Re: ANNOUNCE: My new conlang S11

H. S. Teoh wrote:

> > > Even with modern Chinese, sometimes native speakers' attempt to
> > > describe it leaves foreigners feeling like there really are no rules,
> > > it's just a matter of interpretation. :-P
> >
> > A misinterpretation, of course. :-)  English and Germans and probably
> > anyone might tell non-native speakers that there are no 'rule'.  'You
> > can just say what you think.'  Or something like that...  That is,
> > of course, not really helping. :-)
>
>Indeed. :-) "Say what you think" has the hidden assumption that you
>already have a mental grammar that matches the language. (Although,
>that is an interesting thought... does this imply that you can't think
>if you don't know any language??)
I don't know if there's an equivalent in English but in French there's a
saying (that's used to mean that what you think merits to be said in a
proper Frensh)

"Ce qui se conçoit bien s'énonce clairement et les mots pour le dire
viennent aisément"
~=~
"What can be well conceived can be clearly enunciated and words to say it
come easily"

It says that what can be conceived might automaticaly be sayable

It implies that you can't conceive something until you're able to say it


So someone who would not have any language or a way to express in a
grammaticaly limited form would not be able to think

That also explain why, before the invention of gestual languages, deaf
people were always stupid for everybody, they were probably stupid because
of the fact they have never learn to think


Have you heard about that king sometime in the Middle Age (I don't remember
where and who and I'm not even sure it was a king...) that wanted to know
what was the pure human language?

He took some babies and enclosed them in a part of his castle. There were
women to feed and take care of them but these had instructions of never
speak to the babies.

The King wanted to know what would they speak spontanously, he thought it
should be latin or greek: what he tought were the original human languages
and the only one to be worth of being an original language

Evidently, they never begun to speak but they also become stupid after some
years.


- Max