Over on the French thread, @Mike_H introduced us to Magma, a French prog band who sing most of their songs in an invented language called Kobaïan. That made me think of the mighty Sigur Ros who sing in a variation of Icelandic called Hopelandic.
There are a lot of these invented languages about. We’ve all probably heard of Esperanto however in the 20s it was just one of several test tube languages. Novelists, film directors, linguists, comedians, poets: there are many brave souls who have invented a language of their own for many different reasons.
Here is a thread in their honour.
Let’s kick off with “Professor” Stanley Unwin and Unwinese aka Basic English Twenty Fido. The tombstone for Stan and his wife reads: “Reunitey in the heavenly-bode -Deep Joy!” Wonderful!
Have we any Klingon speakers in our midst? I bet the Dude from Atlantis speaks fluent Elfish.
More about Magma:
http://weirdestbandintheworld.com/tag/magma/
Another try at that Unwin clip. It’s poorly synched but rather fun anyway.
Here’s another interesting Unwin clip.
Oh no, someone’s going to post the Cocteau Twins aren’t they?
Not if the money’s right, squire, get my drift?
By the time I’ve finished digging up obscure oddities, Hawkfall, you’ll be pleading for people to post the Cocteaus.
Not surprisingly, I’m not the first to give this some thought.
Sigur and Magma get mentioned in this article by William Weir.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2011/11/29/invented_languages_in_music_a_brief_history.html
Interesting to read I that article that Hildegard Von Bingen was one of the first artistes to dabble in this with her Lingua Ignota.
Or there is this, uncertain if dialect or language or just too far gone
2 from me.
Clockwork orange – Nadsat
The Beatles – Made up, vaguely Italian on “You never give me your money” from Abbey Road.
Nice one Jack! I’d completely forgotten Anthony Burgess. The Clockwork Orange is completely in Nadsat and yet, like Unwin, quite understandable.
Burgess was a great devotee of James Joyce and the same cannot be said of Finnegans Wake. You can’t read it without notes and even then it’s pretty impenetrable. But there is, as ever with his work, quite a music to his words.
The chorus of the Abyssinians’ “Satta Massagana” is sung in the band’s slightly customised version of the Ethiopian Amharic language.
Satta Massagana Ahamlack
Ulaghize
Satta Massagana Ahamlack
Ulaghize, ulaghize, ulaghize, ulaghize
Apparently, it’s sort of close to Amharic, but … not quite the same.
You’re a braver man than me, DuCool. You could end in a long discussion on Amharic grammar with the zealots of that language lurking here on the AW.
Let it go in Esperanto!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKxbFnfig9M
Feeling like some Cocteaus yet, Hawky?
Bring it on. I AM NOT SCARED.
*hides behind sofa*
It sounds slightly better when sung by a Cuban.
Stephen Fry on Esperanto He wonders well off piste by the end but has some interesting things to say.
Here are a few of the invented words from the language created by Anthony Burgess why Fry mentions
http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/1329/what-did-people-really-speak-in-europe-around-the-time-and-place-of-the-setting
Some useful phrases:
atrois – I am surrounded by many fires
buuuunan – I love the moon
buuuunu – the moon loves me
Conlanging is the technical term for the creation of a new language.
Just found a thread; “Was Jon Andersen a conlanger?”
Is Yes the answer?
If you are going to invent some new words, they ought to be good ones. Lewis Carroll was a master at this. A big influence on Unwin too.
Jabberwocky in Esperanto i hear you cry. (well actually I don’t, but here it is anyway.
Brilumis, kaj la ŝlirtaj melfoj
en la iejo ĝiris, ŝraŭis;
mizaris la maldikdudelfoj,
forfuraj ratjoj vaŭis.
“Evitu, filo, Ĵargonbeston!
– Ungoj kaj buŝ’ por mord’ kaj kapt’!
Evitu bombonbirdan neston!
Vin gardu kontraŭ Bendorapt’!”
Vorpalan glavon li elprenis,
kaj vagis post la best’ vostunta;
al rabrabarbo li alvenis,
ripozis en medit’ profunda.
