Those following my Crown of Crows project know I’ve been developing a fantasy world with talking animals, drawing inspiration from Narnia, feminist philosophy, and Irish mythology and language. Recently, with encouragement and feedback from readers on Patreon (and elsewhere), I’ve been diving deep into the linguistics of this world, and I’m excited to share some major developments in how I’m thinking about the languages of this world and their evolution.
The Journey from Sagaia to Artír
Originally, I called the country “Sagaia” and the language “Sagaian,” but something about this name never felt quite right. It had a Latinate feel that didn’t match the Irish roots I’d established for the world. Now, I had a reason for that: the White Witch came from a world populated by refugees from Rome, and her native language was Latin. She named the country after herself: “Sagaia” means Land of the Seer. But once the Witch was overthrown, would the inhabitants keep calling their country a name that wasn’t theirs, and wasn’t even in their language?
Now, this situation has occurred in the real world! For example, people in the state of “Georgia” (a Latinate name referring to an English king) didn’t change the name of their state after the Revolutionary War. But would Sagaians do the same? Especially since “Sagaia” would be difficult for native Sagaians to pronounce: hard consonants between vowels tended to be softened, and it would be more natural for them to say “Sahaia” or “Sahë.” Should that be the “real” name of the country, then? Perhaps this pronunciation difference could became a subtle form of resistance, a way for the common folk to maintain their linguistic identity under her rule.
But as I explored this idea further, I realized the language needed its own distinct name, separate from the land. And these names needed to be older than the White Witch; and the people needed to return to those names once the witch was gone.
Given that speech itself was a gift from the Bear (one of the realm’s great powers), it made sense to call the language “Artanga” – literally “Bear Language”. (In Irish, the original language of the country, “the language of the bear” is actually teanga an bhéar, but béar is an English borrowing; I’m going with a somewhat older Irish word, ar.) By happy accident, “Artanga” also sounds like “our language” (in Irish, ár dteanga), so it’s the perfect name. And the name of the country, similarly, should be “Artír,” evoking both “Bear country” and “Our country.”
The Power of Names
This evolution reflects a critical aspect of fantasy world-building: how names carry history. The shift from the Witch’s imposed “Sagaia” to the people’s “Sahë,” and the preservation of the Bear’s influence in “Artír,” tells us about power, resistance, and cultural memory in this world.
The language itself developed some unique features to handle its unusual speaker population. For instance, it maintains a grammatical distinction between speaking and non-speaking creatures – a distinction the speakers of the language were very keen on. It also developed a “breathy” or “light” quality, perhaps influenced by the native calls of its animal speakers.
Later in its history, when English-speaking sailors (called the Maradínel) arrived, the language adapted their words in natural but fascinating ways. For example, English treasure became treziar, judge became zialt, and torture became torsiar. These adaptations follow systematic sound changes that make the words fit naturally into Artangan phonology while usually preserving their recognizable roots.
Looking Forward
These naming changes might seem small, but they’ve helped me better understand the world I’m creating. They’ve added layers of meaning to the story of Crown of Crows and helped me think more deeply about how language, power, and identity interact in fantasy worlds.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this evolution. How do you approach naming in your own creative work? How do you make sure names feel right for the world you’re building?
For those interested in seeing how this language comes to life in practice, I’m currently serializing Crown of Crows on my Patreon, where you can follow Sarah’s adventures in this world of talking animals, ancient magic, feminism, and of course linguistic evolution.
(Next week we’ll return to our series on telepathy technology, but I wanted to share this breakthrough while it was fresh!)
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