Conlang Relays

What is a Conlang Relay?

A conlang relay is a translation relay involving only conlangs.

A translation relay is "a linguistic game in which a text is translated from one language into another, with each subsequent translation relying only on the most recently completed translation. The result is amusingly linguistic and semantic drift." (from Langmaker.com's Neologisms).

The idea is that a text is translated by a moderator into their conlang, sent to the next participant in the conlang with reference materials on the conlang, translated by this next participant to their conlang, and sent on in the same process. The last participant sends their translation on to the moderator who makes the final translation. Each translation has a corresponding English translation, which is sent to the moderator. The moderator's job is to organise a compilation of the results.

Past Conlang Relays

Listed are conlang relays, past and present, the Northern Hemispherical seasons they took place, and the moderator

• First Conlang relay; Summer 1999, Irina Rempt

dubbed the "Starling Song" relay First Conlang relay (secondary link)

• Second Conlang relay; Autumn 1999, Sally Caves

entitled "Wisdom of Bast"

• Third Conlang relay; Spring 2000, Nicole Perrin

entitled "Bliss of a Fairy"

• Fourth Conlang Relay; Summer 2001, Shreyas Sampat
• First Planetpii relay; Summer-Winter 2001-2002, Jonathan North Washington
• Fifth Conlang Relay; Winter 2001-2002, Irina Rempt
• Sixth Conlang Relay; Spring-Summer 2002, Nik Taylor

original participants list

• Seventh Conlang Relay; Summer-Autumn 2002, Bob Greenwade
• Eighth Conlang Relay; Spring 2003, Pete Bleackley
• Ninth Conlang Relay; Spring 2004, Amanda Babcock

a.k.a. "The Borromean Relay"

• Tenth Conlang Relay; Summer 2004, Jan van Steenbergen

Resources

• Rules for the Conlang Relay Game by Sally Caves is a good (read: the original) reference, but are followed to varying degrees of strictness.
• Complete list of participants in all Conlang Translation Relays