#Build a Conlang from Scratch

This guide walks you through the complete workflow of creating a fully functional constructed language from zero.

#Before You Start

#Launch the App

Conlang Maker is a desktop application. On first launch, you'll need to create a language family project, and the app will automatically generate a Proto Language from which all subsequent languages can be derived.

#Interface Overview

• Top navigation bar: All module entries
• ⚡ button (top-right): Quick entry popup, always available
• Language name (top-left): Current active language, click to enter the family tree

#Step 1: Build Your Sound System

Navigate: Phonology → Inventory

#Using Presets (Recommended for Beginners)

1. Click the "Presets" button
2. Browse 12 real language-style presets:
   • Soft & flowing → Hawaiian or Elvish
   • Strong & sharp → Georgian or Slavic
   • Exotic → Arabic or Nahuatl
3. Click a preset name to load it

#Manual Selection

1. Click consonants in the IPA consonant table (highlighted = selected)
2. Click vowels in the vowel trapezoid
3. Click to play the audio for each phoneme

#Tips

• Consonants: 15–25 is a common range
• Vowels: 5–7 is most common (a, e, i, o, u is the classic five-vowel system)
• Symmetry: If you have /p/, you usually should also have /b/

#Step 2: Design Your Orthography

Navigate: Phonology → Romanization

1. Click "Add Mapping Table" → enter a name (e.g., "Standard Spelling")
2. Click "Add Mapping" to define spellings for each phoneme

#Step 3: Configure Syllable Structure

Navigate: Phonology → Phonotactics

#Define Phoneme Class Macros

• C = all consonants
• V = all vowels
• N = nasals

#Define Syllable Templates

• CV — simplest, like Japanese: ka, mi, su
• (C)V — optional onset
• (C)V(C) — optional coda
• (C)(C)V(C)(C) — complex clusters

#Step 4: Generate Initial Vocabulary

Navigate: Word Generator

1. Set count (50–100 recommended) and syllable range (1–3)
2. Click "Generate"
3. Review candidates, delete unwanted ones, assign POS
4. Select desired words → click "Import to Lexicon"

#Step 5: Polish the Lexicon

Navigate: Lexicon

Edit entries in the split-panel editor: romanization, senses (POS, gloss, definitions, examples), etymology, and tags.

#Quick Entry

Click the ⚡ button anytime: word → gloss → POS → Enter to save → auto-clears for the next word.

#Step 6: Build Grammar

Navigate: Grammar

• Set word order (SVO / SOV / VSO etc.)
• Configure modifier position and adposition type
• Define inflectional dimensions (Number, Case, Tense, Person)

#Step 7: Define Inflection & Derivation

Create morphological rules: suffixes (-en for plural), prefixes (na- for negation), conditional rules, and more.

Test inflection with the Inflection Test tool. Define derivation rules for word-class conversion (verb→noun: -er).

#Step 8: Test in the Sandbox

Navigate: Translation Sandbox

• Gloss mode: Input star-PL shine-PAST in void → auto-lookup, auto-inflect, generate interlinear table
• Syntax mode: Add tokens with roles (S/V/O) → auto-reorder by word order setting

#Step 9: Quality Check & Statistics

• QC: Run automated checks for missing POS, unmapped spellings, empty IPA, duplicates
• Statistics: View word count, POS distribution, phoneme frequency, syllable distribution

#Step 10: Write a Grammar Manual

Navigate: Grammar → Grammar Manual

Write Markdown chapters. Embed paradigm tables with {{paradigm:noun:kata}}.

#Step 11: Write Corpus Texts

Navigate: Corpus

Write texts in your language with Leipzig-standard interlinear glossing. Use "Auto-gloss" to match words from the lexicon.

#Step 12: Derive Child Languages

Navigate: Family Tree

1. Select parent → "Derive" → enter name
2. Define sound change rules in the child language's SCA
3. "Pull" new words from parent, auto-processed through sound changes

#Step 13: Export & Share

Navigate: Export

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#Creative Templates

#A. Simple Language

Preset: Hawaiian · Syllable (C)V · 5 vowels, 8 consonants · SVO

#B. Complex Language

Preset: Slavic · Syllable (C)(C)V(C)(C) · 8 vowels, 25+ consonants · SOV

#C. Harmonious Language

Preset: Finnish · Syllable (C)V(C) · 8 vowels, 15 consonants · SOV · Vowel harmony