S2 E8: ConLangs - David J. Peterson and Jessie Sams

Much Language Such Talk

Happy new year everybody!
For this episode, we will talk about language invention! We are delighted to welcome two of the world’s most renowned conlangers, Jessie Sams and David Peterson.
Jessie Sams is a Professor of Linguistics at Stephen F. Austin State University at the Department of Languages, Cultures and Communication. She generally teaches linguistic courses such as English grammar and the history of English, but she also established a course on language invention at the University where students get to create their own languages throughout the semester. Her research primarily focuses on syntax and semantics, constructed languages, and English etymology. And funnily enough, she actually started studying Physics, until she was introduced to Linguistics, and she never looked back!

Our other guest is David J. Peterson. David is one of the most famous Conlangers in the world today. With a background in English and Linguistics, he has created the languages in Game of Thrones such as Dothraki and High Valyrian, Syfy’s Defiance, the CW’s The 100, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, Marvel’s Doctor Strange and Thor, and Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon.He also co-founded the Language Creation Society and served as the president from 2011 until 2014. David is also a published author of the books Living Language Dothraki, the best-selling guide to the Dothraki language from Game of Thrones. In the fall of 2015 David published his nonfiction work The Art of Language Invention.
David and Jessie work together on several projects now, for example Motherland: Fort Salem and Netflix’s The Witcher. They also teased some projects they currently have lined up that they can’t quite talk about yet - so there’s definitely more to come!
The both of them also started a youtube channel, LangTimeStudio, where they stream and take you through the steps of creating a new language.

Other interesting things mentioned:
Wired Interview
Kamikawi Language

Go to our website to read the transcript!

MLST is brought to you by volunteers at Bilingualism Matters Edinburgh. The views of our guests don’t always reflect our own, as we hope to provide an accessible platform for the findings of current research and the perspectives of experts. For more resources like definitions of linguistic terms, episode transcripts, and information about the team, go to our website at www.mlstpodcast.com.

Recorded on 04/01/2022

Music: Arc of the Sun by The 126ersssssss