Re: CHAT deities (was: Minhyan & the goddess of conlangs)

On Thursday, September 2, 2004, at 01:39 , Jeffrey Henning wrote:

> Ray Brown comunu:
>
>>> Tolkien sometimes wrote about "discovering Quenya" rather
>>> than inventing it.
>>
>> He did indeed - tho I doubt he ascribed the gift to any Muse.
>
> He clearly ascribed it as a gift from God the Father:
> http://mercury.ccil.org/~cowan/mythopoeia.html#heartofman
Yes, that is what I would have expected.

>
>>> It would be amusing (ahem) to have an agreed to Conlang Muse.
>>
>> Glossopoeia?
>
> Greek for "tongue maker"?  I like that.
Yep - tongue-maker/ language-maker. But the ancient Greeks had more than
one word for "to make". _poiein_ is the one that gives us 'poem', 'poetry'
, 'poesy' - it suggests _creative_ making.

[snip]

> Like you, I loved the Odyssey for Odysseus.  Alas, though, I never cared
> for
> the Iliad.  I re-read it last year and found that I didn't care which side
> won.  It made war seem awful and pointless not heroic.
I that was the point of the Iliad - the futility of war. It's surely not
the fighting that's main theme of the Iliad (it focuses on only a very
small part of the Trojan war) - it's the person of Achilles. I find the
meeting of Priam & Achilles, when Priam comes to ransom the body of Hector,
  very moving.

[snip]

>>> Minhyan sprang from my head about
>>> as forcefully.  So Minerva is the muse of Minhyan, if not the muse of
>>> conlangers.
>>
>> Ah, I notice you go for the Roman name. Now the Romans had a very
>> different attitude to their deities. There was genuine respect for
>> Minerva.
>
> Sorry, I just liked the aliteration of Minerva and Minhyan.
    :-)

[snip]
>> (And despite temptations, I've stayed clear so far from the flag business
>> in case I spoil someone's fun)
>
> I like the simple elegance of David Peterson's flag best, but I'd prefer
> a
> heraldic color scheme.
I agree on both counts.

Ray
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ray.brown@freeuk.com
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"A mind which thinks at its own expense will always
interfere with language."         J.G. Hamann, 1760

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