Re: Calling all Conlangers!

Esperanto is available at Indiana University here, not
as a language credit, but as a one semester "Topics"
course available only to freshmen--they're sort of
get-your-feet-wet courses which freshmen find
mind-bashingly dull.

Clint


--- Padraic Brown <agricola@...> wrote:
> Am 19.01.02, Chris Palmer yscrifef:
>
> > > > However as Klingon is a made up language of
> recent origin it lacks
> > > > the depth of Apache, thus should not be
> anything other than a
> > > > linguistic toy, not really something that a
> serious institution
> > > > should be handing out credits for as an actual
> language.
> >
> > It sounds to me like the person doesn't want it to
> be treated,
> > credit-wise, as a natural language (fulfilling
> e.g. a foreign language
> > requirement for an undergraduate degree)
>
> Possibly, but that's not what he said. And for what
> it's worth,
> Esperanto is also taught at some universities.
>
> > or as an object of linguistic (scientific) study.
>
> It is most certainly a linguistic phenomenon! How
> can a linguist
> _not_ be fascinated by hundreds or thousands of
> "normal" people
> actively studying and using a new language? Were I a
> linguist (or
> better still, an anthropologist), I'd be in there
> looking on with
> considerable interest!
>
> > If my interpretation is correct, I think it's hard
> > to dispute the matter.
>
> It would be _indisputable_, since Klingon isn't a
> _natural_
> language. Note that the matter isn't over whether
> Klingon
> is natural or artificial - but that it "lacks
> depth". Hell,
> there are loads of natural languages you can study
> that
> "lack depth" (Gaulish, Hittite, et.c.)
>
> > It's equally hard, and I don't see anybody trying,
> to dispute the
> > artistry in conlanging.
>
> If it's said to "lack depth" and be somehow unworthy
> of
> academic interest as an artistic artefact or that
> the art
> behind it is dismissed, then it would seem that the
> artistry
> in conlanging is disputed. Following this logic,
> universities
> should never teach courses in modern dance - they're
> made up
> and lack the "depth" of actual (natural, or folk)
> dances.
>
> > Chris
>
> Padraic.
> --
> Gwerez dah, chee gwaz vaz, ha leal.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail!
http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/