CHAT: Conculture interlanguages (was Re: CHAT: University Advice)

Yoon Ha Lee wrote:

> ObConLang: international relations in *your* concultures/conlangs: lingua
> franca?
Phaleran in the planetary lingua franca in most domains:  commerce, culture,
science, philosophy, religion.  The vast majority of publications are in Phaleran,
whether or not the intended audience speaks that as their native language.

>  Pidgins/creoles?
There are several creoles based on Phaleran or sisterlanguages of Phaleran.
In most cases, these retain the Tlaspi S/P pivot:

Standard Phaleran:

    Senoina     gan     fayarinnan                                   t'owo        nga
    senoi:PL    now    grow:INTR:3IncPlPf:DYN:SEN field:DAT  and
    The senoi* are growing now in the field and

    eollu        [senoi]           tþahwiteiosekû              fayasyossai.
    3sg.ERG  senoi.ABS    be-plentiful-time:DUR   grow:TR:3SgProg:DYN:SEN
    He grows senoi*  in his spare time.

*[a starchy tuber widely grown on Phalera]

Here the S of the intransitive clause is pivoted with the patient of the transitive
clause, which means the patient can be dropped out of the discourse. Likewise
in some creoles:

Efasa Phaleran creole:

    Senoi  gan   fayari          al  to      na
    senoi   now grow:INTR in  field   and
    The senoi are growing in the field and

    e      fayasa     [senoi]   tawite.
    3sg  grow:TR  [senoi]   spare-time
    he grows [senoi] in his spare time.

Note, however, that the creole has shifted to a SVO pattern, and that, as
would be expected, there has been significant loss of phonological distinctions.

> (If I ever *have* enough languages sketched
> out, I'd *love* to do a pidgin!  I've always thought they sounded Really
> Neat.)  General hostilities?
Ever since the Collapse of Tlaspi hegemony throughout the several
systems immediately adjacent Phalera's system, Phalera has been
reduced to internecine feuding among themselves. For more on Phaleran
social history, see:

<http://www.angelfire.com/tx/eclectorium/phaleran/histdemo.html>

> Host country or dominant country's language
> for any given encounter?  No or limited history of diplomacy?  Special
> forms or registers for diplomacy?
Standard Phaleran is itself quite archaic -- but not quite so archaic as, say,
Classical Latin was from Vulgar Latin.  Perhaps the best analog is English
of the late 18th Century compared to today:  some distinctions retained in
the Standard are no longer made in most dialects, such as that between
dynamic and hyperdynamic verbs, which are conflated.  On the other hand,
some dialects have innovated features, such as noun incorporation, not
present in the older forms of the language.

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Tom Wier   |     "Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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