18 - A book with a made-up language

[Rachel]

I can't remember if the question was already answered (or even asked here, or if it was just on the Facebook group), but I can now confirm that Strange the Dreamer does involve a made-up language. It is not used much in the book, but it is mentioned and several words are in there.

[Stephen]

Neha wrote: "I have started reading Children of Blood and Bone , and not wholy but there are some words/enchantments in some made up language (I guess).

Can it be considered for this challenge ?"

It's been a while so I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure the non-English words are Yoruba or other real African languages.

[Neha]

Stephen wrote: "It's been a while so I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure the non-English words are Yoruba or other real African languages."

oh okay.. thanks

[Drilli]

Hello! Does anyone know if H.P. Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath could fit the task? Are there in the book phrases in a made-up languages such as in The Call of Cthulhu?

[Karin]

Shawna983 wrote: "I think Fredrik Backman’s “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” absolutely works for this prompt. Just finished the book recently and I highly recommend it!"

How does this work? I don't remember a made up language at all, just those significant fairy tales, which aren't a language. It's been a few years, so can you refresh me about a made up language? Communicating through fairy tales isn't a made up language. I've read many books with made up languages over the years (can't remember them all, though) due to reading a lot of scifi, etc.

[Jenn]

Would The Left Hand of Darkness works here?

[Jamie]

The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams are both essentially dictionaries of made up words. It's not exactly a language, per se, but I feel like they could probably count?

[Mariam]

I think https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... The kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson fits this prompt

[K.L.]

Jenn wrote: "Would The Left Hand of Darkness works here?"

It's been a long time since I last read The Left Hand of Darkness, but I think it would work for this prompt.

[Carrie]

Kelly wrote: "Does anyone know if Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin have a made-up language too?"

I would say yes-- the Targaryens are from Valyria and speak High Valyrian as their native tongue, there's some High Valyrian referenced in the book as well.

[Shannon]

I know there have been a few suggestions for non-sci-fi or fantasy books, but just to throw another one out there, I'm going to read The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building.

It says a book *with* a made-up language, and I can't imagine a book about language invention won't have excerpts of those languages as examples. I have a background in linguistics and no interest in slogging through genres I know I'm not a fan of, plus this has been on my list for awhile, so it's kind of perfect!

[Briar]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Harry and Voldemort speak parseltongue!

[Lin]

I read The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine for this prompt.
The book had a good story, it was an easy read, but not a favorite. Maybe a 3 star.

[audrey]

I haven't seen this book come up here yet, but Sourdough, by Robin Sloan, has a whole plotline involving a culture (ha!) the author made up for the purposes of the book, and in order to make it authentic and not encroach on existing cultures, he used his programming background to machine-generate samples of the Mazg language. The audio version of the book incorporates those machine-language samples in a really effective way. I haven't finished the book yet (ran out of renewals!) but so far I've really enjoyed it.

[Rachel]

Jenni wrote: "All languages are made up though, right? ;)"
Good answer! :)

[Alta]

Does anyone know if Where the Forest Meets the Stars would fit this prompt?

[Kate]

Alta wrote: "Does anyone know if Where the Forest Meets the Stars would fit this prompt?"

I read this book and don't remember any made up language in it. Personally, I don't recommend the book either. The author hasn't a clue when it comes to mental illnesses; she treats them in the most cavalier way.

[Alta]

Kate wrote: "Alta wrote: "Does anyone know if Where the Forest Meets the Stars would fit this prompt?"

I read this book and don't remember any made up language in it. Personally, I don't recomm..."

Thanks. I was just starting it and in the first chapter, the little girl is claiming to be from a different planet and uses a couple made-up words. Wasn't sure if this continues throughout the book.

[Sherri]

Would the language Marco used in his notebooks in Night Circus count? He made it up.

[Sydney]

‘Stories of your life and others’ by Ted Chaign has a story in the collection called Story of Your Life and it is about learning to communicate with an alien species, very interesting. I read it last year, it is the short that inspired the movie Arrival.

[Johanne]

I just finished 'The Library at Mount Char' and it has a made-up language.

[Linda]

I'm reading Native Tongue by Suzette Hagen Elgin - futuristic novel first published in 1984. I'm liking it... on chapter 4...

[Erica]

So any book from Leigh Bardugo's grisha verse. It has 6 books and a collection of short stories.

[Amy]

Just finished Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine Thanks for the recommendation

[Evil Secret]

I read A Sword of Storms by George R.R. Martin
A Storm of Swords

[Julia]

I'm going to read The Secret Language of Sisters by Luanne Rice.


