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Kimev maci ejuyh ?

Why do people create languages? 

Every constructed language has a reason to be made and this reason is related to psychology and culture. The point is what does a language constructor wills with his/her creation and what may be the possible impacts in culture? 

Rodrigo Solano

allamejlanguage@gmail.com

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What do language constructors say?

 

Constructing languages ​​may seem somehow strange, weird, or even useless, at least at a first glance. In a way, we can say yes, it may be both strange and useless to a certain extent. It may seem strange because it is certainly not ordinary and useless because most constructed languages ​​do not perform their most useful function known - communicating! In order to communicate, the language needs to be spoken by a community. And this is not the case of most conlangs (constructed languages).

 

On the other hand, nothing that is invented is common. Anything new is unknown, is strange and potentially weird. Considering that, many things can be regarded as strange at first contact, from scientific hypotheses to artistic productions that cause us emotions. They tend to seem more "normal"  the more we get acquainted with them. Taking some time to know the phenomenon of language creation, perhaps not as languages, but as artistic creations, may introduce us to a very different universe. This universe may make us aware of the probable illusions we might be experiencing through our native language.

 

Perhaps many things that we believe to be surtain are only results of a semantic interpretation different from the reality existing outside the spectrum of the language we speak. The world around us may have different interpretations from what we give it through our language. In this way, exposure to conlangs ​​and to what motivates their construction may broaden the way we apprehend the world reality. Getting acquainted with conlangs is exploring different constructed ways to describe and interpret reality, a true philosophical exercise, or just a beyond-thinking.

The languages ​​already created have achieved several goals. I can mention some of these goals based on the video Why People Make Their Own Languages ​​?:

 

  • Improving global communication: Languages ​​such as Volapük, Esperanto and Interlingua are among global auxiliary language creations. They aim to become international languages which could be spoken by people of different nationalities. Critics mention that they have failed and, among the reasons, is excessive concentration in European features on those languages, which dims their neutrality. Another reason commonly mentioned is the competition among them as well as people wanting to modify them and create new versions.

 

  • Contribution to philosophical thinking: Science and, more specifically, philosophy of language point to questions that imply the inaccuracy or reality perception distortion in natural languages. Proposals were made for philosophical conlangs ​​such as Loglan, which after modifications became the Lojban. Among the criticisms is that the language structure is too different from that of natural languages. Those conlangs may ​look more like a computer code.

  • Fun: Yes! Building grammar, words, structures, scrips and several things that make up a language may lead us to a lot of fun, although it takes time. Not only for the creator but if you've watched "The Avatar" or "The Game of Thrones" series you may have heard  Na'avi and Valyrian languages ​​being spoken. They are artistic languages ​​and they give the two productions playful characteristics besides transmitting an infinity of meanings. These languages ​​grant more authenticity to the people who speak them in fiction productions. For example, it would be unlikely to get into another planet and meet people speaking English, Portuguese or any earth natural language. Those TV productions could be meaningless without a conlang.

I myself asked to the Facebook Conlangs group members why they had created their languages. Although it was not a scientific research, the majority response gave a clue: fun! And it makes a lot of sense psychoanalytically speaking!

What could be behind the phenomenon of language creation?

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος ...

Pronunciation: / En ar-he en ho Logos/

The above phrase in Koine Greek means - "In the beginning was the verb ...". Translations may vary slightly, but it consists of a famous passage from the Gospel of John which is part of the Bible, base book of the Christian faith, one among many faiths belonging to different cultures in the world each having valuable contributions to the cultural diversity of humanity. Although it may be considered metaphorical, the short passage is an example that transcribes our existence in relation to language: before we were born, the "verb" we learned, also translated as word the language, already existed. One of the most influential psychoanalyst after Freud, Jacques Lacan, also used the word "word" in his book, "Écrits:

"Psychoanalytic experience has rediscovered in man the imperative of the Word (language) as the law that has shaped him in its image." ([1966], p 322).

Psychoanalytic theory has language in its core. It develops its method taking into account the immersion of the individual in the symbolic world (language) after his/her birth. The language would bring along a set of values, customs and a history transmitting to the individual what we call culture. As much as we try to seek neutrality in how we perceive reality and the world, culture prevails in a way and it does so through language. Everything we believe in, how we behave, our visions and what we are have a lot to do with what the language we speak has brought along. 

In this case, building a language can be a way of creating links to a culture different from the one we learned through our mother tongue. It is as if the cultural universe in which the constructor is inserted was not satisfactory for what he/she desires. In addition, language construction may be related to what we call "sublimation" in psychoanalysis. Roughly, it is a way of channeling the energy of our impulses to a target other than sexual or aggressive ones, for example. This is what happens when we study something we like, practice a sport, or produce something of intellectual or artistic value. Summarizing: It's a way of having fun!

It is also worth mentioning that in psychoanalysis there is a strong connection between language, culture, the father (paternal function), and this last with God. We also know that the concept of God varies from culture to culture. This opens a door to an analysis of the link between language construction and the meaning of God in them. This aspect is included in the theme that I explored in a specialization paper on Psychoanalytic Semiotics - Clinic of Culture.

Language Creation and Culture

If language and culture are related, the creation of languages ​​raises the hypothesis of the construction of cultures either as a consequence or a motivation. The author of The Art Of Language Invention, and creator of the languages ​​for the series The Game of Thrones, David Peterson mentions, based on Tolkien, that language and culture are inseparable. It is probably unanimous that they really are, whether in psychology, sociology or anthropology. One of the most important linguists of the 20th century, the Russian Roman Osipovich Jakobson, based on anthropology, emphasizes the mutual implication between language and culture in his book Essais de Linguistique Générale - 1967.

