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Re: Musical conlangs (was: Poetique)

From:Costentin Cornomorus <elemtilas@...>
Date:Saturday, January 10, 2004, 0:57
--- Ray Brown <ray.brown@...> wrote:

> *For those interested, the 5 methods of writing > are:
> The 13 methods of communications actually > contain several variants of > the same thing. They are:
Actually, these are pretty interesting. I don't know how easy it would be to apply those particular symbols (the circle et al) to a manual communication for the deaf. Wouldn't the circle and half circle be difficult to differentiate? Certainly 7 mnemonic handsigns could be borrowed from either the manual alphabet or some actual sign language to replace those particular written symbols.
> 4. You use your right to touch various points > on your left hand for > each note (I can't show this in a email).
This is a very clever one! Though I don't see why one can't do this in a lefterly fashion.
> 3. You trace the shorthand signs in the air > with your hand (this is called > "la language [sic] Universelle muette ou > mimique").
> 7. You can communicate with a deaf person by > taking her/his hand and > "lui press alternativement les doigts, comme > pour la Langue Universelle > muette". [This seems to refer to (3), above. So > quite how that works, I > don't know. It would seem to me better to have > used (4), by pointing out > the places on the other person's hand]
Agreed. As I understand it, communication with blind-deaf-mutes can be achieved by allowing them to manually feel the shape and form of the manual alphabet, pressed into their hands. I suspect that what he's getting at is tracing the seven symbols in the hand of the blind-deaf-mute, so that he can feel what a normal deaf person could see.
> 11. At night at sea one could fire colored > flares according the colors given in (10).
That's a load o flares!
> 12. Also at sea, one could play the notes "sur > un instrument de musique assez > puissant pour être entendu a la distance > déterminée". [The mind boggles; as > the professor rightly observes: "on peut > s'entendre parfaitement la nuit > comme la jour."
A steam ship ought to be able to produce enough pressure to power a loud and piercing caliope. Just add six notes to the foghorn already installed and Bob's you uncle! Add a few more notes, and the ships organist could strike up a merry tune!
> 13. Finally, at sea, can beat a drum, strike a > bell, blow a whistle, blow > a hunting horn (cor de chasse [on a boat??]),
Not ideal, as a cor de chasse does not have easy access to a diatonic scale! It also has the disadvantage of being human powered - short toots with the ships foghorn (using the tap method) would be better. Gongs, whistles, etc all have similar limitations to the cor. At a resonably close range and with low winds, such methods could work, though.
> The thought of two ships communicating by > firing off cannons in bursts of > one to > seven rounds at time for each syllable as they > 'speak' to each other is > quite something!
Just hope the other ship doesn't think you're trying to sink him! All of this has wonderful overtones for the traditional fantasist: imagine a fleet of warships steaming to action, piping out (encoded) messages upon great caliopes and foghorns with multicoloured flares flying! This will have to implemented in the World, somewhere! Padraic. ===== la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu. -- Ill Bethisad -- <http://www.geocities.com/elemtilas/ill_bethisad> Come visit The World! -- <http://www.geocities.com/hawessos/> .

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Ray Brown <ray.brown@...>