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Re: Back!

From:Kristian Jensen <kljensen@...>
Date:Monday, July 19, 1999, 22:36
Adam Parrish wrote:
> > I'm curious as to how other conlangers have solved the problem >of cosmic location, since it does seem to be rather vital to an >important part of a language's vocabulary. It seems to me that most of >us have languages set in an Earth with a different social history >(extreme: Tokana, where civilization never took place; less extreme: >Brithenig, where history diverged hundreds of years ago; even less >extreme: Elet Anta and Teonaht, which make no modification to history >except to suggest the presence of secretive subcultures). An almost >equal proportion have chosen to locate their creations on distant >planets (the Kolagian languages, many of Nik Taylor's creations, and =
the
>ubiquitous Star Trek languages). I'm not satisfied with either of =
these
>options. Have I missed anything? Is there a middle ground?
Hmmm... if not an Earth with an alternative social setting, and if=20 not a distant planet, then what could be a middle ground? The=20 Boreanesian setting perhaps? Boreanesia is set on Earth but with an alternative geological history=20 allowing for a piece of Gondwanaland to be placed just south of=20 Japan, east of the Philippines, and north of New Guinea. Human=20 history is almost exactly like ours with the single difference that=20 there exists an extra landmass that man manage to colonize about 40=20 thousand years ago. The geological history of the Boreanesian landmass has some=20 interesting consequences for its endemic life. There are very few=20 flowering plants (most endemic plant-life being gymnospermous, like=20 ferns, cycads, and coniferous auracarias), and all endemic mammalian=20 life are monotremes (that is, egg-laying mammals) that have evolved=20 to fill certain ecological niches like the marsupials of Australia. In a way, you could almost say that visiting Boreanesian is like=20 visiting another planet. But you'd still be on Earth. Hence, a middle=20 ground. -kristian- 8)