You probably haven't even thought about what language your characters are going to speak.
I mean, yeah, you have.
But, you probably just assumed you'd make your characters speak English, right?
Which is no issue whatsoever! You can have your species in your world speak whatever language you want; whether it's English, another language you speak, or one that you just completely made up. Which is what this chapter is here to help with.
When creating your fantasy world, having your own language is just a small detail that can make a huge difference in how interesting your world is. Just look at the middle-earth Elvish that Tolkien came up with. I recommend you consider adding your own spin on a language. But don't worry, you don't have to be bilingual in order to do this!
I knew that I wanted the people in my kingdom to speak a language other than English; especially the royal family, as it was a way to show their status. The only language I speak is English, so you're probably wondering, how did I come up with a whole new language for some of my characters to speak? I'll let you into a secret...
Google translate.
I just typed a few words into Google translate and translated them to multiple languages, until I found that one that I liked. The one I took a liking to was Hungarian. Now, I am aware that Google translate isn't exactly 100% accurate when translating, however, that's fine because my characters aren't speaking Hungarian, they're speaking what I called 'Sárkány nyelv' - which just translates to 'Dragon language'.
There are only a few words I translate; I do not make them say full paragraphs to each other in a different language, I want readers to understand my story. However, short phrases or one-word answers, such as:
Yes - Igen
No - Nem
Dragon - Sárkány
Stop - Állj meg
There are a few more I use, but those are just some examples. I also translated a few other things in my story to Hungarian. This includes how I named the majority of my dragon species, villages, I even use old Hungarian money as my fantasy world's currency.
So, if you want a way for your fantasy story to stand out, I would recommend getting yourself a fresh new language. There's a whole internet for you to explore; you'll be able to find something easy! Google translate your heart away.
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A/N: at the end of all the chapters, I am going to put a little exercise/question for you guys to do in the comments as a way for you to interact and really take something away from reading this guide. I will leave an answer regarding my own fantasy book for you to use as an example. Don't forget to vote and share this guide with whoever may need it!
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Exercise 12:
Do you think you will have more than one language in your fantasy world?
My answer:
I already do, haha
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How to: Build Your Fantasy World
Non-Fiction#1 IN WORLDBUILDING - 03/11/2019 //✿\\ Do you want to give fantasy writing a go; but you're not quite sure where to start? Or Are you a fantasy writer with so many world ideas, you're not quite sure how to pin them down and really get those fantasy...
