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 Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:00 am
gonk
Indeed, another conlang. I believe this is somewhere around number 6 or 7 for me (not all of which are posted here in the CLG).
This one is somewhat unique. It's spoken by nomadic space-pirates who have no home planet.
The basic structure of the language is VSO, root based, with all words consisting of 3 or 4 parts.
Word Chunks:
(GRAM) + (ROOT) + (FUNC) + (ALT) = (WHOLE WORD)
More to come!
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:07 am
~ ~ ~ PHONOLOGY & ORTHOGRAPHY ~ ~ ~ =VOWELS= e [eh] ~ "sp eck" h [ey] ~ nasal " eh," more like "ee" + "ae" diphthong i [ee] ~ "sk i" o [oh] ~ "thr ow," more like "oh" + "oo" diphthong a [ae] ~ "s ack" u [ouh] ~ "c ould," more like "oo" + "uh" diphthong =NASALS= m [m] ~ "yu m" n [ng] ~ "lo ng" =PLOSIVES= p [p] ~ " po p" b [b.] ~ "a ble" t [t] ~ " tack" c [c] ~ tip of tongue touches palate, behind "t" d [d] ~ " du de" k [k] ~ " ki ck" g [g] ~ " go" =FRICATIVES= f [f] ~ " foo f" v [v] ~ " very" q [θ] ~ " thin" j [ð] ~ " the" s ~ "safe"
z [z] ~ "zoo"
x [ch] ~ German "Dach" (hard CH)
=APPROXIMANTS=
y [y] ~ "you"
w [ɰ] ~ Jap. "watashi," like "w" with lips not pursed (almost "r")
l [l] ~ "let"
=OTHER=
r [rr] ~ Spanish "perro," trilled R
PHONOLOGY NOTES:
*The [c] may be difficult to pronounce. Simply make the [t] sound, but instead of tapping your tongue to the ridge behind your teeth, tap your tongue to the roof of your mouth (the palate) just behind that ridge. Practice by imitating Sean Connery's accent if he said, "Too tough to take to town!"
**The [ɰ] is basically an English [w] pronounced without pursing your lips into a rounded shapes. It might sound a bit like an R or even a light L. It sounds a lot like a stereotypical "French accent R" to me.
***For the vowels, be sure you differentiate the [eh] from the [ey], the latter being far more nasally, almost like a Canadian going, "I like hockey, eh!" Alternatively, you could think of the Fonzie doing his trademark "'Eeeeeeyyyyy!"
****The [x] should sound like a hard German CH. Almost a K, but more rough and in the back of your mouth. Make the "loogey" sound like you're about to hawk up something to spit.
Yes, a few sounds seem a little out of place, but that's the whole idea. To US they might seem out of place, but not to the nomadic space pirates!
=ORTHOGRAPHY=
-----
-----
The symbols above match the English alphabetic letters below:
e q b f w
t u d c m
i p k o v
r n l x g
h s j z a
y
Writing normally goes from left to right, but in paragraphs or larger prose, etc, it will start left to right, then alternate to right to left in a zig-zag pattern for easy reading -- requiring the ability to quickly read "backwards" written words, an ability the ancient Greeks learned. In some situations, the text may be written vertically, from bottom to top.
*This is basically how the language
*gnitirw nehw nettirw eb dluow
*in alternating paragraph format.
*tib a si dna daer ot drah oot ton s'tI
*slow to type, but it works, indeed!
The asterisks are used to mark the zig-zag pattern. A dot is used in the actual written language.
Writing bottom to top allows you to start reading at eye level, even if the end of the writing requires you to climb (or, if you were taking off in a flying vehicle).
