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In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build a Perfect Language
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Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man's attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon, which was nothing more than a television show's attempt to create a tough-sounding language befitting a warrior race with ridged foreheads. But few people have heard of Babm, Bli
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
May 19th 2009
by Spiegel & Grau
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Paul Magnussen
It’s mentioned briefly on p.286.
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Start your review of In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build a Perfect Language

It's a kind of grand, philosophical undertaking to invent a universal language. A generic language. And that's the problem not one of them has overcome. We learn languages from babyhood, everyone's mother tongue is easy to them. It expresses shared experiences, the way we do things, our culture that makes us different from everyone else.
The main reason all invented languages and almost all revived ones fail is that the acquistion of language comes naturally from the cradle and after that most o ...more
The main reason all invented languages and almost all revived ones fail is that the acquistion of language comes naturally from the cradle and after that most o ...more

Absolutely terrific read on the history of invented languages, which is weirder, sadder, funnier and more heartwarming than you might think. Great stories here about some really, uh, unique people, as well as a lot of interesting stuff on the nature of language and our relationship to it. Well written, funny and extremely involving. I wolfed it down with great enjoyment and have a newfound and unexpected respect for people who speak Klingon (not to mention the guy who invented it, who is clearly
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Initially this book was fairly amusing, but somewhere around the half-way mark its charms began to fade, and by the end it was just plain exhausting. This was certainly not the fault of the author, who was an engaged and enthusiastic tour guide throughout. But ultimately the cumulative craziness of the various language inventors takes its toll.
Okrent's tour of the "land of invented languages" covers a lot of ground, making five major stops, each of which considers a particular example in depth: ...more
Okrent's tour of the "land of invented languages" covers a lot of ground, making five major stops, each of which considers a particular example in depth: ...more

I think I would really enjoy sitting down for a cup of coffee and a discussion with this author! She is a linguist and linguistics is a favourite subject of mine. She knows a thing or two about the Library of Congress classification schedules too (or at least the P section of them, linguistics & languages), which appeals to my inner cataloguing nerd. Plus, she is just interested in words and their history and in the psychology of people who strive to build better languages.
I was absolutely gobsm ...more
I was absolutely gobsm ...more

In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent is a book ostensibly about invented languages (like Esperanto) that is filled with love for the beauty and inventiveness of natural languages.
Okrent gives us the tour we'd expect of funny invented languages like Esperanto and Klingon (she even attends a Klingon convention). She has sport with many of the creations.
Okrent gives us the tour we'd expect of funny invented languages like Esperanto and Klingon (she even attends a Klingon convention). She has sport with many of the creations.
For the childish mind the temptations of Volapük are great. If you think the word pük is funny, then you will love how it figures in...more

Whatever happened to Esperanto -- is it still ticking? And Volapük, does anyone still speak it? Here's the low-down on invented languages, starting with the mystical Seventeeth and enlightened Eighteen centuries, when serious attempts were made not only to name BUT TO ORDER every word out there in wholly new languages that would be not only rational but would unpack our (now we know) unpackable universe.
Then came the One Worlders: the rise of nationalism in the Nineteenth Century provoked a rea ...more
Then came the One Worlders: the rise of nationalism in the Nineteenth Century provoked a rea ...more

The author looks at the history of invention surrounding well, invented languages.
And if you like languages at all, then it's fascinating. Although I could have wished for a little better organization. The author seems to jump about in time here and there, which can be confusing. And there is some repetition of information, as if she forgot she already told us that.
Oddly, I was at least a third if not halfway through the book before I realized the author was a woman. It was an odd experience ha ...more
And if you like languages at all, then it's fascinating. Although I could have wished for a little better organization. The author seems to jump about in time here and there, which can be confusing. And there is some repetition of information, as if she forgot she already told us that.
Oddly, I was at least a third if not halfway through the book before I realized the author was a woman. It was an odd experience ha ...more

