Today I’m excited to share with you words from author Cinda Willams Chima whose new book in the Seven Realms Series, The Grey Wolf Throne [indie bound] [amazon], released on August 30th from Disney Hyperion Books. Please join me in welcoming her to Galleysmith.


The Language of Fantasy

Some of you may know that JRR Tolkien was a linguist first, author second. He developed the mythology and language of his world of Middle Earth before he created the stories that became fantasy classics.

I’m no linguist—I’m more of a storyteller, and so I tend to build a world around my characters. The mythology develops as I go along. This can present a problem with the coherence and continuity of the world I present on the page. This is especially true when it comes to language, if you just “make things up.” In names and in magical terms, I tend to be alliterative, and so halfway in I’ll discover that all of my magical terms begin with ‘m.’

The Heir Chronicles is set in Ohio, so there weren’t many language barriers there—for Americans, at least. Just a few Midwestern quirks, like using “pop” for “soda.”

One of my characters, Seph McCauley, was born in Canada, and so I spent a deal of time researching the subtle differences between Canadian and American English. (I didn’t want to get emails from Canada.) So Seph went to the washroom, washed his hands at the tap, then went to see a solicitor about his guardianship. [After I turned in my manuscript, my American editor wanted to change all of my Canadianisms. Apparently it’s common when UK books are published in the U.S. to “Americanize” the English. Me, I love these subtle differences in language.

Magical terms in both the Heir Chronicles and the Seven Realms series come mostly from Old English. There are several English-Old English dictionaries online, and Old English is simultaneously exotic and familiar.

For example, in The Dragon Heir,  ælf ǽling  is a term used for a drug used to enhance wizard performance, also known as mind-burner. In Old English,  ǽling means burning, burning of the mind or ardor; ælf  means elf, sprite, fairy, or goblin.

I had a different language requirement in the Seven Realms series. Han Alister is a streetlord—a streetgang leader on the mean streets of Ragmarket in Fellsmarch. I needed a voice—a language for him, and a street slang for him and his Raggers to use. Again, it had to be a subtle thing—if it were incomprehensible, readers would put it down. I used a particular cadence and structure in his narrative and dialogue, seasoning it with slang terms.

For the thieves’ slang, I relied heavily on several dictionaries of 18th and 19th century British thieves’ slang. I bought a couple, and used this one which is available online.

I also needed to change his voice over the four books in the series. Han goes to school, finds a tutor to teach him the ways of bluebloods, and learns to navigate the treacherous Gray Wolf Court. Gradually, the slang falls away, and his speech more and more resembles that of those around him.

It’s a fine line, too, when it comes to how much exotic language to include. My advice is to use a light hand, and construct your story so that readers can deduce the meaning of the word through context. Go easy on the apostrophes and consonants and the unpronounceable words. I spent an hour on the phone with a representative of Recorded Books, going over names, words, and their pronunciation for the Seven Realms series. I realized then that I didn’t KNOW how to pronounce some of them, since I created them on the page.

So—when it comes to exotic languages, a little goes a long way. Nobody wants to hack through a thicket of elvish in order to read your story. Except, maybe Tolkien—and he’s dead.

Check my website for a table of thieves’ slang terms (coming soon.)

Cinda Williams Chima has authored two best-selling fantasy series: The Heir Chronicles (The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir, The Dragon Heir) with two books forthcoming; and the Seven Realms series (The Demon King, The Exiled Queen, and the newly-released The Gray Wolf Throne) with more forthcoming. You can find information about her tour for The Gray Wolf Throne and other upcoming events here.

More information and excerpts from each book are available on her website, www.cindachima.com. Help for writers can be found under Resources/Tips for Writers, including a document called, “Getting Started in Writing for Teens.”

Chima blogs at http://cindachima.blogspot.com/, where you’ll find rants, posts on the craft of writing, and news. Visit her Seven Realms and Heir Chronicles pages on Facebook.

A big thank you goes out to Cinda Williams-Chima for sharing with us how the language in her fanatasy novels is crafted.  A lot of hard work goes into giving us a realistic and timely feeling book.