Keep in mind, the symbols themselves never change direction, just the order of them.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:11 am
~ ~ ~ WORD SYSTEM & GRAMMAR ~ ~ ~
1. Basic Word Structure Breakdown ~~
(GRAM) + (ROOT) + (FUNC) + (ALT)
GRAM = Grammatical role modifier
ROOT = Root word bearing majority of meaning
FUNC = Function of the word (usually part of speech)
ALT = Alternative modifier such as a preposition
2. Noun Word Structure ~~
GRAM indicates the word's Grammatical Case. The GRAM chunk will only take the form of a single Gram Case's predefined marker, but may change slightly in sound and/or spelling depending on the sound and/or spelling of the ROOT beginning.
FUNC indicates the word is a noun. The FUNC chunk may conjugate for gender and/or number, and may change form depending on the end sound and/or spelling of the ROOT end.
ALT indicates additional information depending on what Gram Case the noun is taking. Usually this will be a preposition (for L, N and R) but there are some unique ALT chunks for non-prepositional cases.
3. Verb Word Structure ~~
GRAM indicates one of 4 basic tenses: past, present, future, infinitive. The GRAM chunk will not change except that it may change slightly in sound and/or spelling depending on the sound and/or spelling of the ROOT beginning.
FUNC indicates the word is a verb. The FUNC chunk may conjugate for gender and/or number, and may change form depending on the end sound and/or spelling of the ROOT end.
ALT indicates additional information modifying the tense from the GRAM chunk.
4. Adjective Word Structure ~~
GRAM indicates magnitude adverbs such as not, very, somewhat, etc. The GRAM chunk will not change except that it may change slightly in sound and/or spelling depending on the sound and/or spelling of the ROOT beginning.
FUNC indicates word is an adjective. The FUNC chunk will not change except that it may change slightly in sound and/or spelling depending on the sound and/or spelling of the ROOT end.
ALT indicates ??
** Adverbs work exactly like Adjectives except they take a different FUNC root.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Basic Sentence Structure -- A simple "verb and subject" sentence:
(tense)+(root)+(verb)+(alt*) (subject)+(root)+(noun)+(alt*) (end)
*Optional chunk
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GRAMMATICAL CASES
Subjective (Nominative); Noun performs an action or is the subject of description.
GRAM Base:
"Tomorrow, {the store} will finally open."
[D] Direct Objective (Accusative); Noun directly receives action from subject.
GRAM Base:
"I'll take {the money} and run!"
[I.] Indirect Objective (Dative); Noun is affected by the D. Object.
GRAM Base: is
Assoc ALT: mul (to, for)
"He should give the flowers {to} his {girlfriend}."
"The city built a covered sidewalk {for pedestrians}."
[G] Possessive (Genitive); Indicates relative possession, relation.
GRAM Base:
"This man is the king {of Spain}."
[V] Vocative; Noun is addressed by the speaker. Indicates intended listener.
GRAM Base:
"{Citizens of America}, do not fear!"
"{Dear John}, I am writing to tell you..."
[L] Locative/Lative; Indicates direction, location, movement (change position).
GRAM Base:
"Last time I saw him, he was {at the mall}."
"Poor Dave was running {to the bathroom} in a hurry."
"My mother said to stay {away from strangers}."
[N] Instrumental; Indicates the means for the action.
GRAM Base:
"The prisoner was stabbed {with a rusty knife}."
"I commute to work {via the subway}, but I'd rather drive a car."
"The coroner declared this a death {by starvation}."
[P] Prepositional; Catch-all for any others. Time, purpose, accompaniment, etc.
GRAM Base:
"I go to camp {during the summer}."
"Senator Johnson went to school {with Governor Smith}."
xxx"Timmy got a computer {for good grades}."
