Re: vocabulary

Hi!

# 1 <salut_vous_autre@...> writes:
>...
> How did you make to create a complete vocabulary? This is not only very
> long, but I'm also unable to create a way to make it logic and clear.
I usually never make a complete dictionary, because it takes so long. :-)

A lot of work.  I think about every word I want to create very
thoroughly and try to find out what the meaning is.  Or whether it has
more than one meaning.  Then, I figure out whether I want my language
to be more or less specific.  And then, I think about whether it will
be composite, derived, or atomic.  If I need atomic words, I use a
random generator to make a word that obeys the phonotactic rules of
that language.  I usually introduce a statistical distribution factor
in the random generator, so that I can be sure it outputs sound A by a
factor of x more often than sound B.  Still, sometimes when I don't
like the sound of a word, or when I think it does not fit the meaning,
I let the random generator run again...

> How do you create a whole lexicon? Particulary if you want it to not be as
> another.
Really, lexicon takes a lot of time for me.  It take time and thoughts
about the design.  And for me, it takes a lot of programming, too.

> If I create each word separatly it risks to has two same words and
> worse, it could loose the logic I want to keep.
For some languages, it might be part of the design to have redundant
entries, because when you introduced them by accident, you might end
up with slightly different definitions.  It might not matter - instead
poets will be thankful for the language to have some synonyms at
hand. :-)

Of course, if you don't like this, because you design tells you that
redundancy or lack of logic is forbidden, then *change* the lexicon
when you notice anything against your principles.  Since you are
inventing it, it does not matter if it changes.  Mere growth is a
change, too...

(You might want to compare the Relay 10 text in Qthen|gai at Jan's
relay page with the current version on my evolving page -- it has
changed a lot due to improvements at all layers of the language.  So
Relay 10 was in Old Q'en|gai, if you will.  In a year, it will
probably be in Ancient Q'en|gai...)

> Would you conseil me to translate each esperanto words(wich
> vocabulary is already logicly divised)?
Uchkhhkkh!!  We will not start auxlang discussions, will we.  This
little auxiliary clause in parentheses has the potential of being
vaguely offensive. :-)

No, translating each Esperanto word is usually not a good idea, I
think.  And that of any other language either.  Because, as you said,
your language is probably different from that language, so a different
lexicon will be more spicy and delicious.

However, people have been using WordNet for lexicons.  That's a good
idea if your design allows that.

**Henrik