Your mother has a smooth forehead!"

In this realm of art, Toki Pona is white canvas with scattered brush strokes of primary colors.

Kisa created Toki Pona as an exercise in minimalism, looking for the core vocabulary necessary to communicate. With only 120 words, a Toki Pona speaker must combine words to express more complicated ideas. For example, the Toki Pona phrase for "friend" is "jan pona" (the "j" sounds like a "y"), literally "good person."

Kisa, who is studying speech language therapy, tried to focus Toki Pona's vocabulary on basic, positive concepts.

"It has sort of a Zen or Taoist nature to it," Kisa said.

Tolkien liked to call invented language his secret vice. He spent hours at the solitary hobby, designing grammars and modifying words from Latin, Finnish, Welsh and others for his languages.

Eventually, his languages needed tongues to speak them, and those speakers needed a place to live. And thus Middle-Earth was born, with Tolkien's languages becoming the Sindarin and Quenya of the Elves, the Khuzdul of the Dwarves, and the Black Speech of the Orcs.

In the 12th century, the nun Hildegard of Bingen developed a rudimentary conlang she called Lingua Ignota, Latin for "unknown language" No one knows its purpose. All that survives is a short passage and a list of 1,012 terms arranged from the highest form, "God," to the lowest, "cricket."

Esperanto was created in the late 19th century by Polish doctor Ludovic Zamenhof. His dream was to give humanity a common international language that would be simple to learn. Esperanto's vocabulary is small, word order does not matter and there are no irregular verbs.

"Gi estas iom lingvo idealisma," said William B. Harris, director of the central office of the Esperanto League for North America, in California. "It's somewhat of an idealistic language."

Today, as many as 2 million people speak Esperanto, which conlangers call an "auxlang," or auxiliary language.

Learning is the easy part. Actually creating a language is a task only for the very tenacious. It took Kisa a year to put hers together, and her language was built to be basic.

It is not enough simply to replace existing words with invented ones. To a conlanger, such a construction would be a mere code.

The conlanger considers many factors, starting with the sound of the language. Linguists call it phonaesthetics; Germans call it Sprachgefuhl - "speech feeling."

Tricky to define, it's that certain quality that makes French the language of love and German the language that "makes you want to conquer Poland," said John Quijada, a Web site developer in Sacramento who created Ithkuil

There are rules to this game. Human languages - known as "natlangs," for natural languages - follow universal linguistic patterns. For example, few human languages use the raspberry sound, but all have an "ah" sound. To create a pseudo-natlang, the conlanger also should follow those rules.

Of course, there are instances when one doesn't want to follow the rules. In creating Klingon for "Star Trek," Marc Okrand, 59, said, "I looked at all those kinds of rules and then violated them on purpose."

If a conlang is to be a language for nonhumans, the conlanger must consider their biology - if they lack teeth or vocal cords, the language's sounds will be constrained accordingly.

The conlanger also must ponder the grammar. For example, will the word order be subject-verb-object, as in English, or perhaps object-subject-verb, following the example of Yoda?

Okrand chose the rarest of grammatical structures, object-verb-subject. A Klingon would say, "The Enterprise boarded I." He purposely picked sounds that never would be found together in the same human language.

All this has added up to one alien manner of speech.

The challenge has not deterred serious Klingonists, who number perhaps a few hundred worldwide. Djorn X. Oqvist, 33, a Swedish linguistics student and founder of the Klingon Academy, said you must be creative with Klingon's 2,600 words.

For example, he said, there is no way to say: "Park the car." No problem. Klingon speakers "dock" their vehicles.

The difference between "park" and "dock" illustrates how languages can talk about similar things but conjure subtly different images.

The phenomenon was noted by early 20th century linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. They proposed a theory that language had the power to broaden or constrain a speaker's thoughts. That is, it is hard to think about concepts without the specific words to express them.

In 1955, sociologist James Cooke Brown came up with an idea to test the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. He would train students in a new language, and look at how their thinking changed.

He knew he could not use a natlang - it would be impossible to separate language from the influence of culture. So Brown invented a cultureless language, Loglan - short for "logical language."

Just as scientists use mice as a model for the human body, Loglan would be a model language for his laboratory of thought.

Brown borrowed vocabulary from English, French, German, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Russian and Japanese - the eight most widely spoken languages at the time.

Loglan was designed to be free of irregularity and ambiguity. The Loglan lexicon, containing more than 10,000 words, is made up of five-letter root words and short, one- or two-letter modifiers. The roots can be combined to make new six-letter words.

He included words for the mathematical Boolean variables such as "and," "or inclusive" and "or exclusive" to encourage clear, logical thinking.

As it turned out, creating the language wasn't the hardest part. Like many successful conlangers, Brown struggled to maintain control over his creation.

He founded the Loglan Institute in San Diego in the 1970s to bring others into the project, but then was upset when they didn't agree with his ideas.

"In 1984 there was a knock-down, drag-out battle over this," said Bob LeChevalier, 53, who was a member at the time. The institute fell apart and Brown was never able to conduct his great experiment.

LeChevalier and others developed Lojban, a language built on identical principles as Loglan. LeChevalier estimates there are between 500 and 1,000 Lojban speakers.

Kisa, too, has wrestled with the growing pains of her creation.

Once a language is released from the notebooks and index cards of its birth, other speakers might use it for purposes its creator never intended.

Since Kisa let Toki Pona loose on the Internet in 2001, it has spread from Toronto to speakers all over the world.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology routinely offers a seminar about the language. Kisa has received e-mails from Russians learning Toki Pona and a Finnish therapist who wants to teach it to his depressed patients.

