You can blame Tolkien for these. After reading Lord of the Rings, I read (and re-read) the indexes, which were full of fascinating details on the languages, both Elvish and Dwarvish, timelines of events and the inevitable maps.
After a while, I developed the habit of creating my own timelines, drawing my own maps, making up my own worlds, although (to date) I have no plans to create my own language.
Stephen Connolly Writer 