conlang

[ kon-lang ]

noun

1. an artificially constructed language used by a group of speakers, as opposed to one that has naturally evolved:

   conlangs such as Esperanto and Klingon.

Word History and Origins

Origin of conlang¹

First recorded in 1990–95; con(structed) ( def ) and lang(uage) ( def )

Example Sentences

That in turn meant that producers of sci-fi movies and TV series knew where to turn when they wanted a now obligatory alien-sounding conlang built, and some conlangers—like David Peterson, the inventor of Game of Thrones’ Dothraki—have turned professional.

From Slate

A few years ago, with Jenny Culbertson of the University of Edinburgh and others, he tested the choices that speakers of English and Thai made when asked to build sentences in a conlang called Nápíjò.

From Slate

Using a conlang allowed the researchers to alter the word order they presented to study participants, while keeping the words the same, to see how they responded to that order—knowing that their responses had to be pure guesswork.

From Slate

"You can't Google Translate a conlang that no-one else knows."

From BBC

Some even create proto-languages as precursors to their conlang in an effort to help it seem more naturalistic.

From Washington Post