A conlanger is a person who invents constructed languages (aka conlangs).

Professional conlangers

Individuals who have been hired to create languages. * Victoria Fromkin - Paku (a.k.a. Pakuni) *

Paul Frommer Paul R. Frommer (; born September 17, 1944) is an American communications professor at the University of Southern California (USC) and a linguistics consultant. He is the former Vice President, Special Projects Coordinator, Strategic Planner, a ...

- Na'vi,

Barsoomian Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as ''Under the Moons of Mars'' in 1912 and published as a novel as '' A Princess of Mar ...

Madhan Karky Madhan Karky Vairamuthu is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, research associate, software engineer, and entrepreneur. A holder of a doctorate in computer science from the University of Queensland, Karky began his professional career as an ass ...

- Kiliki * Marc Okrand -

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

, Vulcan,

Atlantean As an adjective, Atlantean (or Atlantian) means "of or pertaining to Atlas or Atlantis". Atlantean may also refer to: * Atlantean figures, a type of ancient artifacts * ''Atlantean'' (documentary series), a trilogy of TV films discussing the ori ...

* Matt Pearson - Thhtmaa *

David J. Peterson David Joshua Peterson (born January 20, 1981) is an American conlanger who has constructed languages for television series such as '' Game of Thrones'' and ''The 100'' and movies such as '' Thor: The Dark World'' and '' Dune.'' Life Peter ...

- Dothraki,

Valyrian The Valyrian languages are a fictional language family in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, and in their television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'' and later ''House of the Dragon''. In the novels, H ...

, Kastithanu (Castithan), L'Irathi (Irathient), Indojisnen, Sondiv, Shiväisith, Lishepus, Trigedasleng, Noalath, Inha, Munja'kin * Wolf Wikeley - Tho Fan

Published international-auxiliary conlangers

Conlangers who have created languages intended for international communication. * Louis de Beaufront *

Léon Bollack Léon Bollack (1859 – 1925) was a French trader who invented Bolak language, Bolak, a constructed language that also went by the name "the Blue Language", in 1899.James Cooke Brown James Cooke Brown (July 21, 1921 – February 13, 2000) was an American sociologist and science fiction author. He is notable for creating the artificial language Loglan and for designing the Parker Brothers board game ''Careers''. Brown's nove ...

* Louis Couturat:

Ido language Ido () is a constructed language derived from Reformed Esperanto, and similarly designed with the goal of being a universal second language for people of diverse backgrounds. To function as an effective ''international auxiliary language'', I ...

George Boeree Cornelis George Boeree (January 15, 1952 – January 5, 2021) was an American psychologist and professor emeritus at Shippensburg University, specializing in personality theory and the history of psychology. Life Boeree was born in Badhoevedorp ...

* Alexander Gode *

Ján Herkeľ Ján Herkeľ (1786–1853) was a Slovak attorney and writer. Herkel was born at Vavrečka, Kingdom of Hungary. He was the creator of Universalis Lingua Slavica, an early auxiliary language for Slavs Slavs are the largest European et ...

* Lancelot Hogben * Alex G. Igbineweka * Otto Jespersen * Juraj Križanić * Matija Majar *

Vojtěch Merunka Vojtěch ( Czech pronunciation: ) or Vojtech is a, respectively, Czech and Slovak given name of Slavic origin. It is composed of two parts: ''voj'' – "troops"/"war(rior)" and ''těch'' – "consolator"/"rejoicing man". So, the name could be inter ...

Jackson Moore Jackson Moore is an alto saxophonist and composer living in New York. Career When he was 17, Moore studied with Jackie McLean and Anthony Braxton in Connecticut. Between 1997 and 2001, Moore toured with Braxton and participated in the developm ...

* Charles Kay Ogden * Giuseppe Peano: Latino sine flexione *

Kenneth L. Pike Kenneth Lee Pike (June 9, 1912 – December 31, 2000) was an American linguist and anthropologist. He was the originator of the theory of tagmemics, the coiner of the terms "emic" and "etic" and the developer of the constructed language ...

* Waldemar Rosenberger *

Johann Martin Schleyer Johann Martin Schleyer (; 18 July 1831 – 16 August 1912) was a German Catholic priest who invented the constructed language Volapük. His official name was "Martin Schleyer"; he added the name "Johann" (in honor of his godfather) unoffic ...

: Volapük *

Kenneth Searight Kenneth Searight (born Arthur Kenneth Searight) (15 November 1883–28 February 1957) was the creator of the international auxiliary language Sona. His book ''Sona; an auxiliary neutral language'' outlines the language's grammar and vocabulary. ...

: Sona *

Jan van Steenbergen Johannes Hendrik "Jan" van Steenbergen (, born June 3, 1970) is a Dutch translator and interpreter. He is known for being the author of several constructed languages, notably Interslavic and Wenedyk. He was born in Hoorn, where he spent most o ...

Edgar de Wahl Edgar Alexei Robert von Wahl or de Wahl (23 August 1867 – 9 March 1948) was a Baltic German teacher, mathematician and linguist. He is most famous for being the creator of Interlingue (known as Occidental throughout his life), a naturalist ...

Interlingue Interlingue (; ISO 639 ''ie'', ''ile''), originally Occidental (), is an international auxiliary language created in 1922 and renamed in 1949. Its creator, Edgar de Wahl, sought to achieve maximal grammatical regularity and natural character. ...

