#conlang relay

[levunalangs]

I was in another conlang relay, using Sdefa! This one was the 2025 Youtube Conlang Relay, hosted by @conlangery. The linked video is all about my leg of the relay, and will premiere this Monday, October 20 at 11:22 AM EDT. The weird time is because all the participants are premiering their videos in order: the first video premieres at 11:00, and then everyone goes from there to the second livestream, and there to mine, which is third! And then to the fourth participant, and the fifth, and so on until the relay is over.

So join us in chat this Monday as we all find out what the original text was and what happened to it! The whole playlist is here, but it’ll start with this video so you can just go there at 11 AM on Monday and be swept along with the rest of us.

Or if you’re reading this on October 21, 2025 or later, it’s all available already for you to watch in whatever random order you’d like!

[fiatlingua]

Conlang Relay and reminder of LCC abstract deadline

Hiyas conlangers!

As we prepare for LCC 10 on April 22-23 (digital conference), we're also getting started on the conlang relay.

If you're interested in participating in the conlang relay, please email Kelvin Jackson (Kechpaja) at kechpaja<at>kechpaja&lt;dot>com to sign up.

Important: Include any dates between February 10-April 10 that you are NOT available to receive the torch. The exact dates of the relay will depend on the number of participants. Additionally, if you consider the conlang that you're planning to use for the relay to be "unusual" (e.g., 2D writing system, very alien grammar and/or mode of transmission), please let Kelvin know-if there is enough participation from this category, there may be an "unusual ring."

Never been part of a conlang relay? Here's what you need to know: The relay master (Kelvin) will prepare a text in a conlang (the torch) and will send that text as well as any documentation needed to translate it to the first person in the relay. Over the subsequent 48 hours, that person will try to translate the text into a common language (e.g., English), and then into their conlang. Once the translation is completed, they send the torch to the next person in the relay (including the materials to be able to translate). At the end of the relay, the relay master then does a final translation. During the LCC, we'll present the relays through the various iterations and compare how much the original text changed in translation. Relays operate on a tight schedule to ensure people have at least 48 hours to do the two translations (out of the previous conlang and into their own conlang), so don't be surprized when you receive instructions that if you do not complete your translation on time, you will be skipped.

Additionally, we are still accepting abstracts to present at LCC 10. You can submit an abstract to talk about any aspect of conlanging-from showcasing personal conlangs to how-to talks to formal analyses of conlangs. To submit your abstract, follow the instructions below. Important: Abstracts are due by Monday, January 23. The Language Creation Society is currently accepting submissions from those wishing to present at the 10th Language Creation Conference (LCC 10). LCC 10 will be a virtual conference, hosted on Zoom and YouTube live on April 22-23, 2023. To submit an abstract for presentation, please email your abstract to president<at>conlang&lt;dot>org by January 23, 2023.

Your abstract should not exceed 250 words (title/authors, pictures/graphs/figures, and references do not count towards word limit) and include the following important information:

Title

Author(s) names (with optional affiliation)

Author(s) email address(es)

Your local time zone (will be used for scheduling presentation of successful abstracts)

After January 23rd, we will review abstracts and provide notifications of acceptance/decline by February 22, 2023. Note: The length of presentations will not be finalized until presentations are confirmed. We will aim for presenters to have a 30-minute window, including a 10-minute question period; a select few presenters will be offered a 60-minute slot, including a 15-minute question period. Talks devoted to a specific conlang will be considered for lightning talks, which will be 15 minutes, including a 5-minute question period. These times may be adjusted based on requirements of the final program.

Additionally, we are also seeking proposals for panel discussions. You may submit a proposal for a panel discussion on a topic relevant to conlanging (Examples: at LCC7, we had a panel discussion on the role of conlanging in the academy; at LCC8, we had a panel discussion on conlangs in popular fiction; and at LCC 9, we had a panel discussion on the benefits of natlang study groups for conlangers). If you wish to submit a panel proposal, please give a short description of the topic to be discussed; a couple example questions that the moderator could start off the discussion with; and three-to-five panelists to populate the panel, with a brief bio for each panelist. You should discuss the proposal with your suggested panelists before submission to confirm that the panelists are willing to be involved, and that they plan to attend the conference.

All documents should be submitted in PDF format. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.

Fiat Lingua!

[levunalangs]

Come join me and nine (ish) other conlangers today as we do the reveal for a conlang relay! It’s at 4 PM EST, about 3.25 hours after this post was published. It’ll be a livestream, so you can join us in chat!

This is actually just one half of a two-ring relay. Jake (@jakecito98 and one half of @letshaveabouba) and Jessie Peterson (@quothalinguist and one half of @langtimestudio) ran the relay. David Peterson (@dedalvs) wasn’t in this half of the relay but I believe he’ll also be there!

If you’re not familiar with conlang relays, it’s like a conlang-based game of telephone. Each person receives a text in a conlang they don’t know with just enough info to translate it, then they make a translation into their own conlang and send it along. It’s always (at least) a little confusing and very fun!