Dum staris li, pensante sie,
la Ĵargonbesto flamokula
tra nugraj arboj fajfefie
alvenis, babulula!
Jen unu! du! kaj tra kaj tro
vorpala klingo, krake-frap’!
Morto! Galopŝke la hero’
reiris kun la kap’!
“Ĉu Ĵargonbeston frapis vi?
Min ĉirkaŭbraku, luma filo!
Trofeferi’! Hej ho, hu hi!”
eksplodis ĝojotrilo.
Brilumis, kaj la ŝlirtaj melfoj
en la iejo ĝiris, ŝraŭis;
mizaris la maldikdudelfoj,
forfuraj ratjoj vaŭis.
Jack – don’t you mean ‘Sun King’?
Elvish sounds quite good set to music. Tolkien too had a sense for the music of language.
You Don’t Fool Me Rob C
Dude
Enya sings in Loxian, invented by Roma Ryan, on Amaratine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkHk7P3URB0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxian
Stephen King didn’t invent a language when he wrote the Richard Bachman novel “Thinner”, but apparently (I haven’t read the English original version myself, I’ve only read an article about this) for the parts of the book where Romani was spoken he simply took down a Swedish edition of one of his previous novels from his bookshelf and copied Swedish words and sentences for the lines in Romani. To a Swedish speaking reader these parts make absolutely no sense at all.
(I don’t know what they did about those parts in the Swedish translation – I do own a copy but it’s one of the few King novels I’ve never read. Never felt like it…the idea of a “gypsy curse” seems a bit old-fashioned, and not very interesting)
With so many Swedes reading his books in English these days, I don’t think he’d dare trying that any more. Great story.
Lessons in Lanky. I had forgotten the pleasure to be had from this LP.
https://youtu.be/A6h-r77AAoI
Talking Heads – I Zimbra. Apparently based on a Dadaist poem.
Gadji beri bimba clandridi
Lauli lonni cadori gadjam
A bim beri glassala glandride
E glassala tuffu i zimbra
Bim blassa glassala zimbra
Bim blassa glassala zimbra bim
A bim beri glassala grandrid
E glassala tuffu i zimbra
Gadji beri bimba glandridi
Lauli lonni cadora gadjam
A bim beri glassasa glandrid
E glassala tuffu i zimbra
Brilliant GCU! I had no idea.
I knew it was made-up, but didn’t know about the Dada connection until today.
As Prof Unwin didn’t say ‘Enossification in the recorder studial, all fallolopy multi-trackedtillode, duplex bass guitary on the live stage. Mmm, ha-ha, whimsy with the gigantical jacket and pants, not entirelode cut on the bias. Deep joy. . .’
More Dada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X7E2i0KMqM
Kurt Schwitters Ur-Sonate.
George Melly to save his life when faced with a gang of Manchester youths ready to give him a kicking, after realising that he could neither fight them nor outrun them, and proceeded to recite the poem Ur-Sonate. by Kurt Schwitters. The gang decided he was mad and turned tail.
From Morgan Fisher’s album Miniatures, here’s Mr Melly’s version( Well I hope as I’m at work and can’t listen)
Ianness – I stand corrected, of course it was Sun king.
Wow GCU! A true son of Unwin.
As this thread has progressed, I’ve realised that there are far, far more constructed languages than I’d ever dreamed.
Anyway, I was looking for more info about the language used by the Cocteau Twins (as a special treat for Hawkfall) when I stumbled this very illuminating article about Conlanging.
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0003/languages.php
It’s an impressively large, occasionally furtive, internet sub-culture. Not only the likes of Burgess creating languages for films, music, video games etc. There are also ordinary people making up languages as a hobby.
Interesting to read that the King of Conlangers, Tolkien, looked upon his activities with shyness and shame.
Almost forgot!
Ms Higley mentions these artists are conlangers:
“The Cocteau Twins, Bobby McFerrin in his Circle Songs, Lisa Gerrard in Duality, and the new group Ekova in Heaven’s Dust all use ‘nonsense’ words set to music — either to make songs that sound like exotic languages or to convey a kind of melodic glossolalia.”
