Hi
I'm writing fantasy and I want to use a language other than English for an ancient tribe in my book. I was hoping to use Latin but I'm not sure that would work in a fantasy world but then again what about English that's a realistic language from this world? advice would be much appreciated
I see no problem with creating a language if it's skilfully written. However, readers have been known to skip passages of text that they struggle to understand.
A similar problem can occur when using gang-slang or a particular accent that is not familiar to a reader.
I understood Twain's fine use of southern dialogue in Huckleberry Finn, but I bet there are many modern day readers that would have to repeatedly read passages of southern dialogue before they fully understood what was being said.
That can slow the reading process down and spoil the enjoyment for the reader.
Good luck if you do choose to create a language. It's a bold thing to do.
Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome - Samuel Johnson
Where in the world does that tribe live, because if you want it to link to English in some way maybe Gaelic would be closer? I think Latin although it was present in Britain, it still makes one think of Roman Empires...If that is your goal though, it's fine :)
Jimmy, I think the informal 'thou' has mostly mutated into 'ya' (not as in the German pronunciation, but as in 'don'tcha wish your girlfriend...')