Teaching linguistics through language construction: A case study

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54475/jlt.2024.019

Keywords:

language construction, pedagogical linguistics, interlinguistics, conlangs

Abstract

For many students, introductory courses in linguistics prove somewhat disappointing. They often enroll in such courses because of a love of language – what some have called the “magic of language” – and instead are faced with the (perceived) dull and dry scientific study of language. There is, as a result, a need to explore more effective ways of “teaching linguistics to non-linguists.” In this article, a case study of one pedagogical approach to accomplish this will be presented: the use of language construction as a means of introducing students to basic linguistic knowledge and understanding. We begin with an overview of the nature and history of interlinguistics (the study of planned languages), and then turn to recent examples of the creation of constructed languages (conlangs) in popular culture before discussing the use of language construction activities to introduce students to the study of linguistics.

Author Biography

  • Timothy Reagan, The University of Maine

    Timothy Reagan is Professor of World Language Education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Maine. He also holds the position of Research Fellow in the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He has held positions at a number of universities in the United States and overseas, including at Gallaudet University, Nazarbayev University, the University of Connecticut, and the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). Reagan is the author of more than a dozen books and 150 journal articles and book chapters. His most recent books are Democracy and world language education: Toward a transformation and World language education as critical pedagogy: The promise of social justice. Reagan was recognized in 2023 with a “Distinguished Scholar and Lifetime Achievement in Language Studies Award” from the International Society for Language Studies.
    Email: timothy.reagan@maine.edu

References

Adams, M. (Ed.). (2011). From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring invented languages. Oxford University Press.

Adger, D., & van Urk, C. (2020). Three conlang projects at three educational levels. In J. Punske, N. Sanders, & A. Fountain (Eds.), Language invention in linguistics pedagogy (pp. 49-68). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198829874.003.0005

Bador, D. (2020). Étude et enseignement des langues elfiques inventées par J. R. R. Tolkien [Study and teaching of the Elvish languages invented by J. R. R. Tolkien]. Cahiers du Centre de Linguistique et des Sciences Du Langage, (62), 117–139. https://doi.org/10.26034/la.cdclsl.2020.951 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26034/la.cdclsl.2020.951

Barnes, L., & van Heerden, H. (2006). Virtual languages in science fiction and fantasy literature. Language Matters, 37(1), 102-117. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC59736 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10228190608566254

Berardi-Wilshire, A., & Petrucci, P. (2015). Bringing linguistics to life: An anchored approach to teaching linguistics to non-linguists. Te Reo, 58, 59-75.

Bergen, B. (2001). Nativization processes in L1 Esperanto. Journal of Child Language, 28(3), 575-595. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000901004779 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000901004779

Blanke, D. (2003). Interlinguistic und Esperantologie [Interlinguistics and Esperantology]. Deutscher Esperanto-Bund e.V., Geschäftsstelle. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.27.2.05bla

Blanke, D. (2006). Interlinguistische Beiträge: Zum Wesen und zur Funktion internationaler Plansprachen [Interlinguistic contributions: On the creation and function of international planned languages]. Peter Lang.

Calic, M. (2018). History of Yugoslavia. Purdue University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh9w0sp

Corsetti, R. (1996). A mother tongue spoken mainly by fathers. Language Problems and Language Planning, 20(3), 263-273. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.20.3.05cor DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.20.3.05cor

Corsetti, R., Pinto, M., & Tolomeo, M. (2004). Regularizing the regular: The phenomenon of overregularization in Esperanto-speaking children. Language Problems and Language Planning, 28(3), 261-282. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.28.3.04cor DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.28.3.04cor

Dedè, F. (2022). Tolkien and comparative historical linguistics: Some insights from the earliest works on Elvish languages. RiCognizioni: Rivista di Lingue e Letterature straniere e Culture moderne, 9(18), 65-76. https://hdl.handle.net/2434/961677

Dixon, R. M. W. (1994). Ergativity. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611896

Duluĉenko, A. (1989). Интерлингвстика: Снщность и проблемы [Interlinguistics: Challenges and problems]. Interlinguistica Tartuensis, 6, 18-42.

Eco, U. (1994). La serĉado de la perfekta lingvo [The search for the perfect language]. Edstudio.

Elgin, S. (1984). Native tongue. DAW Books.

