Ithkuil

Ithkuil is a artificial language created by John Quijada. It’s designed to express deep human thoughts clearly and briefly, especially about how humans categorize things. It’s a mix of a philosophical and logical language, aiming to reduce the confusion and vagueness found in natural languages. Ithkuil is known for its complex grammar and large set of sounds, though the sound system is being simplified in a new version. The name "Ithkuil" comes from the original word "Iţkuîl," which means something like "hypothetical language."

Quijada didn’t create Ithkuil for everyday use. Instead, he wanted it for deeper fields like philosophy, art, science, and politics, where complex ideas are discussed. Ithkuil can express ideas in fewer words than natural languages. For example, the Ithkuil sentence "Tram-mļöi hhâsmařpţuktôx" translates to a much longer English sentence: "On the contrary, I think it may turn out that this rugged mountain range trails off at some point." Quijada believes his language is too complex to have developed naturally and sees it as an experiment in how languages could work.

There have been four versions of Ithkuil: the original in 2004, a simpler version called Ilaksh in 2007, a third version in 2011, and the current version, called New Ithkuil (as of February 2023). The language has been featured in a Russian science and tech magazine, won an award in 2008, and was later adapted to handle complex sentences more easily. Since 2015, Quijada has released music in Ithkuil as part of an album called Kaduatán ("Wayfarers"). Online communities in English, Russian, Mandarin, and Japanese have also formed around the language.

Official Page: https://ithkuil.net

Category:Constructed languages