Artlangs in computer games: taxonomy and functions

Artamonova Mariya Valerievna ORCID: 0000-0002-2547-4988 PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Department of Linguistics and Translation; Magnitogorsk State Technical University named after G. I. Nosov 455047, Russia, Chelyabinsk region, Magnitogorsk, ul. Fiftieth Anniversary of Magnitogorsk, 52/2, sq. 176 maria_art@inbox.ru Mironchenko Roman Sergeevich ORCID: 0009-0009-1755-8450 Student; Department of Linguistics and Translation; Magnitogorsk State Technical University named after G.I. Nosov 455000, Russia, Chelyabinsk region, Magnitogorsk, Zhemchuzhnaya str., 19/1, sq. 19 roman.mironchenko@outlook.com

Tulina Ekaterina Valer'evna ORCID: 0000-0002-6641-2572 PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Department of Linguistics and Translation; Magnitogorsk State Technical University named after G. I. Nosov 455000, Russia, Chelyabinsk region, Magnitogorsk, Stalevarov, 16, sq. 88 tulina78@yandex.ru

Introduction. Fictional languages (or conlangs – from the English constructed languages) are far from a new phenomenon, they appeared many centuries ago. For the first time, in order to create secret (secret) ways of storing and transmitting information, as well as forming a communicative environment protected from outsiders. At the same time, Conlang performed a differentiating function, making it possible to distinguish "his" from "someone else's". Difficulties in comprehending natural languages forced linguists and philosophers to think about creating an artificial language that would be logically consistent and allow them to express their thoughts most accurately and unambiguously, because the illogical structure of natural language was considered an obstacle to human thinking ^[1].

In addition, attempts have been repeatedly made to create an artificial language capable of simplifying communication between people and displacing natural languages from the scientific sphere and international communication (for example, Esperanto has a convenient correspondence for machine recognition "one letter – one sound", and its "follower", the ido language, in addition to a coherent system of rules and lack of ambiguity, it is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use ^[2].

Great interest in artificial languages was manifested in the late XX –early XXI centuries with the advent of the request for machine translation and the development of artificial intelligence. Then it became clear that the greatest difficulty for natural language processing systems is caused by ambiguity at all its levels. It is not easy to solve such a problem, even by referring the computer to certain rules that allow you to find the information necessary to determine the context in the knowledge base. It was quite difficult to develop a universal model for machine translation from one language to another, so some researchers believe that using a universal artificial language will allow artificial intelligence developers to focus on tasks other than natural language processing systems ^[3].

In the modern world, artificial languages are successfully used in a new field that exists at the junction of fiction, multimedia and computer technologies. We are talking about computer games. Artificial languages open up new possibilities in this area, allowing you to create a unique atmosphere and provide a unique user experience. Historically, many games have used simplified versions of real languages or even the complete absence of text, relying only on graphics and sound to convey information. However, with the development of technology and the increasing complexity of game plots, the emergence of artificial languages has become a necessary step to convey the depth and nuances of characters, as well as to create interactive storylines in a number of game genres.

The purpose of this study is:

1) review of works on artificial languages, in particular those that have found their application in literature, popular culture and computer games;

2) discussion of computer and computer-gaming discourse and their connection with artificial languages;

3) analysis of the taxonomy of artificial languages by L. Purmono used in computer games;

4) definition and discussion of the functions of artificial languages created for the game “Chants of Sennaar".

Literature review. To begin with, let's look at how artificial languages are classified outside the computer-gaming context. Depending on the purpose of creation, all artificial languages (conlangs) can be divided into several groups:

1) Englangs (from Eng. engineered languages) are created to streamline the language structure, simplify the linguistic system and obtain a logical language series.

2) Auxlangs (from the English auxiliary languages) aim to simplify communication between people in order to ensure mutual understanding.

3) Artlangs (from English artistic languages) arise to embody an artistic idea and create a unique fictional world of a work of art / computer game ^[4].

Recently, arglangs have been appearing more and more often, which are designed to perform a world- or plot-forming function. These artistic and linguistic constructs, unlike, for example, Esperanto, are not used in reality and are part of the author's legendariums - fictional universes. Fictional languages are mostly spoken by fantastic or fabulous creatures and peoples inhabiting non-existent worlds ^[5]. The creators of literary works, films or computer games in the genre of science fiction or fantasy often use artlangs or their individual components to create a certain atmosphere, worldview and worldview of their fictional characters, giving them special characteristics. Such artlangs can also serve as the beginning of events and the source of certain plot collisions ^[5]. The most extensive and carefully developed artlangs are Quenya and Sindarin, the Elvish languages invented by John Tolkien. Many creators of fictional languages developed a unique linguistic construct, which, although based on two or more existing languages, nevertheless differed from them and subsequently developed according to their own linguistic laws, not necessarily identical to those that operated in the "mother" languages.