Language nerds are my kind of people.
Arika Okrent too, and this is a really well-writ book, informative, contiguous with stuff familiar to me yet full of new stories and information. Shout-outs to kids' invented languages, to Tolkien's massive works, Esperantist congresses, computer code, Newspeak, among other things, made me feel semi-initiated in this weird and quite wonderful pseudo-culture of obscure, eccentric and often as not misguided concepts, notions, and of course whatever may or may n ...more
Arika Okrent too, and this is a really well-writ book, informative, contiguous with stuff familiar to me yet full of new stories and information. Shout-outs to kids' invented languages, to Tolkien's massive works, Esperantist congresses, computer code, Newspeak, among other things, made me feel semi-initiated in this weird and quite wonderful pseudo-culture of obscure, eccentric and often as not misguided concepts, notions, and of course whatever may or may n ...more

This book was the perfect balance of everything: humor, information, history, thought-provocation, etc. And the exact book I needed to get me out of the rut of non-reading I've been in the last 2 months.
It's a look into the amusing world of invented languages, ones invented by a single person as opposed to a language arising organically through a community of users who create it on the fly, evolving it to their needs. And there have not been a shortage of them: an estimated 900 in the last 900 y ...more
It's a look into the amusing world of invented languages, ones invented by a single person as opposed to a language arising organically through a community of users who create it on the fly, evolving it to their needs. And there have not been a shortage of them: an estimated 900 in the last 900 y ...more

Fantastic book! I have been in love with languages since childhood, and this book fed my obsession fully. It is amazingly well-researched and the writer is clearly knows more about languages than any person should, but the writing feels natural and not academic-dry, is full of humor and keeps you turning the pages to learn what other crazy stuff people have come up with, and what it can teach us about how language and the human mind work. One of the best non-fiction books I've read this year, an
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Despite the many obstacles, individuals and groups continue to be inspired to invent a language. Arika Okrent is a linguist who has studied these languages and tried to learn a few of them. She reports on them and brings to life their colorful developers. The result a handy guide to this unusual world.
The developers have had different goals and approaches. Some developers, such as John Wilkins in the 1660’s had the goal of making language more rational. To do this he created philosophical group ...more
The developers have had different goals and approaches. Some developers, such as John Wilkins in the 1660’s had the goal of making language more rational. To do this he created philosophical group ...more

Delightful, fascinating, funny. This could have been written for me.
I read this over a year ago and can't stop recommending it to anybody who will listen to me. While writing up my thoughts on something else tonight, I realized that Okrent's book has become the gold standard for a particular strain of my non-fiction reading.
So I thought it only fair that I state in public that I loved this book, and wish it had been twice as long. Even longer. If I could, I would have this book's babies.
I'm not ...more
I read this over a year ago and can't stop recommending it to anybody who will listen to me. While writing up my thoughts on something else tonight, I realized that Okrent's book has become the gold standard for a particular strain of my non-fiction reading.
So I thought it only fair that I state in public that I loved this book, and wish it had been twice as long. Even longer. If I could, I would have this book's babies.
I'm not ...more

I’m not much of a linguist in the technical sense, though I do enjoy learning languages (and especially doing translation), so I wasn’t sure if reading a book about invented languages might be too technical. Luckily, it isn’t: In the Land of Invented Languages is actually a really easy read, with a more personal than professional analysis of the languages discussed — although it does go into some details about how each one works, why it’s effective or not, how much it’s used, etc.
Better, Okrent ...more
Better, Okrent ...more

You’ve heard of Esperanto and Klingon, but did you know that there have been over five hundred invented languages that have seen some sort of publication or scholarly effort in the past several hundred years? I, too, thought that an astonishingly high number.
Okrent’s narrative takes us from the playful invented languages (like Klingon, which have no “real use” according to hard-core Esperantists), to the pictoral/symbolic used to assist young children with language production disorders, to the ...more
Okrent’s narrative takes us from the playful invented languages (like Klingon, which have no “real use” according to hard-core Esperantists), to the pictoral/symbolic used to assist young children with language production disorders, to the ...more

This was a hoot! Even though some parts were penetrable only by a linguist like the author, I really enjoyed it. Okrent is a very good writer and knows how to choose and lead up to the funniest aspect of a constructed language -- or of the inventor. I learned a ton of random facts, and I thought I knew it all, having a decent knowledge of Esperanto. Turns out, there are more than 900 known invented languages. One that was invented to express a woman's perspective is Laadan and has words like thi
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Aug 29, 2011
Jenn Golden
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
language
In the Land of Invented Languages was an impulse purchase that came about while I was browsing the heavily discounted “Philosophy and Linguistics” section at the Borders where I’ve worked for six years. I’ve never come across a more readable book written by a linguist in all my time earning an undergraduate and master’s degree in the subject.
And where was this book when I was working on my undergraduate thesis paper on Tolkien’s invented language and the difference between truly natural languag ...more
And where was this book when I was working on my undergraduate thesis paper on Tolkien’s invented language and the difference between truly natural languag ...more

