Innlish

Innlish is a constructed language and English-based sociolect developed by language enthusiasts as a simplified, regularized variant of English. It has circulated mainly in online communities and in speculative fiction, where it is used to illustrate cross-cultural communication or world-building.

Origins and development of Innlish trace to the early 2010s, with independent hobby projects producing grammars, dictionaries, and sample texts. While no single universal standard exists, several community-driven documents from the late 2010s propose a common core, accompanied by occasional regional or project-specific variations.

Phonology and grammar in Innlish favor a largely regular, easy-to-learn system. The language retains a subject–verb–object word order and uses a simplified tense system with a regular past marker and basic auxiliaries for future and aspect. Nouns form plurals with -s, adjectives typically accompany nouns with flexible ordering, and pronouns include a gender-neutral set. Articles are used predictably, and there is an emphasis on phonemic spelling to minimize irregular pronunciations. The overall morphology is lean, with reduced inflection and more explicit syntax to aid learners.

Writing systems commonly employ the Latin alphabet, with optional diacritics to indicate vowel length or stress. Some texts adopt a stricter phonemic orthography to further reduce ambiguity, while others favor conventional English spelling for accessibility.

Usage and reception of Innlish remain niche. It serves as a hobbyist language for forums, fan fiction, and role-playing communities, supported by a growing collection of grammars and dictionaries. It has not achieved official status, and resources vary across projects, reflecting the diversity typical of constructed languages.

See also: Constructed language, English-based creole, language planning.