Top Three Languages to Inspire Fantasy (Erin)

I have always loved languages. I remember being a little girl and sitting with a German language copy of the Tales of the Brothers Grimm and writing out my own dictionary of what I thought many of the German words might mean in English. Also in elementary school, I was given a book of Welsh fairy tales and I spent hours poring over the glossary and pronunciation guide in the back. A while later,  I was delighted to realize Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series was set in Wales. Here are three languages that always thrill me, spark my imagination, and that I associate with fantasy settings.

3. Welsh: Welsh is the first language I associated with fantasy books. Cooper's The Dark is Rising series,  and Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain both rely heavily on Welsh language and legend. My youngest daughter's name is even Welsh, and means "little raven." Good thing she has dark hair!


2. Russian: After attempting to read my dad's copy of War and Peace one summer, I was inspired to take Russian language in high school. That led to a Russian minor in college, and traveling to Russia twice. Russian is a Cyrillic language, and looks pretty, especially if you can master Russian cursive. Recent fantasy books such as The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye and Leah Bardugo's The Grisha Trilogy use Russian, but sadly, most books will only use Russian phonetics. I am guessing it would be expensive and tricky to use the actual Cyrillic characters, but they would look more magical.

1. Elvish: Of course, a made-up language created by a brilliant linguist wins my top spot. J.R.R. Tolkien was not only an amazing author, but created an entire working language, with it's own characters, as well as grammar and syntax, along with several variations, for the land of Middle-earth. You can listen to the song "Lothlorien" and see the phonetic and Elvish translations, at this site. Or, you can listen to Tolkien recite a poem in Elvish here. Some day, when I have lots of free time, it would be fun to learn Elvish. . . or Welsh. . . or brush up on my Russian. Ah, free time. . . 

This Digiphile Wordpress site shows the first article of the Universal declaration of Human Rights, as well as lists several Elvish Translators

 What languages do you associate with fantasy? What language would you learn if you had free time? Let us know!
 
Attributions:
http://www.wales.com/welsh-phrases
http://masterrussian.com/video/writing/writing-russian-cursive-letters.htm 
https://digiphile.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/online-jrrtolkein-translators-and-font-converters/

On Writing: Poetry and Fantasy (Erin)

Today I want to take a moment to talk about poetry. You can probably guess we are writing poetry in my Creative Writing class, but as I was thinking of poems, I realized some of my favorites have come from fantasy books.

When the dark comes rising
Six shall turn it back
Three from the circle
Three from the track
Wood, Bronze, Iron
Water, Fire, Stone
Five shall return and one go alone.  Susan Cooper The Dark is Rising

The poem continues, and foreshadows much of the action in the series. I liked the poem so much that I actually memorized all three stanzas when I was in sixth grade. Another poem I enjoy is Frodo's Song in Bree. Although technically a song, it is fun to read, and references many familiar nursery rhymes. 

There is an inn, a merry old inn, 
beneath an old grey hill  
And there they brew a beer so brown  
That the man in the moon himself came down
One night to drink his fill.  J.R.R. Tolkein The Fellowship of the Ring

One of my favorite types of poetry to write is word association poetry. First, you choose a topic. Then, you list two or three words that topic first makes you think of. Then, for each word you listed, you list two or three more words. Finally, you list another three words for each of those words. . . Let me show you.

Topic: Spring

Cut Grass        Swinging                                          Grandma's House
                                                                                      Flying
                                                                                      Fourth of July

                          Colorful tulips                                  Amsterdam                            
                                                                                      Chocolate
                                                                                      Conservatory

                         Raindrops                                         Splashing
                                                                                     Gentle pitter patter
                                                                                     Umbrellas

Baby Chicks    The Zoo                                            Happy
                                                                                     Content
                                                                                     Walking  

                           Easter                                              Grateful
                                                                                     The Cross
                                                                                     Saving Grace

                          Fuzzy                                                 Peach cobbler
                                                                                      Socks
                                                                                     Be careful!

It is fun to see how all the images you think of can combine and form a poem! 

My question for you today is, have any of you written poetry to include in your stories? Have you ever tried word association poetry? How else do you go about writing poetry? 

Leave a comment and let us know! 

Attributions:
https://pixabay.com/en/notebook-address-book-point-sketch-2247352/