J.R.R. Tolkien is revered for the 20+ languages he created for his majestic world of Middle-earth. He even coined the term “Glossopoeia” to describe his brand of language invention. Tolkien got his start in his teens…just like Emi, avid glossopoet and the subject of today’s blog post!
But before we meet Emi, we have another teen to introduce…
Long time readers may remember Hope, our kid guest writer who tested calligraphy sets, launched catapults, and reviewed arts supplies far and near. Hope also has the distinction of being the first kid to grow up in our little library and be accepted into Princeton University! She graduated in the Class of 2024!
Today, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce a new teen writer. Lila is a freshman in high school and our new arts and entertainment desk. Today, she’ll be sharing an amazing discovery she made – a fellow student who invented her own language! Take it away, Lila!
Hello readers! I’m so happy to be here! Imagine my surprise when during a free period in school, I glanced over to see a notebook full of symbols and writings. This intricate script belonged to a student I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for a few years now. Emi is a highly creative friend of mine, so knowing this, it came as no surprise that this page turned out to be part of a language she invented. Intrigued, I felt deeply inspired to learn more and interview her! And thankfully, I learned quite a lot, as Emi provides us with a deeper dive into her language, its purpose, how it works, and more.
Hi Emi! Please tell us a little bit about yourself!
Salutations! I’m Emi, your friendly nyctophile who enjoys illustrating and writing.
Can you explain how your language works, and how you use it in your life?
The thing is, I’m still creating my language. I think it’s more of a code/ language, like how Zac Brewer, the author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, made theirs. The language is called Ximo, meaning SD or Slayer Dialect. Although not associated with the Monster Slayers in my book anymore, the name Ximo will still stand. The overall language is used for the supernaturals in the fake universe I’ve created for my book called The Spiral Universe. The reason I originally said that it’s a dialect is because different parts of that fake world speak the language but change the words up a bit like how there’s Quebecois French and then the French that is spoken in France or how in the Philippines there is Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Waray, etc. Sometimes I try to speak Ximo to my friends, the looks on their faces… absolutely hilarious. One of these days I need to teach them Ximo. I doubt these rules will change, if they do I shall certainly write that in my book, but here are some rules:
If a word contains repeat letters, the extra letters are removed. Like if you have the word “know” in Ximo which is usually kotaaifa if written without the rule. Instead we write it like, kotaifa with one A instead of two because we already knew that there would be another A there because of the I.
Words like “to look” which in Ximo would be, Ioloaiaiko without the rule, usually have a letter that isn’t repeated. Since we already see 2 letter Os in the word, we’d say Ioloaiako.
Verbs have “Io” in front of them.
Xlobi means “fly” in Ximo. Any word in English that ends with “Y” will end with “Bi” in Ximo, with some exceptions of words like adding -ly to adjectives to turn into adverbs. Then that would be “Ra” with the r rolled.
For example, if I wanted to say, “This is Ximo,” in the language, it’s like this:
Thjao q Ximo.
Here are some words:
At: Th
Are: Atnexo
Am: Atza
And: Ja
Is: Q
It: Qu
That: Thja
This: Thjao
These: Thjaok
Those: Thjaoka
Just like how English has contractions in the languages like Isn’t, Aren’t, Doesn’t, Don’t, Ximo also has these but they are different.
Some common ones are:
Aren’t: Atnedansais
Isn’t: Hixinsais
It’s: Hinonsais
Can’t: Zoatnsais
Doesn’t: Moaidaxinsais
Notice how they have sais at the end? That acts like the T in English. The n is added before the ais to make it negative.
What inspired you to create this language?
I have a lot of inspiration actually. The World of Elysia is the fantasy world that Zac Brewer created, my favorite author. They made The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod and many other series I value dearly. They have this code in their book called “Elysian Code.” I guess once I read all the books in those series, I told myself that I needed to write a book. I started writing in 2023 and my first book was Supernatural Control which I haven’t finished yet. My book I’m currently writing is called Blood Lies. Vampires in The World of Elysia speak Elysian code, and write in it, but the pronunciation of the words and how to speak it was always kept a secret. I decided I really wanted my language/code to be able to be spoken regardless of what language a person spoke.
J.R.R. Tolkien is a famous author who created languages for a fictitious world he was building. Is this true for you too, or is your language stand-alone?
