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Creating new words
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I do that all the time when I write fantasy (not entire languages but certain words such as names or places). How do I go about it? Well that depends. Sometimes I will be writing and the name will just pop up on the screen or paper (that's when I am really focused and pretty much zoned out to anything around me and I just write, editing later). Other times I will think about what I want in the word and if I want it to have a purpose pertaining to what it is being used for. In those cases I will look of words that sound like what I want and then find their origin and go from there. Other times I will combine multiple words.
I do that too. O'Bekahr isn't exactly a household word nor is Be'hian....you may want t be careful with an urban fantasy setting. Where does the new language come from? Google Translator will convert English into Latin and I've even found a place that will translate English into Navajo if you are willing to wait for it. You may not need new words.
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i have created my own words. i am doing a story about a magical school and i am using new words for spells. Of course i am mixing Latin words with a flare of my own new language:) i hope you mean adding new words in fantasy. i have never tried making new words in nonfiction or realistic fiction
Ingrid wrote: "hope you mean adding new words in fantasy. i have never tried making new words in nonfiction or realistic fiction"LOL!! Yes I did mean in a fantasy setting! ;-)
ShazzyLouLou wrote: "Ingrid wrote: "hope you mean adding new words in fantasy. i have never tried making new words in nonfiction or realistic fiction"LOL!! Yes I did mean in a fantasy setting! ;-)"
Oh, in that case..."Es oran tchey morrah." Which is Be'hian for "you can do what you want." and I just made it up.
({B-{D>)
Curmudgeon wrote: "ShazzyLouLou wrote: "Ingrid wrote: "hope you mean adding new words in fantasy. i have never tried making new words in nonfiction or realistic fiction"LOL!! Yes I did mean in a fantasy setting! ..."
Brilliant! I just cant seem to do the same in a credible way.... maybe i lack the imagination???
Do what I do... bang your fingers on the keyboard then insert vowels and spaces, add punctuation as it suits you, and go from there.(view spoiler)
that's what I do.
LOL!!Random key strokes, might not be such a bad idea! :-D
As always though, you give excellent advice
x
On the other hand, your characters are speaking "A" language that is already assumed to be other than English. Unless there is something special about the word you want, it's not necessary to make up a new one. For example, I wrote my O'Behkar stories in English, but, If asked, I'd have said that they really spoke some type of "Common" tongue promoted by Merchants and Traders, or arranged for all the characters to speak the same language. Words like Be'hian are "old tongue" not the common dialect that everyone is speaking.
I feel uncomfortable about the made up words too, so I keep them to a minimum or in a "Controlled Environment" (i.e. A language that has been forgotten like Ancient Greek, or Latin, or maybe limited words from a group that have a language barrier between them and the main characters. Like Russians in Florida. Then, the few words come through some sort of a translator who's job it is to make English (common tongue, whatever everyone speaks) out of it.)
If that makes sense? (Sometimes people think I speak in my own language so I may not be the best guy to talk to... "I know he's trying to speak to me, but I can't understand it...it's like Martian or something."
Ha ha. Don't worry, I am frequently accused of being on my own planet.I wasn't really thinking of writing huge swathes in another language, just small references to "the old language," like titles or swear words.
Oh, like Fraq and Pheltercarb! (if your a BSG 2005 fan, and I am, you know where those came from.)
I'm sorry... Battlestar Galactica 2005. (and those words were from the original series with Dirk Pitt and Lorne Greene.) My bad. Pheltercarb! I hate it when that happens.
I do create my own words...I write fantasy so who else is going to name my world? Honestly, I absolutely hate doing it. Everything I create to me sounds awful and I spend a lot of time doing it. I have no choice, though. I can't just call everything Village A and Town B. So I sometimes will give a place a generic yet fitting name (such as Fishing Creek for a village I created) and other times, when it's called for, I have to create a name. I honestly view as a chore. Character names are much, much more fun for me. I adore naming characters. There are so many unique names out there, though, that I've only made up one name. I usually find a character's name pretty fast. I'll have people with crazy names and average names. It all depends. ^__^
Since I'm a fan of many authors including Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll, both of which were inventors of words, I see no reason why we can't come up with some funky words of our own!!!!!
This topic has been moved to the Archives as of 5/4/2013.
I know the likes of J.R.R. Tolkiencreated whole new languages and spent years developing them. I am not at that stage, but as I'm writing a PNR I thought it may be useful to include a few words here and there that are of "another language."
Anyway, it was just a thought, I'd be interested if anyone else has/is doing this.
Thanks
S