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Making Fictional Languages

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
Yes! Those are a geeky good time, heh heh. One of the funnest bits I’ve found about sayings is that a saying will come to me, and it sounds good, but then... why? So, bits of world-building history gain another level of detail when coming up with the story of why this exists and what it means. Oh, and there is a type of reader who just eats that stuff up... must be people like me.

Idioms are my favorite part of writing fantasy societies. Profanity is a close second.
 

James Wilson

Dreamer
I have created a bunch of languages for my various fantasy worlds, but as use them sparingly except in place names and character names. Perhaps the reader will never know that Valarey comes from Ithelic ‘bfala-rai’ meaning ‘bejeweled brow’ but I still think it adds some depth to the feeling of reality of the world. Same thing with place names. It might come up at some point, and it might not, but having it worked out in advance means that if a stranger shows up In a story and wants to know what it means, you’re covered.
 
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