Constructed language facts for kids

A constructed language (often called a conlang) is a language that someone has made up. It's not a language that grew naturally over time, like English or Spanish. People create conlangs for many reasons. Some are for talking to others, like Esperanto. Others are for stories, games, or even secret codes.

Conlangs can be grouped in a few ways.

What are the main types of constructed languages?

• A priori languages are made completely new. They don't use words or grammar from any existing language.
• A posteriori languages borrow words and grammar from languages that already exist.

Why do people create new languages?

People also make conlangs for different reasons.

• Engineered languages (or engelangs) are made for experiments. They might explore ideas about logic or how we think.
• Auxiliary languages (or auxlangs) are made to help people from different countries talk to each other. Esperanto is a famous example.
• Artistic languages (or artlangs) are created just for fun. They might sound cool or be part of a fictional world.

Many conlangs also have their own special ways of writing, called constructed scripts.

Famous examples of constructed languages

Here are some well-known constructed languages:

• American Sign Language (and other signed languages for the deaf)
• Basic English
• Dothraki (from A Song of Ice and Fire)
• Esperanto
• Klingon (from Star Trek)
• Lojban
• Middle-earth languages like Quenya and Sindarin (from The Lord of the Rings)
• Na'vi language (from Avatar)
• Newspeak (from the book 1984)
• Pig Latin
• Simlish (from The Sims video game)
• Toki Pona

Images for kids

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  Page 68r of the Voynich manuscript. This three-page foldout from the manuscript includes a chart that appears astronomical