Re: David Peterson, CSANA, and Made to Order Conlangs

You say the computerized word generator runs on FileMaker Pro.  What is that
restricted to?  What level of MacOS?

At the moment I've got access to System 7.5 via BasiliskII on my Linux box and
System/MacOS 8.0 on my LC 475, with the possibility of yet more copies of
MacOS on BasiliskII - System 6.0, if I feel up to it, and others if I can be
bothered to hunt them down.

Thanks.

Wesley Parish

On Monday 28 April 2003 11:00 am, you wrote:
> Hey!
>
> Sorry it's been awhile (a.k.a., one day...?).   I've been away from my
> computer, and spending far too much time playing Civilization III on my
> girlfriend's computer.   Oh well.   At least if anyone ever asks me to
> direct the building of a civilization from 4000 BC to 2050 AD, I'll be
> better equipped (possibly).
>
> Now, onto the response:
>
> <<YOU'RE the one!>>
>
> Indeed.   :)
>
> <<Is that your article in _Berkeley Studies in   Linguistics_?  Brian O
> Chonchubair wants to read it.  Did you catch up   with him?>>
>
> 'Fraid not.   Ever since I've been in the linguistics department people
> have been asking, "Are you/Is he *the* David Peterson?"   Apparently there
> was a grad. student named David Peterson who graduated from Berkeley the
> year before I declared the major as an undergraduate.   I actually met him
> once, too, which disproved the theory that he and I are the same person,
> via the Clark Kent/Superman Method.
>
> <<I still would like to have a   computer word-generator, and might ask you
> how you got yours.>>
>
> I did post on how I got mine.   Unfortunately, you have to have or obtain
> FileMaker Pro (an expensive program, apparently.   I obtained it
> underhandedly).   It's a program created with FileMaker, and what it is is
> basically a random number generator that, instead of generating numbers,
> generates phonemes in the order you specify.   The historical changes, as
> well, are just recognizing sequences and replacing them with other
> sequences. Currently, there's no way to say "voiceless obstruents become
> voiced intervocalically".   To do it you have to write:
>
> p > b / a_a
> p > b / a_e
> p > b / a_i
>
> etc., for every consonant and every vowel combination.   It takes awhile.
> So, it's not the best, but it gives me joy to watch it create huge lists of
> weird words.   It's fun to do during commercials while watching the
> Simpsons.
>
>   :)
>
> <<BTW, I went around looking for you   after the conference.>>
>
> Oh, it pains my heart!   See, before the conference I had no idea that you
> had actually been to school at Berkeley and had family in California, etc.
> When I discovered that, I assumed you would be spending time with people
> you knew and wouldn't have any time for conlanging.   Besides, my
> girlfriend was getting bored.   She came because her friend is in the
> Celtic Studies department and was helping with conference.   And I, once
> the conlanging aspect was over with, had no real interest in hearing about
> Celtic-related stuff, sad to say...   Though I do like the occasional Enya
> tune, I'm not that "hard core".
>
> <<Good to match name and face,   David.  Too bad we didn't get a chance to
> talk.>>
>
> True, but I was glad to hear your talk.   Fantastic!   And besides, I have
> met a disproportionate amount of language creators recently:
>
> 1.) At the Berkeley Linguistics Society Symposium, Dirk Elzinga and Marc
> Smith came up and we had a bite with Josh (friend of mine here who created
> the RandWord program) and much fun.
>
> 2.) At UCSD's open house, I saw your own Doug Ball, who also got accepted
> to UCSD and was visiting.
>
> 3.) At Cal Day (an event to show off Cal to prospective undergraduates), I
> was manning the phonology lab when a friend of someone who got in happened
> to mention that she created languages.   Small world!
>
> 4.) Then there was your talk.
>
> All in a span of three months!
>
> <<What is your work at   CAL, and whom are you working with?>>
>
> I'm an undergraduate in the linguistics department (and English), so I'm
> not working with anyone, per se.   I'm going to UCSD next semester, and
> Eric Bakovic has contacted me about creating a class on language creation
> (I posted to the list about it when I returned).   I'm the president of the
> Society of Linguistics Undergraduates (SLUG), and we had a symposium last
> fall, in which I gave a talk on conlanging (I focused more on "Why
> Linguistics Shouldn't Put Down Language Creation").   I did do a project
> with John McWhorter and Leann Hinton, though, where I taught a class with a
> made-up word list (no grammar), to see if the students would invent
> something pidgin-like.   That was also last semester.   And now, I'm
> looking forward to being at UCSD, though it'll be too bad Doug won't be
> there.   Not that he hasn't made a good choice in Stanford.   He'll be good
> there (and I need to reply to his e-mail...!).
>
> Oh, also, isn't the next Celtic Conference at UCLA?   Will you be there?
>
> <<The walk from Berkeley back to Rochester is indeed long...>
>
> Wow!   And to think the main reason I didn't apply to any place north of
> Santa Barbara for graduate school is because of the terrible, terrible
> weather.   I can't stand the weather here!   So cold!   It needs to be 80
> or higher for me to be happy--year round.
>
> So, I think that was it.   I'll try to be more punctual with my replies.
> :) Happy day to all.
>
> -Dave
--
Mau e ki, "He aha te mea nui?"
You ask, "What is the most important thing?"
Maku e ki, "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
I reply, "It is people, it is people, it is people."