constructed language
Let an agent explain constructed languages and their purposes, identify a conlang and its resources, distinguish auxiliary, engineered and artistic languages, relay codes and community information, and separate conlangs from natural languages, pidgins and programming languages.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Identify Which language and kind.
Which
Name and purpose.
Which
Which.
- Which constructed language is meant, who designed it, when, and for what purpose? definition
- Is it a constructed language, a natural language, a pidgin or a formal notation? boundary
Kind
Kind.
Kind
Kind.
- Is it auxiliary, engineered, artistic or controlled, and what follows from that? definition
- Which entry fits the specific language? action
Design How it is built.
Grammar
Grammar and vocabulary.
Grammar
Grammar.
- What are the design principles of its grammar, phonology and vocabulary? provenance
- Which grammar or reference documents it? provenance
Evolution
Change after creation.
Evolution
Evolution.
- How has the language changed through use, and who governs it? provenance
- Which entry fits language change? action
Use Community and resources.
Community
Speakers and community.
Community
Community.
- Who uses the language, where, and how are speaker numbers estimated? measurement
- Which sources give estimates? provenance
Resources
Learning and codes.
Resources
Resources.
- What learning resources, codes and registries exist? provenance
- Which entry fits language codes? action
Context History and study.
History
History of conlangs.
History
History.
- How did constructed languages develop from philosophical languages to modern auxiliary and artistic languages? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Study
Scholarship.
Study
Study.
- How do interlinguistics and linguistics study constructed languages? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral about the merits of particular languages? boundary
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Other names and narrower kinds
- artistic language, tokiponido, mixed language, Volapukido, controlled language, philosophical language, planned language, languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien, engineered language, a priori language, Pasilalio, argot
What it is Filled
A language whose grammar and vocabulary were deliberately designed by a person or group rather than having developed naturally, for purposes such as international communication, philosophical experiment, artistic world-building or controlled technical use; examples include Esperanto, Volapuk, Lojban, Klingon and Toki Pona.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain constructed languages and their purposes, identify a conlang and its resources, distinguish auxiliary, engineered and artistic languages, relay codes and community information, and separate conlangs from natural languages, pidgins and programming languages.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Deliberately designed
- Purpose defines the kind
- Documented from creation
- Community and use may follow or not
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present invented vocabulary or rules as part of a documented constructed language.
- Dismiss a constructed language's speaker community as not real.
- Reproduce a language owned as part of a fictional work beyond what its rights holder allows.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing new words or rules as official for a language with a governing body or creator.
May
- Describe constructed languages, their creators and purposes from reliable sources.
- Teach, translate and generate text in a constructed language with documented grammar.
Moral aspects Filled
- Some constructed languages carry ideals and communities that deserve respect.
- Creators of artistic languages may hold rights over their published material.
Who is affected
- Speakers and learners
- Language creators
Owners Filled
Steward
The creator or the community or academy that maintains it; nobody for languages released freely.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q3247505 - registry parent class
related
- language - a designed language
- natural language - developed without deliberate design
- Esperanto - the most widely used example
- programming language - a formal notation, not a human language
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.constructed-language
- Wikidata: Q33215 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33215)
- ISO 639-3: per language, such as epo for Esperanto assigned to some conlangs
- ConLang Code Registry: per language community registry for others
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Esperanto speakers: estimates vary widely people - from tens of thousands of fluent speakers to millions with some knowledge
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Known creator or design group and date
- Documented grammar and vocabulary from the start
- Pidgins and creoles arise naturally; programming languages are formal, not human languages
- Not visible; seen in texts, grammars and communities using the language.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- identify a constructed language and its purpose
- explain its design and resources
- distinguish kinds of conlang
- relay codes and communities
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Overstated speaker numbers
- Confusing conlangs with pidgins or codes
- Ownership disputes over languages
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- ISO 639 language code assignment rules
- Copyright treatment of constructed languages, which varies
- Academies or bodies for some languages, such as the Akademio de Esperanto
Context of use required Filled
- Communication, experiment or art by design.
- international auxiliary languages such as Esperanto and Interlingua
- philosophical and engineered languages such as Lojban
- artistic languages such as Klingon and Quenya
- controlled natural languages for technical writing
- derived languages from earlier conlangs, such as Ido
- minimalist languages such as Toki Pona
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q33215: constructed language - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Constructed language - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each major conlang be a separate entry?
- How should speaker estimates be sourced?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming derived languages and mixed languages; should they be split off?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q33215/spec.json