Today's episode features Agma Schwa, an expert in dog languages, cursed conlangs, and creativity. They discuss their childhood influences, the intricacies of constructed writing in comics, and the fascination with cursed conlangs. Agma Schwa also shares their experiences with video editing and managing submissions for the cursed conlangs circus. A fun and informative conversation!
Cursed conlangs are intentionally created languages meant to cause discomfort or amusement, showcasing the creativity and niche appeal behind this unique genre.
The Curse Conlang Circus, a contest dedicated to cursed conlangs, has seen a significant increase in submissions, necessitating modifications to accommodate the growing number of participants.
Deep dives
The Rise of Cursed Conlangs
The podcast episode explores the rise of cursed conlangs, intentionally created languages meant to cause discomfort or amusement. The host interviews a conlanger who specializes in cursed conlangs and discusses the appeal and creativity behind this niche genre. Examples of cursed conlangs include Hyper Pirate, a language using various rotics for pirates, and Gum Smack, a language communicated by chewing gum. The episode also touches on the conlanger's conworld, where unique languages are developed for different civilizations. The host mentions the ongoing Curse Conlang Circus, a contest where conlangers submit and showcase their own cursed conlangs.
The Process and Challenges of the Curse Conlang Circus
The episode delves into the process and challenges of organizing the Curse Conlang Circus, a contest dedicated to cursed conlangs. The host discusses the increasing number of submissions, with over 120 participants this year. The conlanger highlights the extensive judging process, which involves watching 30 hours of raw footage and selecting the most creative and entertaining entries. The host expresses a need to modify the contest in the future to accommodate the growing number of participants. The episode also mentions the conlanger's YouTube channel and the thought experiments conducted in their videos.
Expanding the Conlanging Community
The podcast episode celebrates the growing conlanging community on platforms like YouTube, Reddit, and Tumblr. The host emphasizes the importance of conlangers sharing their creations and ideas, inspiring others to join the community. The host mentions the Conlanger Census, an annual survey that collects demographic and conlanging habit information. The survey reveals that the majority of conlangers are under 30 years old, highlighting the influx of young creators contributing to the art form. The episode encourages aspiring conlangers to start their own YouTube channels and contribute to the evolving community.
The Future and Expansion of the Channel
The episode explores the future plans of the conlanger's YouTube channel, which focuses on conlangs and linguistic thought experiments. The host mentions upcoming videos, including conlang showcases and linguistic experiments, such as exploring minimal phoneme inventories and unique lexical choices. The conlanger expresses a desire to continue expanding the channel's content, aiming for more frequent releases and exploring more wacky linguistic angles. The episode also touches on the significance of bridging the old and new conlanging communities and fostering interaction and collaboration between experienced conlangers and emerging creators.