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by Alexis Ulrich  LinkedIn

M.A.R. Barker

Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker

After having studied the Klamath language during the 50s, Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker taught Urdu and Balochi at the McGill University Institute of Islamic Studies of Montreal, and chaired the Department of South Asian studies at the University of Minnesota. He is also renowned for the work he accomplished on the world of Tékumel, a fantasy/science fiction world he developped mostly in the roleplaying game Empire of the Petal Throne, but also in novels and for which he invented many languages, to the point he is sometimes called “The forgotten Tolkien”. Barker published grammars and word lists for five invented languages: Tsolyáni, Yan Koryáni, Livyáni, Engsvanyáli, and Sunúz. He also published articles on the scripts of six other Tekumel languages: Mu’ugalavyáni, Salarvyáni, Classical Tsolyáni, Bednálljan, Llyáni, and Thu’úsa.