artlang

English

Etymology

Blend of artistic +‎ language.

Noun

artlang (plural artlangs)

1. A conlang created for artistic purposes or aesthetic ideals.
   • 1997 November 18, Jack Durst, “Proposal: new language-type name (fwd)”, alt.language.artificial.ngl, Usenet,

     The idea was for "functionlang" to be a useful term to describe a certain group of conlangs that weren't fitting into the pattern. Those being the (relatively rare) conlangs that were not artlangs, logiclangs, or auxlangs, but instead designed around some *other* specified purpose(s).

   • 1998 January 8, Paul Roser, “Help with phonological transcription”, list.sci.lang.constructed, Usenet,

     It is my artlang, spoken on an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, somewhat south of the Azores and northwest of Madeira. The liturgical language has a number of _very_ exotic sounds, partly to indicate that it is not the normal language of the street (these sounds include several velaric egressive sounds, ie reverse clicks; one or two apicovelars; nareal fricatives; and a few others).

   • 2000 March 15, Rex F. May, “Question about LSD”, soc.culture.esperanto, Usenet,

     I'm opposed to an artlang with tones, in much the same way I'm opposed to an artlang with the many vowel sounds of English, or the consonant clusters of Russian and English.

Derived terms

• artlanger

See also

• glossopoeia