Re: Difficult language ideas

On 9/19/06, Leigh Richards <palomaverde@...> wrote:
> On 9/19/06, Jim Henry <jimhenry1973@...> wrote:
> > - a large number of verb and noun paradigms, with the appropriate
> > one for a given word not predictable from the form or semantics of
> > the root
>
> Paradigm here means, for example, conjugation patterns in verbs?
Yes, conjugations of verbs & declensions of nouns & adjectives....
I'm not sure if there is a special term for inflection of adverbs
and adpositions.

Another thing to think about: if the designers of the conlang
wanted it to be specially difficult, they would think of
difficulty in terms of dissimilarity from the languages they
were familiar with.  So you need to figure out the kinds of
inflection, etc., found in the natural languages of the region,
and then have the conlang mark different categories, and
mark the same categories in different ways.  So maybe
if the regional languages mark verbs for aspect and mood
with prefixes, you could mark them with suffixes and final consonant
or vowel mutation while marking tense, evidentiality, validationality,
attitude, location/direction and so forth with prefixes
and initial mutation.  And if the regional languages are
non-tonal or have at most two or three tones, you could have
more tones in the conlang.

--
Jim Henry
http://www.pobox.com/~jimhenry