The challenge
Design a constructed language with consistent rules. It must have:
- a chosen word order (for example Subject–Object–Verb, like Japanese, or Verb–Subject–Object, like Welsh);
- at least three grammar rules — for example, how you mark plurals, tense, or negation;
- a mini-dictionary of about 15 words.
Then translate five English sentences into your language, showing your rules in action.
The real test of a language isn't the words — it's whether the rules are consistent enough that someone else could use them to build a sentence you never wrote.
How to get started
- Decide your sounds and word order first — these set the feel of the language.
- Choose how grammar works: do you add endings to words (like Spanish verb endings) or use separate little words?
- Keep every rule consistent. If plurals add "-ka", they must always add "-ka".
- Borrow clever ideas from any language you study — French puts many adjectives after the noun, for instance.
Stuck? Open a hint
Try the challenge first — then reveal these one at a time.
Hint 1
Look at one real difference between English and a language you learn, and build a rule around it.
Hint 2
Write your rules as a tiny instruction manual, then test it: give a friend your dictionary and rules and see if they can decode a brand-new sentence.
Hint 3
If a sentence is ambiguous, you may need an extra rule — that's exactly how real grammar grows.
Take it further
Add some irregular forms and explain how real languages drift and change over centuries.
Then try a real puzzle from the UK Linguistics Olympiad (it's in the diary), or read about Esperanto and Tolkien's invented languages.
Produce & share
Make something: Submit your mini-language: its sound system and word order, your grammar rules, a dictionary of about 15 words, and five English sentences translated into it.
When it's ready, email your work to Mr King. The best pieces may be featured in the student showcase.
What you'll practise
Morphology and syntax, systematic rule-building, and abstraction — the core skills of linguistics.