I for one, always enjoy a little melodic glossolia.
I wonder if you can count the Swedish Elvis Presley impersonator Eilert Pilarm (RIP) as a conlanger…but maybe a bad grasp of the English language isn’t quite the same thing! It’s very funny, whatever language you judge it to be (jury’s still out IMO). Here’s “Jailhouse Rock”, with lyrics:
These versions become more and more surreal the longer they go on. He treats the notes the same way he treats the words, but he didn’t try to be funny. He loved Elvis and he did the best he could to mimic his idol. He just wasn’t very good at it – for which we give thanks!
Here’s “How Great Thou Art”, again with lyrics:
For the bizarre way that he riffed on the language, Eilart certainly belongs here.
Belgian entrants for the 2003 Eurovision, by name of Urban Trad, sang their tune “Sanomi” in a language hitherto unheard…
And almost won the whole thing, coming just a few points after winners Turkey.
Here are the lyrics.
Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Lago
Ture Madilé
Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Madilé
Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Saro
Delamaoré
Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Sanisi
Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Lago
Ture Madilé
Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Madilé
Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Saro
Delamaoré
Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Sanisi
Léala Léala Sorimana Sorimana
Léala Léala Sorimanao
Léala Léala Sorimana Sorimana
Léala Léala Sorimana Soléo
Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Madilé
Léala Léala Sorimana Sorimana
Léala Léala Sorimanao
Léala Léala Sorimana Sorimana
Thanks to DuCool for reminding me of the name of Swedish band, Urga, who also sing in an invented language. From their album Urgasm.
Swedish rocker Pugh Rogefeldt created his own language, Pughish, for his second album. A strange smörgåsbord of English, Swedish and invented words. Rumour has it, that he is now a little embarassed about this
This song, Aindto, has been likened to a Dadaist poem.
A quick listen to Bobby McFerrin’s Circle Songs, mentioned above.
A lot of jazzers and improvisational singers tend to experiment with conlangs.
Here’s a Finnish answer to Locust’s Eilart Pilarm.
The affluence of inkohol turns us all into conlangers.
You’re really onto something there @locust. Kids just love invented languages and often are very creative themselves. And let’s not forget the wonderful Lennart Hellsing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaWK9l0fby0
Dinkelidunk indeed!
Some “Cowboysnack” (“Cowboy Talk”) from Hasse Alfredson’s album for kids:
Alf Hambe’s classic song “Visa i Molom” is a perfectly understandable mix of Swedish, archaic Swedish and some invented and very poetical words that ought to be Swedish:
And then there’s this of course:
(Caramba – “Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot”)
And here’s another made-up language:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpiranto
Flobbadob! No better example of kids’ love of nonsense languages than Bill and Ben.
Loved them and their strangely Scando utterances as a child. Perhaps that explains why I ended up in Sweden?
Forget Klingons. What about the Clangers! If we are talking about conlangs in kids’s shows we can scarcely ignore their “language”!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIw7E-q-flc
And if you hadn’t noticed, they’ve been rebooted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32-5MboCri8
Difficult to retain the wonderful DIY charm of the original.
And by the way, wasn’t there a discussion about the Soup Dragon being a covert lesbian and thus becoming a gay icon? Or did I dream that?
I hate to be pedantic, but they actually ‘speak’ English (with possibly a few words in German), but voiced by swannee whistles.
All the Clangers lines were scripted, to make the ‘actors’ speech more natural. Urban myth has it that the ur-texts are as shouty-sweary as a Sleaford Mods song, but that’s doubtful, as the scripts had to be approved. In one episode, a door refuses to open, and the Clanger struggling with it says something like ‘Sod it, I’m trying to open it and the bloody thing’s stuck’.
Here’s a playlist of artists singing in conlangs.
That was an amazing trio of songs @locust.
And the thing about Transpiranto led me to this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artistic_language#Jokelangs
in which Unwin is mentioned.
As are Argentinian humour group Les Luthiers and their conlang Gulevache.
In which they wrote a whole opera!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B05hsBtz80
That wll be of great interest to my Spanish speaking friends. Both of them!
So thanks a lot!
This splendidly demtented chap belongs here.