Aklo, an evil language

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Did you know that aklo is a language invented by a writer for fictional horror stories?

aklo, an evil languageThe Welsh writer Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was the inventor of this mysterious language that he used in his supernatural tale ‘The white people‘ (1899). In the story, two men discussed the nature of evil while they read the diary of a teenager with unintelligible aklo words.

However this fictional language was not just limited to that story but other writers continued to use it in stories of the same genre. But what helped aklo become popular was American writer H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), who included it in one of his most famous stories, ‘The Dunwich Horror‘ (1928).

But what does aklo sound like? This language is said to have mystical powers. According to the Encyclopedia of Fictional and Fantastic Languages  “Aklo is the forbidden language of occult texts and incantation. No examples of the language appear in the print; the authors who employed it maintained the fiction that because Aklo is forbidden, and some careless reader might incant a spell capable of calling forth evil, the language must forever remain hidden”.

Scared?

We’ll leave you with the most suitable soundtrack for Halloween:  music inspired by this dark fictional language. Enjoy!

haloween

Find out more about fantasy constructed languages in our article: Fictional Languages & the Essence of Human Communication

Written by Ana Baudot – Journalist and social media manager.
Communication Trainee, DG TRAD – Terminology Coordination Unit

Sources:

  • Google Books. The Dictionary of Made-Up Languages: From Elvish to Klingon, The Anwa … – Stephen D. Rogers – Google Books. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bit.ly/2f3Gbph [Accessed 31 October 2016].
  • Google Books. Encyclopedia of Fictional and Fantastic Languages – Google Books. [ONLINE] Available at: bit.ly/2f8sdRh [Accessed 31 October 2016].
  • Financial Times. 2011. The List: Five fictional languages. [ONLINE] Available at: http://on.ft.com/2eT7X6V [Accessed 31 October 2016].
  • La Piedra de Sísifo. 2014. Idiomas inventados de la literatura. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bit.ly/2f4kncz [Accessed 31 October 2016].
  • Wikipedia. 2016. Aklo – Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aklo. [Accessed 31 October 2016].