Re: CHAT: Using cats for practice

Sally Caves eskri"rema":

> --8<--  When I speak
> Teonaht to Connie Groondy, my cat (her name is anglicized Welsh--"canu
> grwndi" means "to purr" in that language) she responds very lovingly, but
> then she does the same if I speak to her in Welsh.  Sometimes when I
speak
> to my husband, or even if I speak to myself--grunting over something in
> the news, she assumes I'm speaking to her, and answers with a loving
> upward look and a whispered "rrrrrr?"  So, although I assume that she
> understands everything I'm saying (whether I'm speaking to her or not),
> she is not very particular about what language I say it in.  (Yes,
Teonaht
> is a LANGUAGE).
"Not very particular" - brings me back to my original point (sort of). You
can say what you like, and they don't mind, as long as the tone of voice is
OK. One other proviso: they don't like "p"s, I find.

Excellent name your cat has, BTW.


> make a taperecording of yourself issuing yourself commands, or asking
> yourself evocative questions. Then play it back under your pillow at
night
> and see if they are clear to you, or if you dream about them.  On a more
Yikes.


> ... ordinary level, you could make "taped lessons" and then try them on
> yourself.
Can't stand the sound of my own voice on tape, so that would never work :)
Good idea otherwise, though.


>  Teonaht has become increasingly complicated, over the years,
> but it was greatly gratifying, and weird, to come across a dialog I had
> written out... oh...nineteen years ago, between a girl and a boy who were
> courting; and though I hadn't looked at this vocabulary for almost as
long
> (it was largely discarded and the grammar drastically altered), the
> exchange was perfectly clear to me.  As though I was reading Spanish from
> a textbook.  How strange, and with a language I invented.  It was
speaking
> to me across the years.
I've come over all warm and fuzzy... I still find it amazing, over 2 years
after I initially joined the list, to think that during all the years I was
working alone on Jameld (since '82), braving the derision, bemusement and
apathy of others, there were others doing similarly. Were we all isolated,
or was there a pre-Conlang community in any way?

James

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+ James Campbell            + Zeugma: http://www.zeugma.force9.co.uk    +
+ james@zeugma.force9.co.uk + Jameld: http://www.zeugma.force9.co.uk/zm +
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