Does it make sense to (partially) create a conlang that you don't intend to actually use in the story?
The story that I'm currently working on is in a very far future. Clearly, people will speak a different language then.
Now, I wondered if it can make sense to (partially) create a conlang for the story even though I don't plan to write anything in that language in the final text.
I see two potential advantages of this: First, your language determines to a large part how you think. I guess writing dialogues in the conlang, and then translating into German (the language I'm writing in) might help with the authenticity of the dialogue because the source language character, even though not present any more, still should inform the translation.
Since such effects should be seen also for real languages, maybe someone has already experience (either positive or negative) with the difference between translated dialogue and dialogue directly written in the story language.
The second effect is related, but in a sense opposite: When creating a conlang, at least if you do it seriously, you are forced to consider aspects of the society that you might not think about otherwise.
To explain what I mean with this point, let me describe how the fact that I'm writing in German made me consider questions that I would probably never have considered if I had written in English.
German has two forms of “you”: A formal one (“Sie”) and an informal one (“du”). So when I was writing, I had to decide whether the people in my story should also use both forms. I decided to do so, and that forces me to make more decisions: How close do people have to be to each other in order to use “du” (in German, that changed over time, and it even is different in different social contexts). Also: Is it acceptable to use “du” when you believe that it is appropriate, or do people expect to be asked before being addressed with it? Or maybe you have to explicitly be offered the “du”?
Answering those questions forces me to consider aspects of the fictional society that I might have overlooked if I had written in English where the only way to address someone is “you”. I'd expect to encounter other such aspects when creating a conlang (disclaimer: I haven't done so yet, but watched a few videos on YouTube about conlang creation, and one major element was typically how the fictional culture affects the choices of the language).
On the other hand, creating a conlang is certainly a lot of work. Now some of the work can be omitted if the language is never actually shown (for example, I wouldn't need to give much thought about the sound inventory or the writing system). But maybe someone here has created a conlang for a story (probably in order to actually use it there) and can tell how much it informed the parts of the story not directly using the conlang.
So in summary: Does creating a conlang but not using it actually have the positive effects suggested above, and if so, are those effects large enough to justify the work that goes into creating it?
2 answers
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To me, the answer is more about you and your writing process than about constructed languages.
I am not constructing a language but I've done lots of worldbuilding that will never be visible to my readers. I feel more grounded having done it. And when I write new chapters, I never know which characters might pop up or where they are wandering. Knowing that I already have all that more or less set up gives me the confidence to allow my story the space it needs to grow.
Ask yourself, what answers are you hoping to hear? Think about how taking the time to do this will affect your work.
- Will creating your language be fun for you? Or tedious?
- Is working on your language a way to get into the mindset of your world? Or is it a form of procrastination?
- Do you find it easier to write dialogue (or even narrative) knowing the constraints of your world? Or would you rather write as you please then create the structure of the setting (including language) after you know how it's come out?
In my case, I'd answer yes to the first question in every pair (with a dab of procrastination). But I don't know you or how you work.
If you go ahead and create the language, you'll probably find places to sneak it in here and there. It also might make for terrific supplemental materials after the book is published, either in appendices or on a blog. It won't be wasted time.
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I think instead of creating the language, you can save a lot of time by just doing as you did in the question: Decide on features of the language that will make a psychological difference in the character's communications, how they think or feel.
You can read some tutorials on creating a conlang, but instead of creating one, borrow the features you want (two pronouns for "you", different pronouns for male and female, different forms of address based on class, etc).
Then decide on the psychological effects, which is all you are really after. Then adhere to that psychology for whatever you intend to write.
Language does influence psychology; I read a study years ago about two languages that used gendered language for nouns; i.e. inanimate objects were considered "male" or "female". But they differed in their gender assignment on some objects. So, for example, a bridge over a chasm was male in one language, and the native speakers asked to describe a bridge used male correlates: It was 'strong', 'sturdy', 'steady', etc. Words used much more often as admirable male attributes, than admirable female attributes.
In the other language bridges were female, and the native speakers asked to describe it used female correlates: It was 'graceful', 'beautiful', 'lovely', and so on. Words used much more often as admirable female attributes, than admirable male attributes.
What you are seeking in fiction (at pretty much all times) is conflict, so what you should be looking for in this exercise is the ability for one character (the writer) to cause the others cognitive dissonance, misunderstanding or confusion due to the way the language is used. That is the payoff, minor conflict and difficulty understanding what is written. It is not absolutely necessary, but these little forms of conflict, problems and misunderstandings, force readers to engage and wonder how they will be resolved, and they keep turning pages to find out why.
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