Klingon and Dothraki languages are also examples of carefully crafted artlangs. The language of the Klingon race was developed by linguist Mark Okrand for the characters of the Star Trek series. It reflects the character of its bearers – belligerent, aggressive and rude. Guttural sounds create an intimidating effect. The vocabulary is partly taken from Sanskrit and the languages of the North American Indians. This language is still popular to this day, books, magazines are published in it, and songs are written. It can be found in Google Translator ^[6].

The Dothraki language was originally invented by George Martin for the characters in the books "Songs of Ice and Fire", and later refined by linguist David Peterson on behalf of HBO for the series "Game of Thrones". This artlang contains fragments of grammar and phonetics from Turkish, Estonian, Swahili and Russian. The word order is standard: the subject is followed by the predicate and the complement. However, there is a declension in cases. Interest in this series and the language was great, so in 2014, HBO, together with the publishing house Living Language, even launched an online course on the Dothraki language ^[7].

Based on the above, we can talk about some of the most obvious functions of fictional languages:

1) creating a secret language environment;

2) simplification of intercultural communication;

3) creating a universal language;

4) creating an authentic setting;

5) disclosure of the artistic intent of the author.

At the end of the XX century, a new field for the creation and development of artlangs appeared, directly related to their functions. We are talking about computer games that originated back in the 70s of the XX century and created limitless, progressively developing opportunities for both the entertainment industry and artistic expression.

To define the concept of a computer game, let's turn to Astrid Ensslin's fundamental research "The Language of Gaming". The author writes that the game is "a system of rules with a changeable and measurable result, in which different values correspond to different results, the player makes efforts to achieve a certain result, the player is emotionally attached to the result, and the consequences of this activity are contractual" ^[8].

Since a computer game takes place in a virtual space, it is appropriate to assume that it forms its own discourse, both related to computer discourse and different from it. A.B. Kutuzov offers the following five main features of computer discourse ^[9]: digital signal transmission channel; distance; anonymity; multimedia and oral-written character communications. It is the latter that is especially important in the framework of this study – computer-gaming discourse, in most cases, involves communication between the player and the game and/or the player, the game and other players, taking place in written and/or oral form, verbally and non-verbally ^[10].

If we delve into the question, it becomes obvious that artlangs contribute to the realization of the main features of the game within the framework of game discourse. We are talking about the statements formulated by the outstanding Dutch historian and cultural critic J. There are many signs of the game, namely: the game is free, the game is not real life and the game is delimited ^[11]. Accordingly, there are obvious coincidences in the discursive characteristics of computer games, namely: being delimited by digital space, conventionality within the framework of multimedia and freedom within the framework of anonymity and distance.

Thus, it can be concluded that artlangs in computer-gaming discourse act at the junction of ludology and narratology, since they imply an active interaction of the player with the language. Artlang in a computer game becomes part of the game mechanics to one degree or another. Game mechanics are the rules that describe the player's interaction with game objects through interfaces or controls, the rules by which something should change in the game world ^[12].

Materials and methods. To conduct research on the use of fictional languages in computer games, a comprehensive approach has been developed, including an analysis of theoretical and empirical research on this issue. In particular, content analysis was used to identify the structural and lexical features of fictional languages in the 2023 game “Chants of Sennaar". Aspects such as grammar, vocabulary and semantics of languages, as well as their integration into dialogues and descriptions of the world, were analyzed. The collected data were processed using quantitative statistical methods to identify patterns and peculiarities of perception of fictional languages. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods makes it possible to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of fictional languages in the computer gaming space within the framework of an appropriate taxonomy.

The results of the study and discussion of the results. According to a study by L.A. Purmono et al., artlangs in computer games should be classified according to criteria radically different from the rest, since they are interactive and their functionality differs from the functionality of artlangs used in literature and cinema. The authors propose to consider them in an integral connection with their role in the creation and implementation of the game, using three approaches: interpretive, exploratory and configurative. These approaches are given according to the degree of increasing involvement of artlang in the gameplay. The interpretive approach implies that the player passively perceives textual information, interactivity is reduced to zero, and language is not included in game mechanics. The exploratory approach assumes a high degree of interactivity, the player interacts with the language, which is already becoming an important part of the game mechanics. And the final, configurative approach is used for artlangs, which serve as the basis of game mechanics, communication with the game and other players and are closely related to the plot component, which completely immerses the player in the language of the game ^[13].

