Language Creation Society
Encyclopedia
The Language Creation Society (LCS) is a non-profit organization formed to promote constructed languages
(conlangs), support makers of constructed languages (conlangers), and inform the general public about conlangs and the conlanger community. The LCS also acts as an intermediary for creative people seeking conlangs for use in works of fiction (in any media) and for conlangers seeking professional work.
for its series Game of Thrones
, based on George R.R. Martin's series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire
. Olivier Simon was selected by LCS to create "Leosprache" for the German film Der Liebe Leo.
The LCS started a podcast
in February 2009; as of October 2010, an academic journal is in the works as well.
The LCS also holds a Language Creation Conference
roughly every other year; conferences so far were held in 2006 (Berkeley, California
), 2007 (Berkeley, California
), 2009 (Providence, Rhode Island
), and 2011 (Groningen, the Netherlands).
s.
David J. Peterson was hired as the linguistic consultant for the TV series Game of Thrones
to develop the Dothraki language
.
Constructed language
A planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
(conlangs), support makers of constructed languages (conlangers), and inform the general public about conlangs and the conlanger community. The LCS also acts as an intermediary for creative people seeking conlangs for use in works of fiction (in any media) and for conlangers seeking professional work.
Mission
The LCS seeks "to promote conlangs and conlanging through offering platforms for conlangers to publish high-quality work of interest to the community, raising awareness about conlanging amongst the general public, organizing work for professional conlangers and people in the entertainment industry interested in adding more depth to their alternative worlds, and providing a central place for reliable contacts and information to those seeking to learn more."Professional services
A client's request describing their needs and the type of conlang(s) they want is sent to a list of conlangers seeking work; the proposals submitted by the conlangers are then peer-reviewed in a double-blind process by a panel of volunteers who are not seeking such work, or at least not candidates for that particular job. The proposals thought best by the peer reviewers are then forwarded to the client, who selects one to be more fully developed by its creator. To date, the LCS has been hired by HBO, and contracted David J. Peterson to create the Dothraki languageDothraki language
The Dothraki language is the constructed language of the Dothraki, the indigenous inhabitants of the Dothraki Sea in the series A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R. R. Martin. It was created by David J. Peterson, a member of the Language Creation Society, for HBO's television series Game of...
for its series Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
, based on George R.R. Martin's series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes; a further two...
. Olivier Simon was selected by LCS to create "Leosprache" for the German film Der Liebe Leo.
Community support
Most online conlanger fora and communities predate the LCS and are independent of it (e.g. the CONLANG mailing list and Zompist Bulletin Board). The LCS provides web hosting for a number of newer community-oriented projects, including the Conlang Atlas of Language Structures, a mirror of the CONLANG mailing list archives, a conlang blog aggregator, and archive hosting of deceased conlangers' websites, in addition to hosting for individual members' conlang-oriented homepages.The LCS started a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
in February 2009; as of October 2010, an academic journal is in the works as well.
The LCS also holds a Language Creation Conference
Language Creation Conference
The Language Creation Conference is an annual conference about conlanging, organized by the Language Creation Society . It focuses primarily on the process of creating new languages, but also features talks that focus on features of various specific languages...
roughly every other year; conferences so far were held in 2006 (Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
), 2007 (Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
), 2009 (Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
), and 2011 (Groningen, the Netherlands).
LCS Members
Several of the LCS members and associates have been hired as linguistic consultants. Bill Welden was a consultant for the Lord of the Rings trilogy for Elvish. Many have degrees in linguistics, and some are currently working on projects that are covered by non-disclosure agreementNon-disclosure agreement
A non-disclosure agreement , also known as a confidentiality agreement , confidential disclosure agreement , proprietary information agreement , or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties...
s.
David J. Peterson was hired as the linguistic consultant for the TV series Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
to develop the Dothraki language
Dothraki language
The Dothraki language is the constructed language of the Dothraki, the indigenous inhabitants of the Dothraki Sea in the series A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R. R. Martin. It was created by David J. Peterson, a member of the Language Creation Society, for HBO's television series Game of...
.