[levunalangs]

Visit Original Link

Fen Sawul Tal Fes

Hné hu bel su xí kal sú. E hmu af dné k’a hné kén hne, a sémfa k’a xi nwat le. Sáwul k’a psil fen tuf hne sú hné. Hox byóx oth súwu na lal hne. Hox ól súwu le p’és, a p’íl k’a dá le syád hne. T’ud e bon sos mán oth fóna le umen hi sk’el. Béta kulum ma bón sos fóna le a hné gan. Xél pa oth tóf le un af. Hox émbe pa xmen hné fél nolyo yebi hox. Mélk’o le hne hú tso fél xu. Ts’úth ma dá le hné a syád hne a tyútthin le hne sín ex. Kwét sos dá le. St’ók k’a a fúk k’a sú hné, os fám pa li e fen wi hné fél nolyo yebi. Byóx oth í, sos kwáf k’a sú hné. Xél pa oth! Hox émbe pa xmen hné fél nolyo yebi hox. Tu nólyo da tsúba. Sbét tso mán nolyo t’en ix kxe. Há dá néden od! Yo sémfa xmen hné hu bel su! Sémfa oth a k’ú oth il boyo!

Translation and more info after the cut!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since I’ll be participating in the LCC 10 Conlang Relay and haven’t done one before, I decided to practice with materials from a previous LCC Conlang Relay!

The text above is a T’owal translation of my attempt at an English translation of a text in Teonaht, a conlang by Sally Caves, itself translated from English, from Jessie Sams (@quothalinguist)’s Hiutsath, from English, from David J. Peterson (@dedalvs)’s Dothraki. That’s the basic idea of a conlang relay: each person receives a text in someone else’s conlang with enough information to be able to translate it, and they produce a translation into their own language for the next person to use. Since the translations and conlang info from the LCC 5 Relay are all available here, I picked a spot in the relay and treated it as if I was next in line!

This practice was sort of “on easy mode” since I knew what the original text was, and Teonaht was surprisingly easy to translate from. A very cool language, too! Sometime soon I’ll practice again using a different past relay.

Regarding the audio, I’m annoyed that I forgot to start with the title, but not enough to go back and edit it in. My pronunciation was a little off in some spots; in particular, I kept mixing up hne and hné, which should have [ɛ] and [ej] as the vowel respectively. I also mixed up some instances of o [ɔ] and ó [ow]. ó well. Levuna’s pronunciation was perfect, though!

So anyway, here’s the English translation of the T’owal text above:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Father’s Advice

My child, come to me. Today you will leave your family and ride to the mountains. I will advise you before your journey. Don’t trust any turtle that speaks to you. Turtles cannot burn and will frighten your horse. Eat carrots (which grow in the soil) only during the full moon. The full moon makes the carrots stronger, and also you. Listen to these last words: you must not touch any plum tree. Those trees are your enemies. They will make all people hate you, your horse, and your ancestors. They are completely evil. I will hunt and kill you if you look one time at a plum tree. Know this: I will destroy you. Listen! You must not touch any plum tree. But their fruit is sweet. It may be eaten fresh or dried. It tastes great! Now you must ride, my child! Ride and scream like a goat!

[levunalangs]

Mwí sú hné hu iya le!

Hello, friends!

I signed up for the Language Creation Conference (LCC) Conlang Relay. It’s a bit like a game of telephone, where a text is passed around and translated between different conlangs! I haven’t participated before so I’m a little nervous but I’m looking forward to it!

For the event I won’t be using Mindutme, but another language of mine: T’owal. I haven’t done much with it in the last few months as I’ve been working on Mindutme (I think my brain only has room to develop one conlang at a time) but in preparation for the relay I’ll be using it more in the near future, so I thought I’d show some of it here, too!

To start off, the text below is a translation of the above into T’owal.

ménhe k’a sú “Conlang Relay” Fen Sdoye Lo Sal Lamban. íl kin dá gé tsli “telephone”: fén t’as túf tso dne sin xi sin a dne lamban xi lamban! hox yal ménhe sú, ót tsés í, mátse kin sú, tu gan t’ísme sú!

hox tsín k’a sú Míndútmé, k’eyen T’ówal hu lamban sgen su. hox tsín ix lét e pel le fyokwe e pwa lep Míndútmé sú dá, (wól sú í, sgáni su há fmó let lamban wi t’ud e pwa wi), tu us hnim ma su psitsyu tsín k’a kulun sú dá, ót tsés í, kódol sú fám ma da af gan!

[levunalangs]

Is the document that you gave to the participant next to you during the Conlang Relay available somewhere for me to try translate your Sdefa text by myself?

It wasn’t, but now it is!

I fixed one small mistake and tried to clarify a couple points, and pointed out the one big error I mentioned in the video (but didn’t actually change the translation at all). Other than that, this document is identical to the version that I passed on in the relay.

If you do give it a go, let me know how it goes!

[arayaz]

a bunch of us just filmed the results of the LTS conlang relay! It’ll probably be up on the Let’s Have a Bouba channel soon.

Let's Have a Bouba

Let's Have a Bouba is a conlanging and worldbuilding project hosted by Jake Penny and Miles Wronkovich. From deep dives into our language fa

featuring: Jake, Arayaz, Miles, Magpie, Graham, Tethys, Keras, and Jonathan

[conlang-relay]

Conlang Relay Results

The results for the last conlang relay are finally available for your perusal! Sadly, some data were not recoverable despite months of efforts so some sections remain regrettably incomplete. However, despite this great delay, I hope you will enjoy seeing the many creative conlangs (some of which have their own writing systems included) and following the gradual distortion of the original messages. Thank you to everyone who participated!