Re: The pitfall of Chinese/Mandarin

 --- Adam Walker wrote:
If you want to
> >create a perfectly short language, you should use
> all places and manners of
> >articulation for consonants, add some clicks and
> othe esoteric sounds,
> >distinguish 5 different levels of frontness for
> your vowels, rounded and
> >unrounded. So this gives us about 80 consonants and
> 30 vowels, allowing for
> >2400 combinations. Add six tones to this, and you
> have almost 15,000
> >possible CV syllables, which is about as short as
> it gets. You could
> >express
> >all basic stuff with one short syllable, and by
> adding a final consonant
> >(CVC), you could make another 1.2 million more
> esoteric words, all just one
> >syllable. You should be able to think really fast
> in such a language.... if
> >you ever manage to learn it!
Answer: I have said to learn less. That include
letters. Suppose we need 2400 'phonetic types' , we
may have 800 consonants 2 vowels and 2 tones and we
may also have 14 consonants, 14 vowels and 14 tones.
In the first case we need learn 800+2+2=804 symbols,
while in the second case we just need 14+14+14=42
symbols. Of course, all those sound elements need to
be approved by user.
I want my languages to be ambiguous
> and not too easy to
> >learn. I want them to have a certain feeling, i.e.
> my elven languages use
> >mainly fronted and sharp sounds, and long syllables
> that end in vowels or
> >semi-vowels, wile dwarven tongues prefer harsher,
> more uvular and darker
> >sounds and shorter syllables that often end in
> stops.
> >
> >Maarten
Answer: you may just thinking yourself and your native
language, but I think more and more people like a
clear and easy to learn language, beside it can
preserve your culture.
Su Cheng Zhong

http://shopping.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Shopping
- Free CDs for thousands of Priority Shoppers!

Reply