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The Language of the Time Lords: A linguistic study on the effect of invented languages on the social hierarchy of fandom communities

Cory Taylor

Constructed languages or conlangs are consciously created for many reasons, including the exploration of new ideas, finding an alternative way to communicate or to connect with others. This connection is also a reason why many people join fan communities, places where many of these conlangs are used. BBC’s “Doctor Who” is a popular television show that is celebrated within some of these fandoms. The language of the main character’s home planet is Gallifreyan, seen at various points throughout the show. Although seen in written form, Gallifreyan has never been contextualized within the show. The first objective of this paper was to establish why and how conlangs are created, done through a review of the literature already published on the subject. The second was to examine why…

In 1995, biologists released fourteen wolves into Yellowstone National Park as a means of managing the critically high number of elk overgrazing within the reserve. It had been more than seventy years since wolves had resided in Yellowstone, and their reintroduction triggered an event known as a trophic cascade within the park’s ecosystem.

Through hunting, the wolves altered the feeding habits of the herds of elk, forcing them to avoid locations where they were easy prey. This divergence in grazing patterns allowed aspen and willow trees to regenerate, attracting bugs, which in turn lead to various bird species moving in. Shortly after the birds arrived, beavers returned to the area, building dams that provided shelter for otters and reptiles.

In addition to hunting elk, the wolves also killed off much of the coyote population, leading to an increase in the number of rabbits and mice who called Yellowstone home. This…