Re: Accidental Conlanging

J Y S Czhang <czhang23@...> wrote:

>Ya know ya have OCLD if ya:
>        - haunt many bookstores hunting for linguistics books and foreign
>language dictionaries
I browse the same reference book at the local library every time I go (I
haven't been in a while); it's a book on scripts of the world, often quoted
at omniglot.com.

>        - willing to pay exorbitant prices for said books
I'm considering buying the book of Nostratic etymologies by Bomhard and
Kerns; price of said book at amazon.com: $198.00 US.

>        - scribble notes on languages - natlang and conlang - at strange
>times of the day and night and even while in the bathtub or sitting on the
>toilet
I did that in eighth grade once, and the teacher and most of the class
thought I was severely weird.

>        - have memorized the _entire_ IPA and at least one ASCII
>representation thereof
First time I read about the IPA, I had a totally organic experience. I've
come up with numerous versions of a more phonemic type of IPA before.

>        - talk in your own conlang(s) as well as try to read aloud other's
>conlangs
I gotta learn Elvish for an old friend who's a big Tolkien fanatic. He
thought it was just SO COOL that someone would invent their own language.
He'll want me to learn Klingon too I bet.

Most of the time, I'll just speak random utterances with no meaning, using a
lot of those "exotic" consonants: glottalized, pharyngeal, lateral
affricates, clicks... and an occasional wailing triphthong. I used to annoy
my brother to no end that way, and I might do it on occasion just to confuse
my fiancee or something.

>        - find yourself automatically attempting to translate advertisement
>slogans and magazine headlines into conlangs while waiting in doctors'
>offices or waiting for a bus, etc.
I usually translate into natlangs, or read them backwards.

>        - constantly/consistently websurfing for linguistic and
conlinguistic
>materials
What else is there to surf for?

>        - don't at all mind the high volume of email postings on the
ConLang

Well I do have trouble keeping up, and I have this anal retentive thing
about not posting too much (especially with the 100 message limit).

>    And, in my case, conlanging is one major factor in my sobriety -
>nowadays, I rather be conlanging than be drunk, high and/or loaded.
I'd rather be drunk, but that's a whole other story.... ~Danny~