Re: Auxlangs in conworlds, was Re: The Great Sundering

Hallo!

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 14:42:31 -0800,
Costentin Cornomorus <elemtilas@...> wrote:

> --- Jörg Rhiemeier <joerg_rhiemeier@...>
> wrote:
>
> > > [auxlang opportunities in Ill Bethisad]
> >
> > I agree.  It becomes evident when one looks at
> > when auxlanging
> > was popular *here*, and compares that to the
> > rises and falls of
> > internationally dominant natlangs.  Most
> > auxlangs were proposed
> > when there was no dominant language.
>
> We might have to revisit this facet of life in
> IB. I rather like the notion that the auxlang
> movement is more interested in philosophical
> languages.
Yes.  As I have said in another article, this is much more fun than
imitating the euroclone auxlang story once again.  An a posteriori
auxlang wouldn't look much different *there*.

Back in the days when I was involved in Ill Bethisad with the Elves,
I had some ideas for a fictional philosophical language that could
exist in Ill Bethisad.  I called it "Modus Locutionis Universalis",
or "Modus" in short.  The idea I had was to use a triconsonantal
morphology with roots derived from a three-tiered classification
scheme.  Modus wasn't a success as an international language, but
some librarians still use it to classify books, similar to the way
they use Dewey Decimal Classification *here*.  I think I should
pick up work on Modus again; setting up the taxonomy could be
a group project.

>      I also think that the market isn't in
> great need of planned auxlangs - there is already
> in place a system of regional natural auxlangs
> and pidgins/creoles.
I also have the impression that Latin hasn't fallen in decline
the same way as *here*; that it is e.g. still used for scientific
communication.  There are probably some "Latino sine flexione"
schemes in circulation.

>      Some of this material has
> even made it into mainstream natural languages:
> moainey is Kerno and roughly means "shop" or
> "buy". It is heard frequently enough in
> Chinatown, where Cantonese hawkers call out may
> nei! = you buy it! I'm sure there is a sort of
> Britano-Cantonese pidgin right there in the heart
> of Dûnein.
A Britano-Cantonese pidgin!  Certainly amusing to sort out!

> > So with the lack of a dominant international
> > language,
> > Ill Bethisad ought to be a fertile ground for
> > auxlangs.
>
> It could be that the auxlangers haven't offered
> what it is everyone needs! ;)
Especially if they dabble in phiosophical languages, which are
monstrously impractical, at least as media of communication.

> > They probably haven't settled on ONE auxlang,
> > though.
>
> Almost certainly. At best, I think IB might be
> suited to local auxlangs. Most countries have a
> standard language, which is official; but many
> regions do not comply with education in that
> language. They might be served by bridge
> languages that can serve broad regions of the
> dialect continuum.
Yes.

Greetings,

Jörg.