Home › Glossary › Letter L

Language creation

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The deliberate construction of novel linguistic forms within a poem

Detailed Definition
Language creation in poetry refers to the invention of new words, syntactic structures, or semantic systems to expand expressive possibilities beyond conventional usage; this may include neologisms, portmanteaus, or idiosyncratic grammar, as practiced by Hopkins (“dappled,” “inscape”) or modern experimental poets, asserting language as a living, malleable medium shaped by poetic vision.
Example
Example in poetry:
Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” creates new words (“slithy,” “mimsy”) through language creation; James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake invents portmanteau words; Susan Howe’s experimental poetry fragments and recombines language; E.E. Cummings often creates new lexical forms (“mud-luscious,” “puddle-wonderful”)
Additional Notes
Language creation involves inventing new words, syntax, or grammatical structures within a poem to expand expressive possibilities; seen in avant-garde, experimental, or mythopoeic poetry (e.g., Joyce, Tolkien).
Also Known As
Lexical Invention Neologistic Verse Poetic Coinage Linguistic Fabrication Logopoesis
Skip to main content