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 9:36 am
~ ~ ~ EXAMPLES & ROOT LIST ~ ~ ~
ROOT: /fel/ = happy, enjoy
(ROOT)+(FUNC)
fel/et = happiness
fel/ust = happy, glad
fel/ot = enjoy, be happy about
fel/alt = happily, gladly, enjoyably
ROOT: /putelq/ = spill, pour out, squirt, leak
(ROOT)+(FUNC)
putelq/et = a spill, a squirt
putelq/ust = spilling, leaking, overflowing
putelq/ot = to spill, to squirt, to leak
putelq/alt = spillingly, leakingly, slang~ overwhelmingly
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 9:36 am
~ ~ ~ CULTURE & MISC NOTES ~ ~ ~
I mean, nomadic space-pirates, come on! You have to admit that this is cool! cool
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 9:51 am
~ ~ ~ RESERVED JUST IN CASE ~ ~ ~
Why, feel free to post! surprised
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Eccentric Iconoclast Captain
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:20 pm
If you're going to make it spoken by pirates, you practically have to include the voiceless palatal-velar fricative!
Why? Because the IPA glyph for it is called "Hook-nosed Heng."
That's a pirate name if I've ever heard one.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:46 pm
Eccentric Iconoclast If you're going to make it spoken by pirates, you practically have to include the voiceless palatal-velar fricative! Why? Because the IPA glyph for it is called "Hook-nosed Heng." That's a pirate name if I've ever heard one. They're not pirates in the "Yar, me hearties!" sense, although I will probably throw in a few pun words for fun. I'm not adding that sound because it's obscure and difficult to pronounce, and even more so difficult to explain and apparently it's controversial as to whether or not it's even a unique sound in its own right. gonk Also, I've already got [x] but I don't have [ʃ]... And I don't want more than 26 basic sounds. :b Funny name, though. Hmm. They're really more like space-gypsies, as only a couple of small factions are actually pirates who pillage, rape, kill, etc. (Sorry if any of this comes across as dry and humorless... I'm feeling a wee bit sleep-deprived and I'm having to reroute energy conduits from my brain's creative/social center to my motor skills department simply to keep my nerves and muscles in action).
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:50 pm
I wonder what a writing system used by pirates would look like.....Guess I'll just have to wait and see.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 9:54 pm
The writing system is going to be an alphabet, with one character per sound. I may add some irregularities in spelling for kicks.
The writing itself will switch among left-to-right, bottom-to-top, and also left-to-right/right-to-left (zigzagging, alternating for each line). I think Greek or some ancient runic language did something similar, but this is based on some cultural stuff and spacetravel. As for the symbols themselves, mostly just kind of plain, with some harsh angles and some curvy bits...
I've already started working on it, nothing fancy.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:44 am
You know, I never actually thought about any differences in th's, but now, I do realize them...
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:39 pm
Kalathma You know, I never actually thought about any differences in th's, but now, I do realize them... Unvoiced ("ba th") and voiced (" this"). They were separate letters in Old English, using neither T nor H. 3nodding Well, I'm... uh... Glad you now know the difference. whee But... What do you think of my conlang so far? (I may post the writing system later today, maybe tomorrow otherwise)
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:21 pm
Xeigrich The writing system is going to be an alphabet, with one character per sound. I may add some irregularities in spelling for kicks. The writing itself will switch among left-to-right, bottom-to-top, and also left-to-right/right-to-left (zigzagging, alternating for each line). I think Greek or some ancient runic language did something similar, but this is based on some cultural stuff and spacetravel. As for the symbols themselves, mostly just kind of plain, with some harsh angles and some curvy bits... I've already started working on it, nothing fancy. *Drools on keyboard* mrgreen
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:16 pm
Bumpdate~
I've posted an image of the conscript. I haven't decided which letters represent which sounds, but the symbols are all there... With uppercase and lowercase.
I also haven't decided exactly what the uppercase will be used for. I'm pretty sure I don't want to do it English-style where you only caps the first word of a sentence and any proper nouns, and I know I don't want to do it German-style where you caps all nouns. I'll figure something out :b
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:56 pm
I like it
maybe you Capitalize any word deemed Important to the Statement? it's a Subjective matter, then, but it's something to think about. after all, they're Pirates, and thus Busy--they don't want to use their precious Time reading something when they can get the important stuff by reading around the Capitalized stuff. maybe? just a thought.
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