A descriptive functionWorld-building languages
Israel A. C. Noletto · 2024
This chapter outlines the descriptive function of glossopoesis. Its case studies focus on the a priori languages of The Sparrow (1998) by Mary D. Russell; the a posteriori languages of Dune (1965) by Frank Herbert; and ‘A Spot of Konfrontation’ (1972) by Brian W. Aldiss. Informed by stylistics, narrative theory, and literary pragmatics, the chapter first looks at how writers have used the sharp contrast between the phonologies of alien languages for elaboration and characterisation purposes, relying on the notion of phonaesthetics. Second, it investigates an elaborative and characterising technique that uses existing natural languages to prompt readers to create mental representations of the conworld being described based on their schematic knowledge in association with a notion called prototypicality. Finally, the chapter demonstrates how the two approaches can be combined, a concept known as phonosemantics, and used for the construction of a story’s characters.