James E. Hopkins received a BA in French from Hofstra University in 1974 and an MS in Metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology in 1998. He is a published poet, Eden’s Day (2008), and has a novel which features five of his conlangs, Circle of the Lantern, with the publisher as of this writing. He has been involved in language construction since 1995 with the birth of his first conlang, Itlani (then known as Druni). Although Itlani is his first and foremost love, since that time he has been developing Semerian (Pomolito), Djiran (Ijira), Djanari (Nordsh) and Lastulani (Lastig Klendum), the other languages spoken on the planet Itlán. One further language project, Kreshem (Losi e Kreshem), is also under development. His primary interest in language construction is from an aesthetic and artistic perspective.
Abstract
Storytelling, poetry and song are important to the Itlani. Storytelling is the primary Itlani planetary art form and poetry is a very close second. The planet-wide lingua franca on the planet Itlán, the reformed Ravzhurian speech know as Itlani is the core around which all Itlani planetary identity is built. Stories, poetry and song embody this linguistic identity. In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the Itlani language, I have presented in this short collection a variety of Itlani language poems along with their English translations. Please note that not all the English translations have been polished up to be proper English poems but many of them have and could easily stand alone in their own right. Have a great Itlani Language Day, February 8, 1997-2017.
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