Re: A DISTURBING proposal! (was Re: Personal langs and converse of aux)

On 7 Feb, Steg wrote:

>b. don't remember... i think i just make non-language noises... what do
>you mean by crying in a language?
Well, there is a type of "tearful speech" (for want of a better term)
where you talk while you are extremely upset or distraught.
(Such as grieving, extreme sorrow,  agony etc.)
The idea is that extreme emotion cancels out anything except
the most basic behaviors and you would use your most basic lang.
    But since you mention "non-language noises", it is well known
that cries of pain, what it seems only common sense to think of as
non-linguistic or pre-linguistic "noises", are actually language specific
and pretty basic. American English speakers say "ouch"
or "ow" (= /au/, not /ou/). People who speak other langs might say,
under similar conditions, /ai/, /oi/, or some other sound.
    But this "basicness" is not completely true: I have spoken Hebrew
long enough that I have internalized its conventions pretty well,
including the "pain sound". Thus, if I am in a Hebrew frame of mind
and I get hurt,  I will  automatically say /ai/. But if I am in an English
frame of mind, I will revert to my "first lang" ,American English, and
say  /au/ or /autS/.
    ObConlang: do any conlangs have sounds that people in pain make?
    I have to admit that I haven't put anything like that into rtemmu yet.

Dan Sulani

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likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a.

A word is an awesome thing.