Episode 18: On language, consistency, & popcorn-flinging roombas
Welcome to another LEGENDARY episode! Our Legendaries are special guests that are an expert within their area of storytelling.
David J. Peterson is an author and language creator. He's created languages for many television shows and films, such as HBO's GAME OF THRONES, the CW's THE 100, Netflix's THE WITCHER, and Marvel's DOCTOR STRANGE. Lately he has been doing all his work with his amazing conlang partner, Jessie Sams, including projects like Freeform's MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM, Amazon's PAPER GIRLS, Peacock's VAMPIRE ACADEMY, and Legendary Entertainment’s DUNE. They both work together on the weekly YouTube series LangTime Studio.
Jessie Sams has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and was a professor of linguistics at Stephen F. Austin State University for 13 years, where she created a conlanging course and taught students how to construct a language from the ground up. She is now a full-time professional conlanger and works with her partner, David Peterson. Their languages appear in TV shows and films, including Freeform's MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM and the Peacock's VAMPIRE ACADEMY, and they host the weekly livestream LangTime Studio on YouTube, where they create new languages from scratch and share the process.
In this episode you'll hear:
Jessie and David's approach to creating languages
David's take on how language creation differs for film/TV and written fiction
Language as a cultural practice and not a biological trait
Creating curse words
The language creation society's job board (for anyone looking to employ a conlanger's help for their language creation!)
A reference to Jeffrey Henning's essay, "The Naming Language" -- perfect for storytellers who need language creation primarily for naming rather than full dialogue
about David's superpower (that we all wish we had)
Inspiration for language easter eggs
The dilemma of monkeys, robots, and roombas
Phantasmia hype
The bowl science behind chocolate chips in popcorn
Jessie's cheddar and caramel popcorn combos -- who votes for and against (and its potential value in saving you from monkeys)
our Legendaries enter into a storybeast battle in a perfect example of premise, promise, tension, and reward!
You can find us on Instagram at @storybeastpodcast. For more storytelling content to your inbox, subscribe here. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk story or snacks!
A warm thank you to Deore for our musical number. You can find her on Instagram or more of her creative work on Spotify.
As ever, thank you dear listeners. Please consider leaving a review to support this podcast.
Be brave, stay beastly.