Brick 1: Language
/Have you ever found yourself enjoying a historical novel only to be jarred back to reality with modern slang? What about coming across an unoriginal explicative and wishing for something more creative? Or a fantasy creature suddenly being compared to a typical sci-fi alien.
Language is more important to worldbuilding than many people realise. It might be tempting to create an entirely new language for your world, but it’s not entirely necessary. A similar effect that immerses readers is achievable by crafting specific terminology, exclamations, and in-world metaphors.
Terminology
The non-magical humans in Harry Potter are referred to as “Muggles”; “Light Sabers” are glowing electrical/magical weapons in Star Wars. These are just some of the examples of terminology that didn’t exist before the stories. Without words like these, you wouldn’t feel as involved in the story. They are unique to the world/universe they belong to. You don’t need an entire dictionary full of new names for things, but a few wouldn’t hurt.
Swearing and exclamations
Every culture has their own words they use in frustration. However, when reading, the F-bomb is only interesting for so long. Giving your characters something offensive to exclaim in their world can help retain your reader’s attention, if it’s used well - for example, “blood and ashes” and “burn me” in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.
Do you need to swear?
No. In fact, a lot of fantasy and other genres that rely heavily on worldbuilding don’t include swearing at all. This lack of swearing is due to the intended audience of young adults (12-18). But the characters still yell at each other (“Fool of a Took!” -Gandolf, Lord of the Rings). So, creating a pattern or selecting specific words to use in these instances is a good idea.
In-world metaphors keep readers engaged
Keeping your metaphors relevant to your world may be the hardest angle to take when adjusting your language to suit your world. If the story is about pirates and takes place on the ocean, comparing something in the sky to a seagull makes more sense than comparing it to an airplane. In a medieval fantasy, saying someone is as smart as a computer brings the reader out of the world because computers presumably hadn’t been invented yet (unless they’ve already been introduced to the story, but I digress). Try to imagine what people of the world would be familiar with and use that.
Increase engagement with language three ways
Whether following Tolkien by creating entire languages or adding a handful of unique words into your world, terminology helps set the scene and settles your reader into your world. Not every world needs expletives, but everyone exclaims something when they stub their toe. What they say gives a peek into the characters’ experience and culture, making it something found only in your world and giving the audience something to say themselves. Keep the comparisons in-world and you’ll keep your readers there too.
How important is language to worldbuilding?
Language might not be the most important tool for worldbuilding we discuss on Brick by Brick. However, there is no denying that curating the language you use with the three methods mentioned can increase how interesting and believable your world is. Not everyone talks the same way. In the real-world people use different words, phrases, and languages depending on where they come from. You wouldn’t expect someone from Texas to speak with a British accent. The slang a thirteen-year-old throws around is drastically different from what their grandparents say. The same applies to the worlds you build. Give it a try!
Rebecca Roth is currently pursuing a certificate of Professional Writing at Algonquin College. She is an avid reader, preferring the fantasy genre. She is an aspiring author with several books in the works to publish in the next couple years.
