Ithkuil

Ithkuil
Iţkuîl
Iţkuîl written in the Ithkuil writing systems
Pronunciation/ɪθˈkʊ.il/
Created byJohn Quijada
Date1978–2023
2023–present (as New Ithkuil)
UsersNone
Purpose
Morphophonemic
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
GlottologNone
IETFart-x-ithkuil
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Ithkuil is an experimental constructed language created by John Quijada.[1] It is designed to express more profound levels of human cognition briefly yet overtly and clearly, particularly about human categorization. It is a cross between an a priori philosophical and a logical language. It tries to minimize the vagueness and semantic ambiguity in natural human languages.[2] Ithkuil is notable for its grammatical complexity and extensive phoneme inventory, the latter being simplified in an upcoming redesign. The name "Ithkuil" is an anglicized form of Iţkuîl, which in the original form roughly meant "hypothetical representation of a language."[2] Quijada states he did not create Ithkuil to be auxiliary or used in everyday conversations. Instead, he wanted the language for more elaborate and profound fields where more insightful thoughts are expected, such as philosophy, arts, science, and politics.[3]

Meaningful phrases or sentences can usually be expressed in Ithkuil with fewer linguistic units than natural languages.[2] For example, the two-word Ithkuil sentence "Tram-mļöi hhâsmařpţuktôx" can be translated into English as "On the contrary, I think it may turn out that this rugged mountain range trails off at some point."[2] Quijada deems his creation as too complex to have developed naturally, seeing it as an exercise in exploring how languages could function. Nevertheless, it was featured in the Language Creation Conference's 6th Conlang Relay.

Four versions of the language have been publicized: the initial version in 2004, a simplified version called Ilaksh in 2007, a third version in 2011, and the current version (as of February 2023), called New Ithkuil.[4][5][6][7] In 2004[8]—and again in 2009[9] with Ilaksh—Ithkuil was featured in the Russian-language popular science and IT magazine Computerra. In 2008, David J. Peterson awarded it the Smiley Award.[10] In 2013, Bartłomiej Kamiński codified the language to parse complicated sentences quickly.[11] Julien Tavernier and anonymous others have since followed suit.[12] Since July 2015, Quijada has released several Ithkuil songs in a prog-rock style as part of the album Kaduatán, which translates to "Wayfarers."[13] Recently, online communities have developed in English, Russian, Mandarin, and Japanese.

  1. ^ Foer, Joshua (December 16, 2012). "Utopian for Beginners: An amateur linguist loses control of the language he invented.". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Quijada, John (2004–2019). "A Grammar of the Ithkuil Language - Introduction". ithkuil.net. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  3. ^ Quijada, John (2004–2019). "Ithkuil FAQs". ithkuil.net. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Quijada, John (June 26, 2019). "Newest Update" (PDF). Ithkuil.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-03.
  5. ^ Quijada, John (October 3, 2020). "Morphophonology Version 0.15" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Quijada, John (March 4, 2021). "Morphophonology Version 0.15.8.1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Quijada, John (2023). "A GRAMMAR OF NEW ITHKUIL". Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  8. ^ Козловский, Станислав (29 July 2004). "Скорость мысли". Компьютерра (in Russian). Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  9. ^ Mikhail Gertelman (2009). "Ithkuil and its philosophical design" (PDF). Computerra (in Russian). Vol. 17, no. 781. p. 12.
  10. ^ Peterson, David J. (August 3, 2018). "The 2008 Smiley Award Winner: Ithkuil". The Smiley Award. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  11. ^ ebvalaim (January 14, 2016). "Making fun with Ithkuil easier". ebvalaim.log. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "Transcription of Ithkuil". laethiel.fr. n.d. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  13. ^ "John Quijada". YouTube. Retrieved February 27, 2022.