This book is a joy. Okrent offers 26 chapters of insights into some of the world's hundreds of invented languages. She is selective, of course, and organizes the material around a few key themes about language that resonate with any reader: transparency, perspective, accuracy, and invention. And Okrent has a feel not just for the languages but also for the people behind them. She peppers this subject with some of the heroes and villains behind invented languages; enter John Wilkins (who construc
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3.5 stars
Go ahead and consider my mind blown. I had no idea that that many people (going back to the 1600s in Europe!) have taken that much time and energy to create new languages for such a plethora of idealistic, silly, and/or creative reasons. I laugh that so many seem(ed) to think that their precious baby language was going to be The One. The One that solved all our problems, that united all of humanity. LOL. Fail.
The two types of invented languages that caused my head to throb in agony were ...more
Go ahead and consider my mind blown. I had no idea that that many people (going back to the 1600s in Europe!) have taken that much time and energy to create new languages for such a plethora of idealistic, silly, and/or creative reasons. I laugh that so many seem(ed) to think that their precious baby language was going to be The One. The One that solved all our problems, that united all of humanity. LOL. Fail.
The two types of invented languages that caused my head to throb in agony were ...more

If you've listened to any stories about conlangs (or "constructed languages") on NPR over the past few years, you've almost definitely heard the author, Arika Okrent (her first name is pronounced like "Erica.")
In this fun read, Okrent charts the colorful history of invented languages--from Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century up through Mark Okrand's invention of a full Klingon lexicon for the Star Trek films and TNG. Until several decades into the 20th century, language inventors were Utopi ...more
In this fun read, Okrent charts the colorful history of invented languages--from Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century up through Mark Okrand's invention of a full Klingon lexicon for the Star Trek films and TNG. Until several decades into the 20th century, language inventors were Utopi ...more

Nonfiction: A brief and breezy overview of the history of artificial languages.
I enjoyed this; it's very much like a series of magazine articles in the sort of magazine that only exists in my dreams. It was full of those interesting tidbits that make you annoy the people in the room by interrupting them to say, "Wow, did you know that ..." (the table-form thesaurus seems to have been accidentally created by people who were trying to make a language? As native speakers use Esperanto, it's changin ...more
I enjoyed this; it's very much like a series of magazine articles in the sort of magazine that only exists in my dreams. It was full of those interesting tidbits that make you annoy the people in the room by interrupting them to say, "Wow, did you know that ..." (the table-form thesaurus seems to have been accidentally created by people who were trying to make a language? As native speakers use Esperanto, it's changin ...more

I really enjoyed this book. After reading it, almost wish I was able to express my admiration and appreciation in an invented language. Well, I suppose technically I can. I just need to invent one. Apparently it's been done for centuries to varied (albeit mostly low, very low) degrees of success and recognition. I'm not a linguist per se, just someone who holds language structures and words in general in high esteem, fan of crosswords, polysyllabics, word games, etc. If you're like me, if you th
...more

This book is a gem for linguists - it is a fun, breezy account of invented languages and their place in linguistics. The writer clearly knows her stuff and talks as a linguist to other linguists, discussing how these languages have developed following the patterns of other, existing languages (though I will note that from this standpoint she could have left the lengthy explanation of Whorf out). Her account is humorous and detailed, with the introduction of her own opinions about the subject a w
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Fun.
Arika Okrent is intrigued by languages that have been created whole-cloth--like Esperanto or Klingon or the elvish tongues of Tolkien. Ultimately, it is, as she says, a story of failure--depending upon your definition, either very few or no invented languages have really succeeded. And most are forgotten. But it is still worthwhile to explore the various impulses that lead to these attempts, and contemplate the reasons for their failure.
After a couple of introductory chapters, Okrent divides ...more
Arika Okrent is intrigued by languages that have been created whole-cloth--like Esperanto or Klingon or the elvish tongues of Tolkien. Ultimately, it is, as she says, a story of failure--depending upon your definition, either very few or no invented languages have really succeeded. And most are forgotten. But it is still worthwhile to explore the various impulses that lead to these attempts, and contemplate the reasons for their failure.
After a couple of introductory chapters, Okrent divides ...more

