Well, not real in that they’re fictional languages spoken by fictional peoples. But what makes a fictional language an actual language and not merely a convincing combination of sounds?
Linguist John McWhorter gave this TED-Ed talk, which focuses largely on J.R.R. Tolkien’s quest to make his Elvish languages operate as natural languages would. One thing that is touched on in this video that I would personally love to see explored further is how constructed languages evolve in the hands of fans.
Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na’vi real languages? [TED-Ed via Brain Pickings]