L. L. Zamenhof L. L. Zamenhof (15 December 185914 April 1917) was an ophthalmologist who lived for most of his life in Warsaw. He is best known as the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language. Zamenhof first dev ...

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

John Wilkins John Wilkins, (14 February 1614 – 19 November 1672) was an Anglican clergyman, natural philosopher, and author, and was one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death. Wilkins is one of the fe ...

: unnamed universal language * Francis Lodwick: Common Writing

Published fictional conlangers

Conlangers whose work has been published in books or other media that they created: *

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', ''Maia'', ''Shardik'' and ''The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army ...

: Lapine, in '' Watership Down'' *

M.A.R. Barker Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker (born Phillip Barker, November 3, 1929 – March 16, 2012) was an American linguist who was professor of Urdu and South Asian Studies and created one of the first roleplaying games, ''Empire of the Petal Throne' ...

: Tsolyáni for Tékumel *

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

* Marion Zimmer Bradley * Anthony Burgess: Nadsat in ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'' and a prehistoric language in ''

Quest for Fire ''Quest for Fire'' may refer to: * ''The Quest for Fire'', a 1911 novel by J. H. Rosny * ''Quest for Fire'' (film), a 1981 film adaptation of the 1911 novel * "Quest for Fire", a song by Iron Maiden from 1983's ''Piece of Mind'' * ''Quest for Fir ...

''. *

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...

Suzette Doctolero Suzette Severo Doctolero (born December 16, 1968) is a Filipina screenwriter for film and television. She is best known for being the creator of ''Encantadia (2005 TV series), Encantadia'' in 2005 and the succeeding related television series ...

Enchanta ''Encantadia'' is a Filipino fantasy franchise produced and published by GMA Network. It consists of four television series that have run from 2005 to present and a single film. The first was shown in 2005 carrying the title alone and ended in ...

from the '' Encantadia Saga''. * Diane Duane *

Suzette Haden Elgin Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Suzette Wilkins; November 18, 1936 – January 27, 2015) was an American researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages and poetry and science fiction writer. She founded t ...

Láadan Láadan (/ˈlɑ˦ɑˈdɑn/) is a gynocentric constructed language created by Suzette Haden Elgin in 1982 to test the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, specifically to determine if development of a language aimed at expressing the views of women would s ...

, in the '' Native Tongue'' series * Václav Havel *

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

* Hergé * Robert Jordan: The Old Tongue in '' The Wheel of Time'' *

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

Barry B. Longyear Barry B. Longyear (born May 12, 1942) is an American author who resides in New Sharon, Maine. Career Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Longyear is known best for the Hugo- and Nebula Award–winning novella '' Enemy Mine'' (1979, ''Isaac Asimov ...

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

: Newspeak, in '' Nineteen Eighty-Four'' * Christopher Paolini: The Ancient Language in the Inheritance Cycle ('' Eragon'' and its sequels) *

Lynne Sharon Schwartz Lynne Sharon Schwartz (born March 19, 1939) is an American prose and poetry writer. Biography Schwartz grew up in Brooklyn, the second of three children of Jack M. Sharon, a lawyer and accountant, and Sarah Slatus Sharon; she married Harry Schwa ...

: in ''

The Writing on the Wall "The writing on the wall" is an idiomatic expression that suggests a portent of doom or misfortune, based on the story of Belshazzar's feast in the book of Daniel. The Writing on the Wall, The Writing's on the Wall or similar titles may also refer ...

'' * J. R. R. Tolkien: more than twenty languages including

Quenya Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in ''Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed la ...

Sindarin Sindarin is one of the fictional languages devised by J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his fantasy stories set in Arda, primarily in Middle-earth. Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the Elves. The word is a Quenya word. Called in Eng ...

, Khuzdul; see

Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien The English philologist and author J. R. R. Tolkien created a number of constructed languages, including languages devised for fictional settings. Inventing languages, something that he called ''glossopoeia'' (paralleling his idea of ''mythopoei ...

* Karen Traviss:

Mando'a Mandalorians are fictional people associated with the planet Mandalore in the ''Star Wars'' universe and franchise created by George Lucas. Their most distinct cultural features are their battle helmets, chest armor, wrist gauntlets, and often ...

in the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' expanded universe * Christian Vander * Tad Williams: Higher Singing in ''

Tailchaser's Song ''Tailchaser's Song'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Tad Williams. First released on November 21, 1985, it is Williams' first published work. The story focuses on a personified cat named Fritti Tailchaser, set in a world of other anthrop ...

'' * Gene Wolfe: Ascian in '' The Book of the New Sun''

Other notable conlangers

Conlangers whose languages are neither international auxiliary languages nor part of popular media, but are nonetheless significant among enthusiasts, have amassed a notable amount of speakers, or do not fit in other categories: *

Sonja Lang Sonja Lang (previously known as Sonja Elen Kisa, 1978) is a Canadian linguist and translator. She is best known for her creation of Toki Pona, a minimalist constructed language. Biography Lang was born and raised in Moncton, New Brunswick. S ...

: Toki Pona, a minimalist language which has gained a large following and several publications over the years since its creation in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Language Inventors Linguists Lists of inventors