Zamenhof when built Esperanto, brought in parallel the Homaranismo, a philosophy based on the Hebrew thinker Hillel. The languages ​​of film productions such as The Avatar and The Game of Thrones also bring with them the culture of the characters who speak them: how they think, how they behave, what they believe in - quite similar to what happens in world reality. And these are just some examples of the linguistic creation vastness existing today.

From what I read in the Facebook Conlangs group, most of the created languages, even if unknown, carry with them a prototype of culture (or fictitious culture - and the term "fictitious" here deserves reflection), sometimes corresponding to a completely different culture from the ones we are used to, which instigates us to think outside of reality as we know it, and to bring back, perhaps, useful and creative reflections for our living. When I created a language, it would not be different: the hypothetical culture was added to it confirming the link. I do not know whether to say the language I constructed produced a hypothetical culture, or perhaps it was the consequence of the cultural diversity that I was exposed to or which I was interested in. It's almost like asking - "Who came first, the chicken or the egg?"

A Global Culture

I constructed Allamej, while I was expanding cultural knowledge beyond my mother tongue borders. My intention was something like embracing the world within the language. In the case of a hybrid language, the theme of cultural diversity in the global context, a question emerges almost automatically and coincides with an important anthropological matter: What is the effect of cultural diversity?

The Belgian anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss even mentioned in the UNESCO publication, Le Racisme Devant La Science, that cultural diversity presents many problems, in a way that it is questionable whether it is an advantage or a disadvantage for the humanity. But at the same time he reinforced its importance and opened doors for future creations. And his attitude was recognised as we can see in the folloing example: 

"He represents an extremely subversive vision with his interest in populations that were disdained. He paid careful attention, not touristically but profoundly, to the human beings on the earth who think differently from us. It’s a respect for others, which is very strong and very moving. He knew that cultural diversity is necessary for cultural creativity, for the future." Gilles Clément (ERLANGER, 2008)

In this case, the creation of a hybrid language with a global essence would be a creative production reflecting cultural diversity. It may be interpreted as a simulation of "a culture of cultures". In this sense, Allamej flows to the opposite direction from imposition of values. Just as it is inspired by words and structures of different languages ​​and cultures, its imo is the cultural absorption, so that each culture co-participates in a larger idea, which demands understanding of cultures different from our own. Creating Allamej has made me reflect on the many facets of cultural differences, for example, a question that may seem disturbing to some people: "if Allamej absorbs cultures respecting all of them without placing one in a position of superiority over another how would be the definition of God in it?" Questions such as that are not intended to satisfy only Allamej wills, but the aspirations of a global harmonic philosophy, as evoked by John Lennon in Imagine, by the Dalai Lama in "Ethics is more important than religion" and, somehow, by the Pope Francis when he states that "There is no Catholic God." Another good example is one of the thoughts of the Persian thinker Jalludim Rumi :

"We may know who we are or we may not. We may be Muslims, or Jews or Christians, but until our hearts become the mold for every heart, we will see only the differences." (VAIDYANATHAN, P. V. - The Magic of Jalalludin Rumi [2014])

There are several other examples that are aligned with eclectic movements mixing artistic productions by harmonizing culture diversity.

In view of the examples of movements towards cultural harmony, one can perceive that the Allamej is not "the global language", nor "the cultural path to be followed". To create another "ideal auxiliary language to be spoken" is to fall into the same trap as other auxiliary constructed languages did. Every artist, thinker, philosopher, or language constructor has a goal, which might be influenced by the cultural environment to which he/she is exposed. The hypothetical culture linked to the Allamej language is one among the various responses to cultural segregation. It is one more item in a universe of productions that seek union.

From this point of view, the construction of Allamej explores the possibility of the existence of a non imperialist or impositive global culture, but a contemplative and harmonizing one in which all cultures could be comprised. I am not, in any case, discussing the workability of this culture in the present days. But I shall dare to materialize a production that encourages a harmonious thought like many of the kind created by various thinkers who have overcome the prejudices and boundaries of culture inertia.

If on one hand this approach seems utopian, we have clues that it might not be the case. A few years ago we would never have imagined reading a text like this from virtually any part of the world, through a shiny device in our hands and that we could even contact its author and talk about it in real time. In addition, global or quasi-global languages ​​that didn't exist before, are in plain use today in traffic signs, sports, computing, and in many international environments. Science also presents a global language. Mathematics has the same logic in any culture. It was unthinkable  millenia ago. It is possible that science has managed to unite humanity by proving that we are one species, but our traditions still anchor us in a past that establishes political, cultural, religious ... and linguistic boundaries. If we are not dominated by a single natural language it is reasonable to think that the creation of a language integrating the whole world will be possible in a matter of time. We do not need  gto destroy national languages and cultures, but preserve and include them in the culture creativity. How long will it take until we have it? We cannot know.

 

With this, the main motivation for building Allamej is encouraging a clear reflection on who we are in the cultural universe and how aware we are of the global reality of human diversity. Along with several other constructions, Allamej intends to encourage the interpretation of the Self, of the Other, of our values ​​and references like, for example, the meaning of God in the context of cultural diversity. I intend to continue this work, which is not only about creating a language, but also contributing to a more holistic, comprehensive and clear view of cultural differences. Allamej is more about fun, a metaphor or art that symbolizes a cultural ideal perhaps possible, or maybe not. It is an open project that, like other creations, may or may not contribute to the improvement of communication and intercultural relations. Its future depends on itself and on who wants to help transforming it in what it is meant to be. From what I see and from my experience I can say that the reason for language creation must have something to do with culture, and this is an hypothesis to be studied.   

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