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RadioWest Films presents unique stories with a focus on Utah. Each week, we’ll present a short documentary drawing from a variety of styles: story driven, conceptual, profiles and more. It’s a place for film lovers to watch innovative storytelling and to meet Utah’s most talented filmmakers.And there are some films that we just want to keep talking about. Here's a collection of radio conversations paired with our short films. Think of it this way ... stories you hear, stories you see.

Invented Languages

Josh Weathers / KUER
from VideoWest, "Building a Language"

Tuesday, we’re talking about 'ach yIn nuvpu' Hol chenmoH 'Iv, Klingon for “people who create language.” Constructed languages aren’t just for science fiction though. The linguist Arika Okrent says that people have been inventing their own languages for centuries. They’ve wanted to better understand the world, build Utopia or create artistic expression. She’ll join us, along with filmmakers working on a documentary about “conlangs”, to explore how playing with language helps us understand ourselves.

  • Arika Okrent is a linguist and author of In the Land of Invented Languages: Adventures in Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius [Indiebound|Amazon]. She's also the language editor at Mental Floss.
  • Britton Watkins is directing the documentary film Conlanging. Josh Feldman is director of photography and editor. Filming continues through this year.
  • Klingon courtesy of Bing translator

VideoWest

Trent Pehrson lives in American Fork, Utah with his wife and 8 children. He’s a software design engineer. When he was 10 he started creating his own language.

Watch more short documentaries at VideoWest.org

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.