Very fun read if you're interested in linguistics and/or invented languages. The author has a great sense of humor, and capably gives an overview of the ~400 years of consistent attempts at "conlangs" (constructed languages)—which at the beginning she notes is mostly "a history of failure." I appreciated the specific examples from so many languages, and why they all (basically) failed. It's a big task, though, so it can sometimes feel a bit repetitive when yet another language inventor comes up
...more

This book is excellent! If you're not familiar with the history of invented languages, this an excellent one-stop introduction. But even if you are (like me), you will still enjoy this book. The writing is excellent and engrossing -- I'm a slow reader and I can't stand to read for long periods, but I devoured this book in just two sittings. The material is covered with enough depth and facts to satisfy language nerds, while also being presented with a very personal -- and personable -- style tha
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Aug 16, 2010
André
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to André by:
Carolin Weemeyer, Robert Weemeyer
Shelves:
linguistics
Finally a contemporary book about constructed languages! Not only was it interesting to learn about projects other than Esperanto and Klingon (about which I've heard and read so much already), but it offered also new insights into the field in general. Okrent (is it a coincidence that her name resembles that of Marc Okrand so much?) manages to write in a nice mixture of scientific, personal and trivial facts and explanations. Of course this book is not meant as a linguistic dissertation and of c
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I truly love a journalistic, popular science-y kind of work, and I've read some great ones. This book ranks up there with the very best, like works by Jared Diamond, Michael Pollan or Mary Roach.
Okrent is a wonderful writer. She has compiled her (very thorough!) research here with an impressively fluid organization such that one concept flows seamlessly into the next.
Her writing has just the right balance of authority and humor. She writes like your smartest, funniest friend explaining somethin ...more
Okrent is a wonderful writer. She has compiled her (very thorough!) research here with an impressively fluid organization such that one concept flows seamlessly into the next.
Her writing has just the right balance of authority and humor. She writes like your smartest, funniest friend explaining somethin ...more

The title of the book pretty much says it all. A great and fun journey into the world of invented languages. Recommended for everyone who's able to speak/read 2+ languages (or want to be able to!). ;)
...more

[Random Read. 18, Language.]
The author, a linguist, delves into the history of invented languages, from Lingua Ignota, created by a nun in the 12th century for reasons unknown, and Balaibalan, "an Arabic-Persian-Turkish mix" created sometimes in the Middle Ages possibly for religious purposes; to Francis Lodwick's and George Dalgarno's systems which used picture radicals that fit together like Legos to make words; to modern attempts that had the ambition to promote world peace, such as Esperanto ...more
The author, a linguist, delves into the history of invented languages, from Lingua Ignota, created by a nun in the 12th century for reasons unknown, and Balaibalan, "an Arabic-Persian-Turkish mix" created sometimes in the Middle Ages possibly for religious purposes; to Francis Lodwick's and George Dalgarno's systems which used picture radicals that fit together like Legos to make words; to modern attempts that had the ambition to promote world peace, such as Esperanto ...more
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Arika Okrent is an American linguist, known particularly for her 2009 book In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language, a result of her five years of research into the topic of constructed languages.
Arika Okrent was born in Chicago and became fascinated with languages at an early age. She flitted ...more
Arika Okrent was born in Chicago and became fascinated with languages at an early age. She flitted ...more
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Happy Women's History Month! One of the undisputedly good things about modern scholarship is that women’s history is finally getting its due....
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“The job of the linguist, like that of the biologist or the botanist, is not to tell us how nature should behave, or what its creations should look like, but to describe those creations in all their messy glory and try to figure out what they can teach us about life, the world, and, especially in the case of linguistics, the workings of the human mind.”
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“Before you judge me as some kind of 'anything goes' language heathen, let me just say that I'm not against usage standards. I don't violate them when I want to sound like an educated person, for the same reason I don't wear a bikini to a funeral when I want to look like a respectful person. There are social conventions for the way we do lots of things, and it is to everyone's benefit to be familiar with them. But logic ain't got nothin' to do with it.”
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