Re: CHAT: Coming out of the conlang closet

I've rarely actually gone out and told people that I conlang and that
was because they were trying to find out my hobbies. If someone asks me
what my hobbies are, I'll tell them, but it's not something that crops
up in conversation (except for when you're doing Japanese orals).
Normally it just happens to randomly come up in conversation or I get
caught in the act.

Some stories of mine own:

When my mother found out I did this stuff, she was intent upon me
telling my English teachers. I have no idea why. She's always been
rather enthusiastic, in a very disturbing way.

I was once caught doing some stuff in a conlang last year or the year
before while waiting for the teacher to come to class. The result was
that a rumour spread: basically, I had submitted by conlang to
VBOS/VCAA* who had accepted it as a VCE (Victorian Certificate of
Eduation, the course you do/what you get to finish the end of secondary
school here) subject that I could study.

* /vi:bQs/ and /vi:kA:/, but I was the first person I know of to not say
/vi: si: dAb@l {i/. I like to think it possible I'm responsible for that
pronunciation ;) (Victorian Board of Studies, replaced around the time I
was doing this with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority)

Tristan

On Sat, 2002-06-01 at 22:59, Andreas Johansson wrote:
> Teoh wrote:
> > > Telling people that
> > > I invent languages does not, on the whole, seem to be a course of action
> > > that would enhance my social status.
> >[snip]
> >
> >Personally, I've come to realize that, at least for me, social status
> >means very little. I wouldn't force myself to be someone I'm not just for
> >the sake of recognition or acceptance. I don't go around proclaiming my
> >odd interests; but I don't take offense when laughed at for them, either.
> >
>
> To each his own, but for me, I experienced quite enough rejection as a kid
> that I'm perfectly willing to bend a little in order to be accepted. I don't
> see it as "being someone I'm not" (how could I?), but as think of it as
> thinking a bit about what aspects of myself I chose to display.
>
>                                                          Andreas
>
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