Fasold, R., & Connor-Linton, J. (2014). Introduction. In R. Fasold & J. Connor-Linton (Eds.), An introduction to language and linguistics (2nd ed.) (pp. 1-13). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107707511

Fettes, M. (2003a). The geostrategies of interlingualism. In J. Maurais & M. Morris (Eds.), Languages in a globalising world (pp. 37-46). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511613739.003

Fettes, M. (2003b). Interlingualism: A world-centric approach to language policy and planning. In H. Tonkin & T. Reagan (Eds.), Language in the twenty-first century (pp. 47-58). John Benjamins. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.1.05fet

Fiedler, S. (2008). Interlingvistiko/esperantologio kiel fako en universitatoj: Spertoj el Leipzig [Interlinguistics/Esperantology as a speciality in universities: Experiences from Leipzig]. Informilo Por Interlingvistoj, 65, 2-25.

Fiedler, S., & Liu Haitao. (Eds.). (2001). Studoj pri interlingvistiko/Studien zur Interlinguistik: Festschrift für Detlev Blanke zum 60. Geburtstag [Studies on interlinguistics: Festschrift for Detlev Blanke on his 60th birthday]. Dobřichovice.

Fimi, D., & Higgins, A. (Eds.). (2016). J. R. R. Tolkien, A secret vice: Tolkien on invented languages. Harper Collins. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315637525-3

Galán Rodríguez, C. (2009). La invención de lenguas en la ficción literaria [The invention of languages in literary fiction]. Investigaciones Lingüísticas en el Siglo, 21(3), 103-129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14198/ELUA2009.Anexo3.05

Gándara Fernández, L. (2018). Introducción a la fonética del Dothraki, Lengua de Juego de Tronos [Introduction to the phonetics of Dothraki, the language of the Game of Thrones]. Estudios Humanísticos: Filología, 40, 311-328.

Gándara Fernández, L. (2019). La invención lingüística en la literatura y el cine en los siglos XX y XXI [Linguistic invention in literatura and cinema in the 20th and 21st centuries]. Revista de Investigación Lingüística, 22, 275-293. https://doi.org/10.6018/ril.353151 DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/ril.353151

Garvía, R. (2015). Esperanto and its rivals: The struggle for an international language. University of Pennsylvania Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812291278

Gledhill, C. (2000). The grammar of Esperanto: A corpus-based description (2nd ed.). Lincom Europa.

Gobbo, F. (2013). Learning linguistics by doing: The secret virtues of a language constructed in the classroom. Journal of Universal Language, 14(2), 113-135. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22425/jul.2013.14.2.113

Gold, D. (1980). Towards a study of possible Yiddish and Hebrew influence on Esperanto. In I. Szerdahelyi (Ed.), Miscellanea interlinguistica (pp. 300-367). Tankönyvkiadó.

Gold, D. (1982). Pli pri judaj aspektoj de Esperanto [More about the Jewish aspects of Esperanto]. Planlingvistiko, 1, 7-14.

Golden, B. (1997). Conservation of the heritage of Volapük. In H. Tonkin (Ed.), Esperanto, interlinguistics, and planned language (pp. 183-189). University Press of America.

Green, J. (2005). A new gloss on Hildegard of Bingen’s Lingua ignota. Viator, 36, 217-234. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.300011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.300011

Hana, J. (1998). Two-level morphology of Esperanto. Unpublished M.A. thesis, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.

Henning, J. (2020). Langmaker: Celebrating conlangs. Yonagu.

Hermans, J. (1999). Klingon and its users: A sociolinguistic profile. Unpublished M.A. thesis, Faculty of Arts, Tilberg University, Tilberg, The Netherlands.

Higley, S. (2007). Hildegard of Bingen’s unknown language: An edition, translation, and discussion. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230610057

Honegger, T. (2021). The enigmatic loss of Proto-Hobbitic. Mythlore, 40(1), 179-192. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48659509

Hostetter, C. (2007). Tolkienian linguistics: The first fifty years. Tolkien Studies, 4(1), 1-46. https://doi.org/10.1353/tks.2007.0022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/tks.2007.0022

Janton, P. (1993). Esperanto: Language, literature, and community. State University of New York Press. (Original publication in French 1973; Esperanto version published in 1988)

Johnson. (2017). The complex linguistic universe of “Game of Thrones.” The Economist (August 5). Downloaded on September 25, 2023 from https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21725752-dothraki-and-valyrian-are-most-convincing-fictional-tongues-elvish

Judah, T. (2009). The Serbs: History, myth, and the destruction of Yugoslavia (3rd ed.). Yale University Press.

