Fantastic Languages

Catalog description

How and why do people creatively play with languages? How is creativity part of our daily linguistic practice? How do some innovations change the language itself? What are the design principles of natural languages? Why are these principles incorporated (or not incorporated) into invented languages? This course explores language through the lens of creativity: how people innovate and alter language in everyday life; and how they use linguistic innovation as a medium for creativity in service of the arts. This course thus explores: spoken and signed languages; principles of language design, language games; language change; writing systems; calligraphy; and constructed languages in literature and film.