Re: Telek -- Invent a Language

On Sat, 30 Sep 2000, Nik Taylor wrote:

> Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
> > Lovely!  I didn't do anything nearly so interesting..."language,"
> > "speech" and "song" are all expressed by the same word in Chevraqis.
> > Boring.  <G>
>
> I consider that anything but boring.  I like that "song" and "language"
> are the same word.  It seems kinda poetic in a way.
>
> Vaguely related, the verb for "to sing" or "to chant" in Uatakassí is
> _kassí_.  Folk-etymology connects this with Kassí, the ethnic name,
> altho how exactly they're connected isn't clear.  They're not a
> particularly musical people.  In reality, the words are unrelated.  The
> verb comes from Common Kassí _kastíhë_, while the ethnic name comes from
> _kërsé_
I haven't done folk-etymologies for anything.  <rueful look>  That's
neat, though.

The Qenaren and Avren (who speak Chevraqis) are somewhat though not
exceptionally musical.  The ancestor-culture of horse-nomads was rather
more so.  I'm thinking of incorporating Tuvan/Mongolian throat-singing,
though my efforts to learn how to do it have been rather amusing (and
unsuccessful).  I suspect it may be a lost art among the Avren, who have
drifted a lot from the parent culture, and a minority art among the Qenaren.

YHL