The Art of Language Invention

By David J. Peterson,

Book cover of The Art of Language Invention

Book description

An insider’s tour through the construction of invented languages from the bestselling author and creator of languages for Legendary's Dune, the HBO series Game of Thrones and the Syfy series Defiance

From master language creator David J. Peterson comes a creative guide to language construction for sci-fi and fantasy fans,…


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Why read it?

1 author picked The Art of Language Invention as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

As a world traveler, I feel that it's important to understand to language to "grok" the culture one is exploring. Although I personally am not very good with spoken language sounds, I find the underlying linguistic structure always fascinating. For example, Japanese grammar explains many things about Japanese culture.

In that light, Petersen's "The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves to Sand Worms, the Worlds Behind World-Building" is fascinating. As the subtitle indicates, Petersen was called on to invent plausible languages for the Riders of Rohan, the Dothraki, and more. Petersen explains what goes into plausible language…

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