Re: Why conlang

On Wednesday 10 October 2001 07:21, Doug Ball wrote:
> Quoting Roger Mills:
> >> Heather Rice wrote:
> >>> Why do you conlang?  What do you most like about it?
> >>> (Just curious.  :-)
> I agree that this is an interesting question to be asking
> ourselves, and agree with what a lot of the reasons already
> mentioned: the control (especially to have a language to call your
> own--that your personality and the language are inseparable),
I don't think it's that with me. At least, I choose not to think so,
because if I did my conscience would probably tell me to stop. Having
complete control over something makes me uneasy, and I don't in fact
feel that I have *complete* control, especially not over the culture;
I can't just add or delete something by fiat without running the risk
of spoiling it because the new thing doesn't fit, or the old thing
leaves an ugly gap.

> love
> of language, the intellectual challenge.
Both of those, yes.

> But I also think that my
> conlanging also involves a love of structures, and a seemingly
> innate urge to create--
Absolutely. When we had the "creation" debate a while ago it
basically came down to "people were made with the urge to create, and
it will come out somehow, even if it's not in traditionally
"creative" pursuits". Making something out of nothing is, of course,
a traditionally creative pursuit, even though the thing we make is
not a traditional product of creativity.

   Irina

--
irina@valdyas.org                        http://www.valdyas.org/irina
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