In L. Purmono's article, the games under study are classified into these three categories, and the author concludes that game developers can achieve the maximum degree of player involvement in the process by using/creating a fictional language that optimally meets these goals ^[13].

Let's look at how artlang can be used in a computer game in three aspects at once, using the example of the 2023 game “Chants of Sennaar” from the studio Focus Entertainment. This is a game at the intersection of puzzle / adventure genres, in which the player has to master the languages of five different peoples in order to achieve mutual understanding and harmony. The [Babel] Tower was symbolically chosen as the scene of action at a stage when languages were already mixed up, and its inhabitants lost touch with each other and began to develop each in their own unique manner. There are five artlangs in the game: the language of monks (34 characters), warriors (36 characters), bards (42 characters), alchemists (42 characters plus a system of complex numerals) and the departed (32 characters), which are mastered sequentially, including by comparative analysis. Each of the languages is represented only in graphical form: in the form of bas-reliefs, manuscripts, signs, graffiti, toolbars and dialogs in the form of windows/clouds.

The monk language has the following word order: subject, predicate, complement (SPO). There are no official words (except for the negatives. particles), including no prepositions. The question is not marked, the sound component is unknown. There are no punctuation marks (except for the dot). In some cases, symbols have several meanings that are distinguishable using context. The plural is constructed using symbol reduplication. Verbs do not have a plural, or they are not indicated on the letter. There is no graphical information about verb conjugations and declensions of nouns and other parts of speech. Symbols can be classified into categories denoting a particular function in the language, examples of which will be presented below.

In the language of monks, there is a certain division into parts of speech, however, words that constantly act as verbs, nouns and adjectives that occur to the translator player can be transformed and transferred to another part of speech with or without grammatical (symbolic) categorizers.

The writing of the monks' language is logographic. Each symbol or component of a symbol is a morpheme or a word. Some symbols are grammatical (symbolic) categorizers. In the language of monks, there is no clear division between the concepts of "morpheme", "word" and "grapheme".

One of the grammatical differences between the language of warriors and the language of monks will be the presence in the former of a separate service word for the plural. This plural marker is indicated by a symbol and placed before the noun. With adjectives and verbs, the use of this marker is not fixed.

There are many more pictographic symbols in the language of warriors and each of them denotes a separate object or phenomenon in the language. Verbs have a common symbolic root in the form of a "tick", on which the remaining elements are layered. There are no more categorizers as such in the language of warriors.

In addition to the plural marker, there is a negative particle in the language of warriors, acting according to the same rules as in the language of monks. Punctuation, there is a dot.

There are no pronouns in the language of warriors (and also there are no 1st and 2nd persons). When addressing a person in a place where in another language there would be a pronoun "You" or "you", in the language of warriors there will be a noun denoting a person performing a particular type of activity. For example, if a warrior addresses an alchemist with a question, he will say, for example: "Does the alchemist know...?"

The language of the bards in the Tower is the first language on the path of the translator player, structurally different from the already known language of monks and the language of warriors. The word order in the Bard language in the case of the presence of an addition in the sentence: addition, subject, predicate (OSP). In case of absence: predicate, subject (PS). In this case, the predicate acts as a complement and is placed before the subject. There are no prepositions. There is a negative particle and an interrogative particle framing the negative and interrogative sentences on both sides, respectively.

All the symbols of the Bard language have a common graphical structure: each character has a lower horizontal line. In the flow of a sentence, all the symbols of a single sentence, which is a complete thought, are connected.

In addition, in the Bard language, all verbs have a common categorizer: . This dot should be in the upper-right corner of the symbol to denote the verb. If it stands at the bottom of the symbol in the middle, it indicates a place/location (house, building, building) or direction (south, north, west, east). The pluralizer is placed after the word being defined, unlike the warrior language, where the noun precedes.

In the language of the Bards, as in the rest of the Tower languages, there is no category of modal verbs. There are no such verbs in language sentences, and the necessary thought is expressed through a "simplified" construction, for example: instead of "can you help?" – "will you help?", instead of "will you be able to walk?" – "are you going?" or even "are you going?". However, unlike the previous languages encountered by the player, the language of the bards is the first one offering a verb–bundle with the meaning of "to be", "to be", "to be".

The grammar of the language of the alchemists resembles the grammar of the languages of the other peoples of the Tower. It is worth noting that from the language of warriors, for example, it differs in the use of a plural indicator: , which, as in the language of bards, is placed after the word being defined, and not before it.