My language is specifically for my book series I’m creating/ writing. It’s the main language spoken in The Spiral universe, mostly noted to be spoken in The Spiral City while the various representatives from each house were there. House of Fairies, House of Vampires, House of Elves, not creative names, but it says what House they are from at least. They all speak this language. Humans cannot understand the language. Regardless if they learned Ximo or not, supernaturals can naturally understand it. There is another language I’m making called “Qzklyu” which the demons in the book speak and only the demons can understand it. They can understand Ximo and Qzklyu because their brain is programmed to understand and speak both.
Do you speak any other languages and did that impact how you designed your own language?
I speak English, I’m learning French in school. I’m learning Japanese, Esperanto, Welsh, Mandarin, Turkish, and German on Duolingo. Tagalog is something I’m learning from my Mom and online because my mom is Filipino. And then there is Ximo and Qzklyu that I’m developing and learning to speak and write. Japanese, Tagalog, English, and German have to be the most help developing my languages. Some words are pronounced like in English, the way some words are pronounced in Japanese is also pronounced in there as well. Like “No” or “Mo” or “Ta” is similar in Japanese and is in Ximo and “Th” in English. “Ja” pronunciation like in German.
What are some words of inspiration and/ or practical advice for others who want to create their own languages?
My words of inspiration are something I struggle with; however, they just need to nerd out. Nerd out on what you do. If it’s languages, pursue that, research that, talk about that. Watch videos, say random sounds and gibberish, and eventually you’ll make words. Just be yourself and let other’s know.
Anyway that’s all. Thank you for your time. :D
As we say in Ximo as a farewell,
Ekquio diertu qiz zoatloza.
Many thanks to Lila for conducting the interview, and to Emi for sharing her amazing work!
September 22nd was Bilbo Baggins’ birthday, and we threw a big bash that was the talk of Hobbiton! You had a 
Visitors were greeted with a classic birthday banner, which Katie hand drew with paint pens. Below the banner were three raffle bags absolutely loaded with goodies. There were LOTR figurines, books, cool pens, a stuffed dragon, an elvish journal, a science garden kit, a Middle-Earth map throw blanket, a Mordor-worthy lava lamp, an elvish ceramic mug, and more! And how did you enter the raffle?
You went on a QUEST of course! Princeton University graduate student Sally Yi was on hand to help young adventures embark on a tree walk (and offer felt acorn participation prizes).
Following this map (expertly drawn by Katie the cartographer) families walked to fourteen trees on Princeton University campus – including our 
When kids returned to the event table and uttered the phrase, they earned an entry to the raffle! You were also awarded extra entries if you brought in non-perishables for our food drive.
Hobbits love to eat, so this event also benefited the 
And yes, you could get that engraving done by the man himself, for Gandalf was THERE!
Under all that wig is Zachary Painter, Assistant University Librarian for Science and Engineering. He spent the day meeting, greeting, and engraving doors. He also sometimes sat quietly reading a copy of The Hobbit, and would gladly share the story with you if you cared to join him.
Things sometimes escalated to kids jumping, grabbing, demanding, and wheedling for coins, to which I responded that they “sounded exactly like dragons.” Eventually, I grudgingly shared coins with everyone. But not without a lot of griping.
Angie Miller, Lecture Demonstrator for the Department of Chemistry, arrived with her team of students to wow kids with neon lights and prism glasses. When viewed with the naked eye, the neon lights displayed just one color (hydrogen was pinky purple, and helium was a peach color). But when kids put on the prism glasses, both lights exploded into multiple colors! The scientists explained how the prism glasses allowed you to see the line spectrum of the atoms in the gases. I held the prism glasses up to my phone camera so you can see the effect…how awesome is that?
In addition to a clever take-home LOTR crossword puzzle, Science Outreach also brought the specific salts and metals that serve as ingredients in fireworks, matching the color to the substance.
For the very youngest hobbits, we had a food cart divided into all the important hobbit mealtimes. LOTR fans will notice that “Dinner” is missing from the line up. Alas, the cart only came with six available meal slots. So like Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry…you sometimes miss a meal while adventuring.
And now for the grand finale! You might have noticed the gorgeous hobbit door that started off this post. That was created by the incredibly talented Brittany Norwood, Policy and International Affairs Librarian. She crafted it out of a floral hoop, foam board, glossy photographic printed with a wood grain template, and lots and lots and LOTS of luscious foliage. Doesn’t it look amazing? I want to live there.
This event was so much fun and a tremendous success! We would like to sincerely thank Sally Yi for leading the campus quest, Zachary Painter for his wizardly ways, and Brittany Norwood for her amazing architectural skills. We would also like to thank the Princeton Public Library for sharing Tolkien’s art, and Science Outreach at Princeton University for illuminating the community with the Chemistry of Fireworks. It was an epic day, and we appreciate you all so much!