The Art of Language Invention

From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building

De: David J. Peterson

Narrado por: David J. Peterson

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, writers, game creators, and language lovers. Peterson offers a captivating overview of language creation, covering its history from Tolkien’s creations and Klingon to today’s thriving global community of conlangers. He provides the essential tools necessary for inventing and evolving new languages, using examples from a variety of languages including his own creations, punctuated with references to everything from Star Wars to Janelle Monáe. Along the way, behind-the-scenes stories lift the curtain on how he built languages like Dothraki for HBO’s Game of Thrones and Shiväisith for Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World, and an included phrasebook will start fans speaking Peterson’s constructed languages. The Art of Language Invention is an inside look at a fascinating culture and an engaging entry into a flourishing art form—and it might be the most fun you’ll ever have with linguistics.

The Art of Language Invention includes a new chapter on phrases, specifically, word order, negation, question formation, pragmatic concerns, relativization, and subordination, providing a complete introduction to language creation and linguistics. Invented languages featured in the book now include Chakobsa from Legendary’s Dune, Trigedasleng (or Grounder) from The 100, Méníshè language from Motherland: Fort Salem and Ravkan from the Netflix series Shadow and Bone.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing diagrams, language tables, and visual aids.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“David Peterson's language work transformed our show, investing it with a sense of reality and history that would have been impossible without him. There's nothing like the real thing, and David Peterson is it. This fascinating book will not only illuminate the task of language creation--it will make you look at your own language in a whole new way.”
—David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, co-creators of HBO's Game of Thrones

“George R. R. Martin created Khal Drogo, and David Benioff and Dan Weiss believed in me, but David Peterson gave me life.”
—Jason Momoa

“David J. Peterson’s The Art of Language Invention accomplishes a minor miracle in taking a potentially arcane discipline and infusing it with life, humor and passion. It makes a compelling and entertaining case for language creation as visual and aural poetry. I cherish words, I love books about words and for me this is the best book about language since Stephen Fry’s The Ode Less Traveled. And, best of all, there’s a phrasebook!”
—Kevin Murphy, co-creator and showrunner of Syfy’s Defiance

“If you want to know how someone makes up a language from the ground up, you'll find out how in this book—and the glory of it is that along the way you'll get the handiest introduction now in existence to what linguistics is. In fact, read this even if you DON'T feel like making up a language!”
—John McWhorter, author of The Language Hoax

“Accessible, entertaining, and thorough, Peterson has created an invaluable resource for authors, dedicated fans, and casual enthusiasts. This is the book I wish I'd had when I started writing.”
—Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow and Bone

“This book not only lucidly ushers language invention into its own as an art form, it's also an excellent introduction to linguistics.”
—Arika Okrent, author of In the Land of Invented Languages

"Mr. Peterson illuminates the ins and outs of being a professional developer of “constructed languages”...Language invention requires not only technical know-how but also playfulness and a degree of historical savvy.”
—The Wall Street Journal

entertaining and fascinated

As a non con-linger, this was an awesome read. I feel like this book struck the right balance of being a how-to manual for con-lingers, and general linguistics insight book.

The History of Conlangs & Creating Languages

What made the experience of listening to The Art of Language Invention the most enjoyable?

The author is so knowledgable, and it was amazing to listen to a history and overview of something I wasn't familiar with but was very curious about.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Art of Language Invention?

Going through all the different sounds in different languages! I learned why some sounds are so difficult for me to pronounce when learning other languages, and practiced along making different sounds.

What about David J. Peterson’s performance did you like?

The narration seemed so patient, going through every sound with practiced ease. As an ardent geek, there were also plenty of pop culture references in here that I really enjoyed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When David J. Peterson was talking about how he felt when he saw one of the languages that he created recreated on the set of the SyFy show Defiance, it was clear that he put so much time and thought into his work.

Any additional comments?

This book made me feel so fascinated with the world of consigning. Even though I will probably never create one myself, I love this book!

Great resource, but not conducive to audiobook

Peterson is one of the foremost voices in language invention today, but this book didn't really lend itself to an audio production. Keep the PDF included with your audible purchase close at hand in order to follow along. It would've been more helpful to have actually cited the page number of the PDF, rather than him just saying, "refer to your PDF," as the PDF is 50+ pages long.

Otherwise, this is a great resource for those wanting to create their own language or are wanting to better understand the process of language invention and linguistics.

conlanging :3

conlanging :3
conlanging :3
conlanging :3
conlanging :3
conlanging :3
conlanging :3
conlanging :3
conlanging :3

(i like the writing systems. i mifht make my own language too sometime soon)

A great book for language lovers.

I really enjoyed this book. I am not interested in making my own language, but am a fan a learning all about languages and how they work. This book is great for language lovers and a must if you are interested in making one of your own. The book has a little of everything that is language related.

The book is read by the author himself so it adds to the great quality of the book.