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The Conlanger's Lexipedia
The Language Construction Kit and Advanced Language Construction explained how to create grammars for constructed languages. But after creating a grammar, there's the 800-pound gorilla of the lexicon to deal with.
This book gives you everything you need to know to create words. The first stop is etymology: it contains thousands of etymologies from a wide variety of languages. Borrow them or let them spark your own ideas!
It's easy to let the lexicon be a coded version of your native language. The Lexipedia contains tips on how to avoid this, including plenty of fascinating examples from non-English languages.
You want to know which words to create first. The Lexipedia includes the 1500 words most commonly found in fantasy and science fiction, sorted by frequency.
Many parts of the lexicon require real-world knowledge to handle. The Lexipedia contains just enough information on biology, physics, and human cultures to help you out.
Plus, there's a discussion of the basic tools of the word creator: categories, metaphors, and derivation.
Though aimed at conlangers, the Lexipedia will be instructive and entertaining for anyone who's interested in words.
This book gives you everything you need to know to create words. The first stop is etymology: it contains thousands of etymologies from a wide variety of languages. Borrow them or let them spark your own ideas!
It's easy to let the lexicon be a coded version of your native language. The Lexipedia contains tips on how to avoid this, including plenty of fascinating examples from non-English languages.
You want to know which words to create first. The Lexipedia includes the 1500 words most commonly found in fantasy and science fiction, sorted by frequency.
Many parts of the lexicon require real-world knowledge to handle. The Lexipedia contains just enough information on biology, physics, and human cultures to help you out.
Plus, there's a discussion of the basic tools of the word creator: categories, metaphors, and derivation.
Though aimed at conlangers, the Lexipedia will be instructive and entertaining for anyone who's interested in words.
424 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 10, 2013
87 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2020
This Book is a linguistic beginners dream
This is the dream book I’ve been looking for in languages and language creation. Definitely worth a read. Thank you.
This is the dream book I’ve been looking for in languages and language creation. Definitely worth a read. Thank you.
June 7, 2024
I haven't seen anything like this. SO MANY entries for how semantic spaces are rearranged by world languages and how that might be used for natural conlanging.
May 20, 2014
Extremely useful. If you want to create your own language, you should use this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews