This project-based course allows students to develop a constructed language (or conlang) for a fictional world they have developed. Within the coursework, students learn about linguistics, the structure and design of other languages, and are exposed to other constructed languages.
This course has been previously taught as a 20 hour workshop. It can be extended to be a semester-long course (40 hours) or even a year-long course (80 hours).
Over the duration of the course, students will:
- Imagine the world and culture that their conlang developed in
- Create and articulate the goals of their conlang
- Explore other existing conlangs
- Be introduced to the building blocks of language
- Apply each of the building blocks to their own conlang
- Explore glyph systems and other written languages conventions
- Create a novel written language for their conlang, if inspired
- Receive feedback and input from peers
- Share and use the language with others as it develops
- Create written pieces using their language as it would be used in its fictional world
This course was offered as a summer workshop by LEAF in 2025. It developed from the instructor’s longstanding interest in languages and conlangs, after collaborating with the co-facilitator the previous year to create languages for the world of Guild Chronicles. Students created novel languages, pidgins, creoles and dialects for their imagined world, spoke their languages aloud, and created stories, poetry, and fables using their conlangs.
This course was taught by Elizabeth MacDowell, published author and language enthusiast, with assistance from Andrew Harris, M.Ed., a publisher, game designer, and small business owner.
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