It's about locked-in syndrome. I don't know how they'll communicate yet, but for me this counts as made-up language.

[Amanda]

Can anyone verify if Ninth House fits this? I saw someone say it did.

[Kim]

I read Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty . The main characters were triplets and it mentions that they made up their own language when they were small.

[Christy]

Hey, does anyone know if Black Leopard, Red Wolf would work for this? I think someone mentioned Igbo being used, but I can't find confirmation.
Thanks!

[Jennifer W]

Does anyone know if Alice's Adventures in Wonderland might work? Lewis was kinda out there with his use of the English language....

If not, I remember a college ed professor highly recommending Frindle which I've never gotten around to reading.

[Katy]

Jennifer W wrote: "Does anyone know if Alice's Adventures in Wonderland might work? Lewis was kinda out there with his use of the English language....

If not, I remember a college ed professor highly ..."

There are made up words, but not really an entire made up language, IIRC.

[Johanne]

@Christy, I haven't read it, but if it's igbo it's no more made up than English - It's one of the major languages spoken in Nigeria.

[Karin]

Rachel wrote: "Jenni wrote: "All languages are made up though, right? ;)"
Good answer! :)"

Not the way that this means. Language isn't just made up out of nowhere--it grows and develops and is as old as humankind.

That said, computer languages are made up if you want a little more leeway :)

Each of us plays this our own way, but it's not always hard to stray so far that the category loses all meaning. Reading challenges are frequently designed to get us to stretch our reading boundaries :)!!!

[Christy]

Johanne wrote: "@Christy, I haven't read it, but if it's igbo it's no more made up than English - It's one of the major languages spoken in Nigeria."
Sorry, I should have been clearer. I know that Igbo is a real language, but I can't find confirmation of whether James is actually using Igbo in the book or a language he made up.

[Johanne]

Ah sorry, I misunderstood. Hope someone else can help.

[Becky]

I’m going to read Strange Planet for this one. I bought it and plan to pass it onto a friend when I’m done. It looks cute.

[Sue]

I have just read Once on a Moonless Night by Dai Sijie. It has a made up language called Tumchooq.

[Brooke]

I chose Dune by Frank Herbert. It’s great so far but pretty daunting!

[Erica]

A Curse So Dark and Lonely and A Heart So Fierce and Broken fill this prompt

[Jess]

For those of you who like dystopia and young adult I put forth The Grace Year by Kim Liggett as an option. In the book a language of flowers is spoken of and used quite often. I am aware that flowers having different meanings in different cultures but the book actually calls it language of flowers and flower language and that cemented it for me personally. If that doesn't fit your views for the prompt, all good. I just wanted to put another option out there

[Brandon]

Brooke, if the made-up words and concepts get overwhelming, remember that there is a glossary in the back that will help. Enjoy one of the best books sci-fi has to offer!

[Cara]

A lot of recommendations on listopia are the huge popular fantasy novels like Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. Is there anything more recent that would work?

[Liz]

Here to second the recommendation of Remnant Population, one of my favourite reads of last year. I will probably read The Sparrow, or re-read Watership Down or Out of the Silent Planet, because they were both favourites.

[Drakeryn]

I recently read Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You, about a band releasing a music album in a made-up language that has strange mental effects on its listeners. It's fun and fast-paced and feels a lot like an extended SCP Foundation tale. (@Cara it's a 2019 release, since you were interested in recent books)

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey)]

I just finished reading To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo and didn't know ahead of time but it can work for this prompt. It's a retelling of The Little Mermaid that starts darker and the MC is a siren instead of a mermaid.

The sirens have their own language that's used in a few places throughout the book called Psaarin (or Psarrin?) I forget now how it was spelt exactly! xD

[Shelley]

I read Leviathan Wakes. It's more of an emerging language, but I think it really fits the spirit of the prompt. A bunch of outposts in the astroid belt have started to think of themselves as an independent country and they use slang taken from all the different languages of the inhabitants. It means that the some of workers speak a creole that is basically unintelligible from anyone from Mars or Earth.

[Silver]

Does anyone think The Handmaid's Tale or 1984 could work for this? What about Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow?

[Katy]

Silver wrote: "Does anyone think The Handmaid's Tale or 1984 could work for this? What about Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow?"

1984 has Newspeak. But, that's technically just removing words from an already existing language. However, since it has its own name, I would count if you want.

[Megan]

If you love Lisa See like I do, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

[She loves to read]

Would My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry count for this prompt, too?

I've read a third of it so far and by then, the narrator only mentions the characters talking in a secret language without mentioning actual words. In the discussions on this book users assume this language to be Esperanto, which would count as made-up, wouldn't it?