Verdurian

A constructed language by Mark Rosenfelder.

It's the most elaborated of my languages, with not only a large vocabulary and a linguistically informed grammar, but a fully worked-out family tree (back two levels-- to its ancestor, Cadhinor, and to its ultimate origin, Proto-Eastern; sister descendents of both levels also exist). It is naturalistic, with irregularities, sound changes, dialect differences, and interesting etymologies. And it's only part of a complex created world, with its own biology, history, and belief systems. (Much of this documentation is now available in Virtual Verduria).

Language sources: Tolkien was (of course) the inspiration for this naturalistic subcreation. It's purposely reminiscent of Indo-European languages-- the original intention was to create something that would sound vaguely familiar to English speakers. It borrows a fair amount (but not exclusively) from Russian vocabulary and French grammar.

Hard to say, but it does have admirers and even learners. See the Verdurian Embassy page.

Links

• http://www.zompist.com/verdurian.htm