Getting started with linguistics and conlanging
(Conlang = constructed language; conworld = constructed world.)
For
making languages, see the
Language Construction Kit. For a very basic and short introduction to
languages and linguistics, see the
sci.lang FAQ.
I have a bunch of books out on conlanging and conworlding. If you're new to it all, try the
print or Kindle version of the LCK. Links are on
my site, which also has other articles relevant to languages and linguistics, as well as neat tools like the
Sound Change Applier and a
vocabulary generator.
My own conlangs explain a good deal of linguistics along the way-- e.g. inflection in Cuêzi, agglutination in Wede:i, some unusual verb handling in Kebreni, syntax in Axunašin, ergativity and triliteral roots in Old Skourene, a rethinking of case roles in Elkarîl, monosyllabic roots in Uyseʔ.
If you wanted to read
one book on linguistics (besides mine!), make it J.C. Catford's
A Practical Introduction to Phonetics. Phonetics is the basis for linguistics, and this book will show you how to make almost all the sounds of human languages, without having to find a teacher.
The best general reference book is David Crystal's
The Cambridge Encylopedia of Linguistics. Or to take another approach,
The World's Major Languages, edited by Bernard Comrie, gives meaty descriptions of fifty languages-- a great sourcebook.
The definitive book on writing systems is Daniels & Bright's
The World's Writing Systems; an excellent shorter (and far cheaper) introduction is Geoffrey Sampson's
Writing Systems.
There are several good books named
Historical Linguistics; I particularly recommend the one by
Trask. On language contact, the best overview is Thomason & Kaufman,
Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics.
Many people here have found Thomas Payne's
Describing Morphosyntax very useful; a lot of the same material is covered in my
Advanced Language Construction.
Outside these fields, linguistics has been progressing rapidly in several opposing directions. For a good introduction to the Chomskian point of view, try Steven Pinker's
The Language Instinct. Personally I find James McCawley's approach to syntax more reasonable; see
The Syntactic Phenomena of English and while you're at it, his
Everything that Linguists have Always Wanted to Know about Logic but were ashamed to ask. Another modern view, leading to cognitive linguistics, is George Lakoff's
Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things. Guy Deutscher's
The Unfolding of Language covers a lot of ground, including some excellent introductions to metaphor and triliteral systems.
Wikis: The
FrathWiki has a lot of useful conlanging/conworlding info, including pages devoted to
Akana, a collaborative conworld that started here. Also see the
KneeQuickie, run by our own Neek.
Other conlanging sites: You may also like the
CBB. The
Language Construction Society has many resources available and runs an annual conference.