I took some linguistics units in university to be able to conlang better, but then I fell in love with linguistics and forgot about the conlanging. :)
I think conlangs, like all things, are okay when done in moderation and done with skill/love. They're a realistic thing to have (secondary world spec fic where one whole planet speaks the same language shits me so much uuurgh) and they can add a lot. But they can also be used shittily or lazily!
With secondary world spec fic, the entire premise is that the story has been translated into English (or another Earth language). So, sure, you could go "well, then translate EVERYTHING into English". But you might not be able to, or your characters might hear a language they don't understand, so it would be confusing to translate that into English. Okay, you could translate it into French or whatever instead, but that starts weakening your suspension of disbelief.
(I have had many long discussions with friends about matters like 'is it okay for a fantasy culture not based on, say, Japanese culture, to have "katana" or "kimono", or should they just be "sword" and "robe". My POV boils down to "whatever the author does is going to annoy someone, so they should just pick one method and do that consistently and well" .)
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I think conlangs, like all things, are okay when done in moderation and done with skill/love. They're a realistic thing to have (secondary world spec fic where one whole planet speaks the same language shits me so much uuurgh) and they can add a lot. But they can also be used shittily or lazily!
With secondary world spec fic, the entire premise is that the story has been translated into English (or another Earth language). So, sure, you could go "well, then translate EVERYTHING into English". But you might not be able to, or your characters might hear a language they don't understand, so it would be confusing to translate that into English. Okay, you could translate it into French or whatever instead, but that starts weakening your suspension of disbelief.
(I have had many long discussions with friends about matters like 'is it okay for a fantasy culture not based on, say, Japanese culture, to have "katana" or "kimono", or should they just be "sword" and "robe". My POV boils down to "whatever the author does is going to annoy someone, so they should just pick one method and do that consistently and well" .)