The conlang bug

Started by wm.annis, February 18, 2010, 09:05:41 PM

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wm.annis

It has been a while since I worked regularly on a constructed language of my own.  Something about Na'vi has set my mind in motion in this direction.

I've been sketching out something new.  The resulting language owes much more to Athabascan languages than to Na'vi.  From today's sketch notes:

néwíixmáádi "I caught sight of you"
né- 1sg subj.
-wíi- -control
-xe- 2sg obj. (/x/ is a velar approximant here)
máá see
-di perfective
(no evidential needed with 1st person subject)


ShadowedSin

Nice :)

I've been working on an Roleplay Game for a board and part of it will deal with linguistic loss/heritage. This means FULL ON workable simple to translate Conlang.

Going to be OVS.
\Shadow's Sin
A Blog discussion Amazon and notes for the Arrow Child Novella!

Arrow Child
An Online Serial Novel and the first story in the Amazon Diaspora Saga.

suomichris

Quote from: wm.annis on February 18, 2010, 09:05:41 PM
It has been a while since I worked regularly on a constructed language of my own.  Something about Na'vi has set my mind in motion in this direction.

I've been sketching out something new.  The resulting language owes much more to Athabascan languages than to Na'vi.  From today's sketch notes:

néwíixmáádi "I caught sight of you"
né- 1sg subj.
-wíi- -control
-xe- 2sg obj. (/x/ is a velar approximant here)
máá see
-di perfective
(no evidential needed with 1st person subject)
Nice!  It certainly looks Athabaskan...  What's the "control?"  Lack of control on the part of the subject, and thus the "caught sight" in the translation?  Or is the lack of control of the object?

I also kind of like the idea of evidentials not showing up for first persons.  It's like, basically, "Look, I am ALWAYS RIGHT and know what I'm talking about!"  I can get behind this kind of this.

wm.annis

Quote from: suomichris on February 19, 2010, 11:20:19 AMWhat's the "control?"  Lack of control on the part of the subject, and thus the "caught sight" in the translation? 

Right, lack of control in the subject.

QuoteI also kind of like the idea of evidentials not showing up for first persons.  It's like, basically, "Look, I am ALWAYS RIGHT and know what I'm talking about!"  I can get behind this kind of this.

Some human languages agree with you.  ;)

ShadowedSin

One of the professors at WWU studies a Siberian language Isolate I believe called either Ket, Khet or Cet. Not sure on the spelling, but he's apparently according to my Linguistics Prof found a connection between it and the Athabaskan languages :)
\Shadow's Sin
A Blog discussion Amazon and notes for the Arrow Child Novella!

Arrow Child
An Online Serial Novel and the first story in the Amazon Diaspora Saga.

wm.annis

Quote from: ShadowedSin on February 21, 2010, 04:10:33 PMOne of the professors at WWU studies a Siberian language Isolate I believe called either Ket, Khet or Cet. Not sure on the spelling, but he's apparently according to my Linguistics Prof found a connection between it and the Athabaskan languages :)

Yup.  I think other linguists were pretty skeptical at first, but at this point I think he's made his case pretty solidly and there are only a few hold-outs.  One nice side effect — we can say with more certainty that Haida is not a Na-Dené language (but that doesn't mean I love it any less).

ShadowedSin

The Haida I don't kno wmuch about them except that the Co-Salish DO NOT like them much. Something about slave raiding and massacres in the San Juans.


On the Conlang subject, I've been thinking about it and so far I want to drop determiners from it.
\Shadow's Sin
A Blog discussion Amazon and notes for the Arrow Child Novella!

Arrow Child
An Online Serial Novel and the first story in the Amazon Diaspora Saga.

Nìkllas

I would like to join you, my conlanger brothers! I also have the conlang bug, and like developing languages. I would like to talk about that with all of you, you must have interesting pieces I imagine  :)

What I enjoy about making languages is trying to develop new ways of expression as you've never imagined, it is quite a challenge but a fascinating one at that!  ;D

wm.annis

Quote from: Nìkllas on March 05, 2010, 02:11:05 PMWhat I enjoy about making languages is trying to develop new ways of expression as you've never imagined, it is quite a challenge but a fascinating one at that!  ;D

I must confess that I gave up trying to find truly new ways of expression quite a while ago.  Every time I thought I had come up with something novel, I'd learn that some language spoken in the Amazon basin by 7 people did the same thing.