Kalocsay, K., & Waringhien, G. (1985). Plena analiza gramatiko de Esperanto [Complete analytic grammar of Espearanto] (5a ed.). Universala Esperanto-Asocio.

Klimenko, Yu. (2016). The planned international language “Volapük” in the history of interlinguistics. Знание. 10(1), 83-87.

Knowlson, J. (1975). Universal language schemes in England and France, 1600-1800. University of Toronto Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487589400

Köylü, Y. (2023). Teaching linguistics through language construction: A project-based approach. Pedagogical Linguistics, 4(2), 119-158. https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.21013.koy DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.21013.koy

LaFarge, P. (2000). Pük, memory: Why I learned a universal language no one speakers. The Village Voice (August 1). Downloaded on March 19, 2018 from https://www.villagevoice.com/2000/08/01/pk-memory/

Lampe, J. (2000). Yugoslavia as history: Twice there was a country. Cambridge University Press.

Lins, U. (2016). Dangerous language: Esperanto under Hitler and Stalin, Volume 1. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54917-4

Lins, U. (2017). Dangerous language: Esperanto and the decline of Stalinism, Volume 2. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-352-00020-7

Maat, J. (2004). Philosophical languages in the seventeenth century: Delgarno, Wilkins, Leibniz. Kluwer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1036-8

Marlaud, S. (2013). Les langues artificielles sont-elles des langues? Étude contrastive de l’espéranto et de la caractéristique universelle [Are artificial languages languages? Contrastive study of Esperanto and the universal characteristic]. Syntaxe et Sémantique, 1(14), 85-117. https://doi.org/10.3917/ss.014.0085 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/ss.014.0085

Martin, D. (2013). Learn to speak Dothraki and Valyrian from the man who invented them for Game of Thrones. Vulture (April 23). Downloaded on September 25, 2023, from https://www.vulture.com/2013/04/game-of-thrones-dothraki-language-inventor.html

McCally, K. (2010). Avatar of language. Rochester Review, 72(4). Downloaded on September 25, 2023 from http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V72N4/04_features01.html

McGregor, W. (2009). Typology of ergativity. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3(1), 480-508. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00118.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00118.x

Meier, V. (1995). Yugoslavia: A history of its demise. Routledge.

Wilson, C., & Mihalicek, V. (2011). Language files: Materials for an introduction to language and linguistics. Ohio State University Press.

Noel, R. (1980). The languages of Tolkien’s Middle Earth: A complete guide to all fourteen of the languages Tolkien created. Houghton Mifflin.

Nuessel, F. (2000). The Esperanto language. Legas.

Okrand, M. (1992). The Klingon dictionary (2nd ed.). Pocket Books.

Okrand, M. (1996). The Klingon way: A warrior’s guide. Pocket Books.

Okrand, M. (1997). Klingon for the galactic traveler. Pocket Books.

Okrand, M., Adams, M., Henriks-Hermans, J., & Kroon, S. (2011). Wild and whirling words: The invention and use of Klingon. In M. Adams (Ed.), From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring invented languages (pp. 111-134). Oxford University Press.

Okrent, A. (2006). A visit to Esperantoland. The American Scholar, 75(1), 93-108. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41222541 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2005.01.001

Okrent, A. (2009). In the land of invented languages: Esperanto rock stars, Klingon poets, Loglan lovers, and the mad dreamers who tried to build a perfect language. Spiegel & Grau.

Okrent, A. (2020). Budding linguists and how to find them. In J. Penske, N. Sanders & A. Fountain (Eds.), Language invention in linguistics pedagogy (pp. 27-31). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198829874.003.0003

Olivieri, S., & Lancioni, G. (2020). Balaibalan: An artificial Islamic language? Eurasian Studies, 18(1), 42-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/24685623-12340083

Orwell, G. (1989). 1984. Penguin. (Original publication 1949)

Peterson, D. (2010). Dothraki 101. HBO: Making Game of Thrones. (December 15). Downloaded on September 25, 2023 from http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2010/12/15/dothraki-101.html

Peterson, D. (2014). Living language: Dothraki. IVY Books.

Peterson, D. (2015). The art of language invention: From horse-lords to dark elves to sand worms, the words behind world-building. Penguin.

