Worldbuilding questions to get the creative juices flowing 13
Languages are actually incredibly complicated and I suggest studying the different types of languages, how they form, etc. Verbal language isn’t the only type, and that alone can greatly deviate from the norm such as languages using clicking or hums. Still here are some worldbuilding questions to get the creative juices flowing
How commonly spoken is the language? Is the only major language being spoken in that area? How do other nearby languages affect it?
How does the species/creature speak the language? Are other species/creatures able to replicate the ability to speak it? (An alien with different vocal cords to a human may not be able to make human noises, harpys chirping in songbird, a form of sign-language belonging to a species w/different hands than humans)
What is the average amount of languages someone in that society knows? How does this contrast with other places?
How is language taught/learnt? Is the language easy for foreigners to learn? Does the language have easy rules or rules that make sense? (likely no)
How is the language viewed? Does the language comes with any stereotypes or connotations? What does the accent sound like?
Are there any dialects? Can these dialects understand each other? (Isolation, difference in cultures, and many other things contribute to dialects forming.)
(Dialects can be as simple as accent changes; Americans, New Yorkers, Texans, Californians all sound different. Or the dialects can be so heavy or different that they cannot understand each other, like the many variations of Arabic all throughout Africa, the Middle East, and South East Asia.)
Does the language come in many different forms? (Written, vocal, visual, etc.)
How did the language form? Does the language have any cousins? (German & English are kinda like cousins in the linguistics world)
Is the language dying off? Yes, why and how? How is this affecting the society?
(Native American languages all cross the Americas are dying off, this will likely vanquish great portions of their stories and history due to oral traditions)
Is the language being pressed onto others? Yes, why and how? How is this affecting the society?
(For awhile now Ukrainian's have been forced both subtly and not subtly to speak Russian instead of Ukrainian. This is another way to strip Ukrainians of self national identity)
Is the languages shrinking or growing? How is it most being passed on?
Languages are very complex