These days, when I create a language, I aim to mix and match things I find interesting in pleasing ways.

Nìkllas

Completely true. One can only innovate so much before you realize some other real language works that way. Your approach is the best way to go, to match and mix things in pleasing ways, which is no small deal.

I would like to know more about your most pleasing ones :)

wm.annis

Quote from: Nìkllas on March 07, 2010, 10:30:50 PMI would like to know more about your most pleasing ones :)

Well, my biggest ever conlang, Vaior (warning: huge grammar page), attracted enough people that I've had people try to learn it, and once in a very rare while I get email with some Vaior in it.

I stepped away from conlanging for quite a few years to focus on my Ancient Greek studies, but the last year or so I have made dozens of sketches for something new which is inspired by a throw-away reference in one of Frank Herbert's Dune novels to the Mirabhasa language.  Herbert's use of language was always one of his attractions for me.  In any case, my conception of Mirabhasa has drifted from Herbert's.

ShadowedSin

I've recently started constructing a language which is being described as Croatian and Arabic.
\Shadow's Sin
A Blog discussion Amazon and notes for the Arrow Child Novella!

Arrow Child
An Online Serial Novel and the first story in the Amazon Diaspora Saga.

Nìkllas

Quote from: wm.annis on March 13, 2010, 10:35:31 AM
Well, my biggest ever conlang, Vaior (warning: huge grammar page), attracted enough people that I've had people try to learn it, and once in a very rare while I get email with some Vaior in it.
I've been reading much about it. I really like it, it looks like a very pleasing sounding language and also with a very elegant yet precise system. I would very much like to use it or e-mail with you about it. Do you use gmail? Or any form of messenger? It would be cool to talk about invented languages and Vaior in particular. :)

Letxepa tirea

I worked on a language for a while, then I ran into a wall once I discovered how hard it is to make vocab. To me making the grammar is easy but making words to go with it is much harder...





Oe zola'u, Oe tsole'a, Oe skola'a

wm.annis

Quote from: ShadowedSin on March 13, 2010, 07:00:39 PM
I've recently started constructing a language which is being described as Croatian and Arabic.

Now that's a combo I'd be curious to see the details of.

wm.annis

Quote from: Eywayä_tawtute on March 19, 2010, 05:28:09 AMI worked on a language for a while, then I ran into a wall once I discovered how hard it is to make vocab. To me making the grammar is easy but making words to go with it is much harder...

Yeah, that can be pretty tedious.  I was a bit shocked when Karyu Pawl asked for a thousand words we'd like.  That's a lot of word creation and decisions to make.

In the case of Vaior, the vocab grew by little bits for a long time, a much more pleasant way to go.

wm.annis

Quote from: Nìkllas on March 16, 2010, 10:59:53 PM
Quote from: wm.annis on March 13, 2010, 10:35:31 AM
Well, my biggest ever conlang, Vaior (warning: huge grammar page), attracted enough people that I've had people try to learn it, and once in a very rare while I get email with some Vaior in it.
I've been reading much about it. I really like it, it looks like a very pleasing sounding language and also with a very elegant yet precise system.

Irayo!  Rather, latiaren, e nath. ;)

QuoteI would very much like to use it or e-mail with you about it. Do you use gmail? Or any form of messenger?

My gmail address is public in my LN.org forum, so yes.  I have the usual dozen messenger accounts, but these days I'm likely only to be found on Skype or the LN.org IRC server.

ShadowedSin

A few lines in Et'yncal, language of the Valqiin.

"Vahe tev qy" I am good.

"Tev qy hon?" How are you?

Mankind - Couniq'variin.

I am of the Valqiin- "Valqiin el tev qy."
\Shadow's Sin
A Blog discussion Amazon and notes for the Arrow Child Novella!

Arrow Child
An Online Serial Novel and the first story in the Amazon Diaspora Saga.

Letxepa tirea

Yeah the one that I'm making currently has the noun take the temporal designation instead of the verb.





Oe zola'u, Oe tsole'a, Oe skola'a

Nìkllas

Right now I'm working on two of my languages. I even have blogs about them, one's called Tulvan and the other is called Kareyku. The latter one is really new, and made some new features for it.

I even got a new idea for a new language, but I still don't have a name for it. I'm really having a rush of ideas, hehe.