There are no significant differences from other languages of the Tower, however, the language of the alchemists is the first of its kind containing a system of calculus. It has the following numbers: (0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9). Alchemists use a decimal number system. The numbers are layered on one common "pole". The units, as in the examples above, are located in the lower right part of the "pole". Dozens come from the bottom left, hundreds from the top right, and thousands from the top left.

Alchemists must have a significant vocabulary and a well-developed word formation system, as they have a large library containing hundreds of thousands of works in their language. Genealogically, the language of the alchemists and the language of the bards may come from a common source, since these peoples were once divided in the past. There is a confirmation of this in one of the books in the library, which is then reported by one of the alchemists via a "video link" to the bard. About portals-terminals and their role in the world of the Tower will be discussed later.

There is no copula in the language of the alchemists, there is a strict word order (as in the other languages of the Tower). The word order is SPO (subject, predicate, complement).

The language of the departed (hermits) is a more complex, intricate form of language that combines elements of all the languages previously studied by the player (the language of monks, warriors, bards and alchemists). Symbols in the language of the departed can be combined to form a single hieroglyph. The plural does not have a documented free-standing symbol, the plural marker is combined with words already existing in the sentence ( (plural marker) + (people) = (peoples), etc.). The plural marker among those examples that are known to the player is placed in the upper right corner of the symbol. It is not known about other forms of this element.

The symbols in the language of the departed are graphically simplified. There are a large number of sharp and right angles. Despite the developed word formation, there are no categorizers in the language of the departed, and each symbol represents a unique graphic combination.

The word order is SPO (subject, predicate, complement).

Let's look at how three approaches to the functioning of artlang in a computer game are implemented. The first, interpretive, is used at the start of the game and implies interaction with the language at a basic, receptive level – to receive and interpret information (see Fig. 1).

The first characters detected by the translator player are (open) and (close). Both symbols are verbs, as evidenced by the horizontal line located at the bottom of the grapheme – the translator player guesses about this later, as the entries in the dictionary accumulate, which allow for a comparative analysis of the symbols. Logic suggests that the symbol means a door, and the task that the player faces – to get to the other side by opening/ closing the gateway – indicates the meaning of the verb symbols.

The exploratory approach implies limited interaction between the player and the artlang to complete the game task. In the game “Chants of Sennaar”, this approach is implemented in compiling a dictionary of artlangs throughout the gameplay and acting as a translator at the final stage of the game – organizing communication between the peoples of the Tower (see Fig. 2, 3).

The third, configurative approach implies the active role of the player in the development of artlang, and, accordingly, the game world itself, which is defined by this language. The main task that the player faces is to master all five languages in all their lexical, morphological, grammatical and semantic diversity. In fact, language learning is the game mechanics – thus, the configurative approach in “Chants of Sennaar" is implemented at the maximum level. In order to create a sense of the authenticity of these artlangs, the creators obviously resorted to a popular interpretation of the Sepir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity: "Are our representations of "time", "space" and "matter" really the same for all people, or are they to some extent conditioned by the structure of a given language and are there visible the relationship between: a) norms of culture and behavior and b) the main linguistic categories?" ^[14]. The proof of this is the graphic form of the language symbols of the game artlangs. For example, the language of warriors contains many angles and straight lines resembling a double–edged weapon - "A warrior is not afraid of death", while the language of bards looks like an elegant ligature, which emphasizes their cult of beauty and art – "We love beauty!". Alchemists, people of science, are the only ones who put into active use a carefully developed system of calculus (0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), which is necessary for them to conducting experiments, and the departed, being the most advanced civilization of all, use a language that includes elements of those that stand lower in the hierarchy of the Tower – "My people built the Tower."

Conclusions. Artlangs created for computer games, although they have a lot in common with artlangs in fiction and popular culture, still have a number of distinctive features arising from the fact of their functioning at the junction of ludology and narratology. Their integration into computer-gaming discourse, which implies elements of active interaction between the player and the game and other players, including through a fictional language, leads researchers to the conclusion that their taxonomy should be based on qualitatively different features, such as: the degree of interactivity, connection with game mechanics, genre and level of immersion in the game the process. Accordingly, approaches to the creation and/or research of fictional languages in computer games can be based on three approaches: interpretive, exploratory and configurative. Using the example of the computer game “Chants of Sennaar”, these three approaches to the use of artlangs in the game environment were integratively considered in their connection with game mechanics, interaction with the player, exploration of the game world and modeling in-game communication to achieve game goals. It was concluded that the implementation of artlangs within the framework of all three approaches allows fictional languages to function and develop as linguistic systems, enriching the gaming experience and constructing a new communicative reality.