Occasionally these correspondents offer criticism as well as praise. Some want to express complicated thoughts in Toki Pona, running counter to its design.

Kisa has given in to a few complaints. It's only natural for language to evolve, she said.

"Tenpo ni la toki pona li kama suli. Jan mute li kepeken e ona," she said. "It's like a living thing now."

Cheyenne and Arapaho students learn language, legends and stories at language camp

You can read the original story at Native American Times.

In a world where only about 10% of the Cheyenne and Arapaho population nationwide still speak their languages fluently, events like the language camp that was held Friday, August 3rd at the Concho Community building (no mention of where that building is located) become more important.

The participants learned Cheyenne words for the parts of the tipi. They were also told the story of the tipi and how different rope wrappings on the tipi represented different Cheyenne societies.

The article didn't mention  anything at they camp having to do with the Arapaho.  It does mention the opportunity to learn Cheyenne and Arapaho  at two places in El Reno,  Oklahoma, so if you live in El Reno or nearby you might be interested in contacting them.

I am glad that they are wanting to preserve their languages but they will need to get more people involved and have more regular courses to make it sustainable.  People need to practice language on a regular basis (at least once a week) to learn to communicate effectively.

I am more concerned with their stories, history, art, and traditions.  The languages will probably disappear in a few generations but they don't have to let all traces of their culture go along with it.  They could video record and document everything, and continue with programs such as the language camp.  They could publish books online.

Storysofa.com and other sites could publish their books, poems, and stories online. Perhaps they could contact language teaching software companies and work together to make interactive courses to teach vocabulary?

Tips for learning English, Spanish, or any other language.

Many students have asked me what they can do to accelerate their learning. Except for the obvious need to do homework and attend classes there are several things that can be done to learn English, Spanish, or any other language faster.

Many people soon discover that they have been doing very little to promote their learning outside of class.

1. Talk to your coworkers and classmates in English while you work and study

Frequently a company pays for their employee's English classes so that they can use it for work. If they are paying for your classes, they might also be paying for other classes too! In fact your boss could talk with you in English. If you are afraid of your boss then how about coworkers in another department?

The same goes for full-time students. If not the students in your English class, why not try to practice with classmates in your mathematics class?

2. Set up conversational lunches with your friends and coworkers

Ok, so now you know who speaks at least a little English at school or at work so now what?

Well, First you should try casual conversation. Don't pressure them because they might be just as nervous as you! Then try to schedule to meet two or even three times a week to eat and talk in English. You can help each other as you notice each other's mistakes.

3. Send your e-mail messages in English

If you work for an international company, you have it made. Really, almost all international communication in multinational companies is in English. It doesn't matter if you're from Brazil and your coworker is from Germany. You'll be talking in English, so why not send e-mail messages to everyone in English?

4. Ask your friends and coworkers to write you in English

The same goes here. If you are writing them in English ask them to do the same. Let them know how important it is for you to improve your English and that would help a lot.

5. Instant message and chat in English

Lets suppose that you live alone, no one at all speaks a little English at work or school. What should you do?

We now have great programs to chat and send messages online with perfect strangers. If you don't have any friends who speak English, just go online find a chat room and make new contacts.

6. Read your company's reports in the original version not your boss's summary

Multinational companies do almost all their record keeping in English. Why not use that to your advantage?

Read all the publications available from work or school in English. Most likely, they can be read or downloaded from the internal website.

7. Buy a newspaper, book, or magazine in English... and read it!

If you can't find a newspaper or magazine locally, consider a subscription. You can also buy books online so what are you waiting for?

Don't forget to read what you buy. Its easier to read one book or magazine at a time. Set a goal to read a chapter or a certain number of articles each day.

8. Watch movies in English

Hollywood has made many movies and don't forget that there are lesser known Independent producers if you aren't into car chases and broken glass. If you can't find DVDs locally, you can buy them online.

9. Watch television in English

If you have satellite or cable television you'll most likely have at least one news channel and at least one cultural or movie channel in English. Check your box's configuration. There is probably a setting for secondary audio that will take you back to the original language.

10. Read websites and news sites in English

Since the internet started in the United States, it isn't surprising that even today English is the most used language via Internet.

If you can't find an interesting website in English then you just aren't looking.

11. Plan and set goals

Let's face it, we almost always have good intentions but when it comes to learning a language whether it be English, French, Spanish, German, or even Mandarin Chinese, most of us get lazy.

Set a goal, plan a time and a place and do it.

Your goals should be simple and easy to attain. Reading one chapter per day during the week is realistic whereas reading a book a day after work isn't. Unrealistic goals are depressing not motivating.

Set a goal and increase it slowly over time. Perhaps you'll be able to read a book a week in two months of practice.

12. Involve your friends and family

Your friends and family can be your biggest supporters or your biggest detractors. When they are involved they become part of the solution. When you watch a movie in English invite them to join you. When it is over you can discuss it.

13. Reward yourself

When your reach your goal, celebrate it. Are you studying English because you want to see London? Set a date, make plans, involve friends, family, and coworkers then send me the pictures from your trip!

I hope you enjoy this list. E-mail us to share your ideas.

Here are some books related to learning a language:



Spanish for Gringos: Shortcuts, Tips and Secrets to Successful Learning



Do's and Taboos of Using English Around the World




Speak Business English Like an American: Learn the Idioms & Expressions You Need to Succeed On The Job! (Book & Audio CD)