Piperski, A. (2017). Конструирование языков от эсперанто до дотракийского [Constructed languages from Esperanto to Dothraki] (2nd ed.). Alpina Non-Fiction.

Punske, J., Sanders, N., & Fountain, A. (2020a). Introduction. In J. Punske, N. Sanders, & A. Fountain (Eds.), Language invention in linguistics pedagogy (pp. 1-5). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198829874.003.0001

Punske, J., Sanders, N., & Fountain, A. (Eds.). (2020b). Language invention in linguistics pedagogy. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198829874.001.0001

Reagan, T. (2019). Linguistic legitimacy and social justice. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10967-7

Richardson, D. (1988). Esperanto: Learning and using the international language. Esperanto League for North America, in cooperation with Orcas Publishing.

Rittberger, E. (2008). History meets politics: Overcoming interdisciplinary Volapük in research on the EU. Journal of European Public Policy, 15(2), 300-313. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760701817823 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760701817823

Rosenfelder, M. (2010). The language construction kit. Yonagu Books.

Rosenfelder, M. (2012). Advanced language construction. Yonagu Books.

Rosenfelder, M. (2018). The syntax construction kit. Yonagu Books.

Sadler, V., & Lins, U. (1972). Regardless of frontiers: A case study in linguistic persecution. In S. Ghosh (Ed.), Man, language and society (pp. 206-215). Mouton. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110905281-013

Sanders, N. (2016). Constructed languages in the classroom. Language, 92(3), e192-e204. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lan.2016.0055 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2016.0055

Schnapp, J. (1991). Virgin words: Hildegard of Bingen’s Lingua ignota and the development of imaginary languages ancient to modern. Exemplaria, 3(2), 267-298. https://doi.org/10.1179/exm.1991.3.2.267 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/104125791790511223

Schor, E. (2016). Bridge of words: Esperanto and the dream of a universal language. Metropolitan Books.

Schubert, K. (Ed.). (1989). Interlinguistics: Aspects of the science of planned language. Mouton de Gruyter. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110886115

Sikosek, M. (2006). Die neutral Sprache: Eine politische Geschichte des Esperanto-Weltbundes [The neutral language: A political history of the Esperanto World Federation]. Skonpres.

Sperling, K. (2022). Game of tongues: The invented languages in “Game of Thrones” and its spinoffs. Babble Magazine (October 4). Downloaded on September 25, 2023 from https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-invented-languages-in-game-of-thrones

Sprague, C. (1888). Handbook of Volapük. Trübner & Co.

Starostin, G. (2010). Preliminary lexicostatistics as a basis for language classification: A new approach. Journal of Language Relationship/Вопросы языкового родства, 5(48), 79-116.

Swadesh, M. (1952). Lexicostatistic dating of prehistoric ethnic contacts, with special reference to North American Indians and Eskimos. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 96(4), 452-463. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3143802

Swadesh, M. (1955). Towards greater accuracy in lexicostatistic dating. International Journal of American Linguistics 21(2), 121-137. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1263939 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/464321

Tharoor, I, (2013). Tongues of ice and fire: Creating the languages in Game of Thrones. Time (May 3). Downloaded on September 25, 2023 from https://entertainment.time.com/2013/05/03/tongues-of-ice-and-fire-creating-the-languages-of-game-of-thrones/

Tonkin, H. (Ed.). (1997). Esperanto, interlinguistics, and planned languages. University Press of America.

Vakoch, D., & Punske, J. (Eds.). (2024). Xenolinguistics: Towards a science of extraterrestrial language. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003352174

Vyortkina, D., Collins, N., & Reagan, T. (2023). Education in a time of crisis: An introduction. In D. Vyortkina, N. Collins, & T. Reagan (Eds.), Keep calm, teach on: Education responding to a pandemic (pp. 1-22). Information Age Publishing, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2023.1463

Wennergren, B. (2005). Plena manlibro de Esperanta gramatiko [Complete manual of Esperanto grammar]. Esperanto-Ligo por Norda Ameriko.

Zamenhof, L. (1925). Proverbaro Esperanta [Esperanto proverbs] (2nd ed.). ECL.

Reagan (2024)

Downloads

Published

2024-10-12

Issue

Section

Feature

How to Cite

Reagan, T. (2024). Teaching linguistics through language construction: A case study. Journal of Language Teaching, 4(4), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.54475/jlt.2024.019

Similar Articles

1-10 of 70

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.