Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: Rhyming Conlangs

From:Patrick Dunn <tb0pwd1@...>
Date:Monday, October 8, 2001, 4:34
On Sun, 7 Oct 2001, Ciege Engine wrote:

> What, if anything specific, does a language need to > rhyme/make poetry? > > CJ Miller
It needs to be spoken. More specifically, for rhyme to be a significant poetic device (note that in many languages it is not; it wasn't in English for a good long while), the language needs a certain number of words that sound similar in their final syllables. This cannot be a very large number of words (say, all nouns end in -ano, for example) nor can it be very few words. Those languages that do not use rhyme simply use other devices; Hebrew, for example,k uses a metrical-musical line with idea rhyme. Old ENglish used a four beat metrical line with alliteration. Japanese uses a mora-based metrical line. We can see that far more important than rhyme as a poetic device, meter or *beat* is more essential to poetry. So much so that one definition of poetry is "A metrical utterance." That meter may be moric, as in Japanese, in which syllable lenth and count is determining factor of line length, or it may be tonal, as in Ancient Greek (also simultaneously moric to an extent), or it may be stress meter, as in modern ENglish. There are probably other options I'm unaware of. What I am aware of is that every language on Earth has some sort of poetic register, some kind of poetry. --Patrick ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prurio modo viri qui in arbore pilosa est. ~~Elvis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~