What are you Tolkien about?
What are you Tolkien about?
Elvish is a language on Duolingo, you know...
Elvish is a language on Duolingo, you know...
Words shape the way we think. They define our world, our emotions, our stories. But what if our language wasn’t enough? What if we needed new words, new sounds, new meanings?
In this challenge, you will create your own language or invent new words—and then use them in a poem, short story, or scene. Maybe your language is rich and lyrical, like Elvish. Maybe it’s chaotic and strange, like Jabberwocky. Maybe it’s built on feeling and rhythm more than literal meaning. Whatever you create, your goal is to make the reader understand something—even if they don’t know every word.
Invent at Least a Few Words – Whether it’s a whole language or just a handful of terms, create words that add meaning to your piece.
Give Words Power – Maybe they express emotions English can’t. Maybe they describe things we have no name for. Maybe they hold magic, memory, or mystery.
Context is Key – Your reader may not speak your invented language, but they should feel its meaning through how it’s used. Let the surrounding words and imagery help.
Play with Sound – Does your language feel soft and flowing? Harsh and sharp? Alien and fragmented? Think about the texture of your words.
What does your language do that English cannot? Does it express emotions, concepts, or ideas that don’t translate?
How do people speak it? Does it have a rhythm, a melody, a structure?
Is this a language with history? Who speaks it? How did it come to be?
How does the reader understand your new words without a dictionary?
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Elvish (Quenya & Sindarin) – A fully realized language created to capture beauty, history, and identity.
"Jabberwocky" (Lewis Carroll) – A nonsense poem where invented words feel natural and full of energy.
Nadsat (A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess) – A slang-based dialect that forces the reader to learn it by context alone.
“Maggie and Milly and Molly and May” (E.E. Cummings) – A poem that plays with the sounds and textures of words, bending language for feeling.
Dothraki & Valyrian (Game of Thrones) – Fantasy languages that build entire cultures through sound and syntax.
Creating a language isn’t just about making up cool-sounding words—it’s about creating rules for how those words work together. Even languages that seem chaotic, like Jabberwocky or Nadsat, follow patterns that make them feel real. Whether you invent an entire language or just a handful of words, your language should have some form of logic—even if that logic is different from English.
Every language follows some kind of structure. Ask yourself:
Word Order: Does your language use Subject-Verb-Object (like English: I see the bird) or does it switch (like Japanese: I the bird see)? Maybe it doesn’t follow order at all.
Verb Placement: Are verbs always first? Last? Do you even need verbs?
Tense & Time: Does your language have past, present, and future? Or does it express time differently, like using words for “before now” and “after now”?
Articles & Gender: Does your language use words like "the" and "a"? Do nouns have gender (like in Spanish or French)?
Example: In Elvish (Sindarin), adjectives come after nouns instead of before.
Example: In Latin, word order doesn’t matter—the meaning comes from how words are modified.
Some languages flow like music, while others feel clipped and sharp. Decide which sounds belong in your language.
Hard or Soft Sounds? Does your language sound like whispering wind (syl, ael, thas), or like a battle cry (grak, vorn, trec)?
Common Letters or Sounds? English uses th a lot, but some languages don’t have it at all. Maybe your language relies on rr, zh, or clicking sounds instead.
Vowel Focus or Consonant Focus? Japanese words often end in vowels (arigato), while German loves hard consonants (Dunkel).
Pronunciation Rules: Does every letter make the same sound every time (like Spanish), or does meaning shift depending on context?
Example: Dothraki (Game of Thrones) avoids the “p” sound altogether, making it feel distinct.
Example: Polynesian languages often have soft, open sounds, making them melodic.
Even nonsense words follow patterns. Here’s how to make your invented words feel authentic:
Keep Patterns Consistent. If “-ar” means big in one word, it should mean big in others. Example: Torvar (big house), Lunvar (big tree).
Use Repetition or Variation. Many languages modify words by changing endings (run → running), repeating parts (chop-chop), or altering vowels (foot → feet).
Think About Compound Words. Many languages build words by smashing two concepts together (butter + fly = butterfly). What if your language did the same?
How Are Questions Asked? In English, we flip sentences (You are going → Are you going?). Maybe your language just adds a special word at the end (You are going, yes?).
Example: In Elvish (Quenya), “-ië” at the end of a verb makes it into a continuous action (lanta = fall → lantalië = falling).
Example: In German, longer words are often just multiple words combined (Handschuh = "hand shoe" = glove).
If your language has a unique alphabet or symbols, consider:
Does it use letters, symbols, or pictographs?
Does it read left to right, right to left, or vertically?
Do sounds match letters, or is it more abstract?
Example: Tolkien’s Elvish scripts are flowing and elegant, fitting the culture of the Elves.
Example: Arabic and Hebrew are read right to left, giving them a distinct rhythm.
Examples: l, r, m, n, v, w, y, th (thin), dh (this), ñ (Spanish niño)
Possible Letter Combinations: lh, rw, mn, vv, wy, thl, ll (Welsh Llewelyn), ñ, zh
Examples: k, g, t, d, p, b, q, ch (cheese), x (Bach), tl (as in Nahuatl)
Possible Letter Combinations: kr, tk, dg, pt, gb, qh, dz, kk, rr, tl
Examples: ə (schwa, as in sofa), u (put), e (bet), i (bit), eu (French peur)
Possible Letter Combinations: ae, oe, ui, au, ia, eo, eu
Examples: zh (as in measure), ts (as in tsunami), dj (as in edge), kh (Scottish loch), nj (Spanish niño), rz (Polish, similar to French j)
Possible Letter Combinations: zhj, lj, shch (as in Russian Щ), tsz, rz, gj, nj
Examples: ! (click, common in Xhosa), ʔ (glottal stop, as in uh-oh), ǂ (dental click), ʘ (bilabial click)
Possible Letter Combinations: ʘ (bilabial click), ǃ (postalveolar click), ǀ (dental click), ǁ (lateral click), ʔ
Examples: r/l interchangeable (as Japanese doesn’t distinguish), tsu (as in tsunami), sh (as in shōgun), ky (as in Kyoto)
Possible Letter Combinations: r/l shifts, sh, tsu, ky, ry, ny
Examples: x (as in xī for 西, meaning west), zh (as in Zhang), q (as in qi, pronounced chee), ch (hard like cheese)
Possible Letter Combinations: xī, zh, qi, ch, sh, jh, ts
Examples: ll (as in Argentinian Spanish, pronounced zh), rr (rolled 'r'), gue/gü (as in güero)
Possible Letter Combinations: ll, rr, gue, gü, ch, tz
Examples: tl (Nahuatl Atlatl), k' (Mayan ejective 'k' sound), ts (Cherokee tsalagi), dx (Zapotec dx)
Possible Letter Combinations: tl, k', ts, dx, tz, ng, kw