Adding made up languages.

[Yaron P]

If I have an idea for words but originally they don't have a meaning in any other language is it ok to add it in my novel? just some characters put together is acceptable to add them ?

 

[Finchbearer]

I’m going to say, yes. You wouldn’t want your made up word to mean something in another language, as you pointed out. Sometimes made up words can sound like other words though, so be careful. Maybe it only matters if you would want your writing to have a global audience.

 

[Rexenm]

I went through a dialect phase for a while, some writers do that really well, like George MacDonald in Sir Gibbie, or Brian Jacques with his girt moles. But to your question, language is cyclical, it always seems to mean something about science, so it could be really important, comparatively and superlatively, to your plot.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Tolkien did it, and it worked fine for him. So there's that.

 

[Azul-din]

If I have an idea for words but originally they don't have a meaning in any other language is it ok to add it in my novel? just some characters put together is acceptable to add them ?

There is a way to do this, once you have thought of a word which doesn't have an association with any language you know of (try Google) you can provide a translation by having another character respond in English ( or whatever) as though they understood. Think Hans Solo and the 'Wookie.' Actually, it doesn't even have to be a comprehensible word- Niel Gaiman in 'Neverworld' had the animals (rats and birds) making the sort of sounds they usually make, and the other inhabitants responded in English .

 

[pmmg]

I have plenty of words like this in my stories.

I am not a con-langer though. I've no intention of inventing a new language. But...I do keep a list of what the words mean in case a context for them comes up again.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Yeah, I always wonder about that, but I figure if I throw down a full sentence, the odds of that made-up stuff making sense in another language is slim, heh heh. Now, if a character has a one word exclamation, that's more likely to lead to trouble.

 

[Rexenm]

Now, if a character has a one word exclamation, that's more likely to lead to trouble.

Is that because it’s a swear word? The problem that you will get, is pronunciation. There are even some languages with pops and clicks, so it might be impossible to do that. That’s why it’s such a neat idea! Most people love reading stuff like that.

 

[CupofJoe]

I always think of Polari when reading these posts.
It was a very specialist type of slang [originally] by a small groups but it sort of morphed its way in to more standard [British] English. At least if you are my age it did.

 

[Karlin]

You know the Korean automobile brand "KIA"? Here, in Israel, it's pronounced differently than in the rest of the world. The usual pronunciation means "vomit" in Hebrew.

 

[Yaron P]

You know the Korean automobile brand "KIA"? Here, in Israel, it's pronounced differently than in the rest of the world. The usual pronunciation means "vomit" in Hebrew.

I know that I live in Israel too . Funny coincidence .