Re: Workin' on some stuff.

On Wed, 23 Aug 2000, Barry Garcia wrote:

> I've been messing around with my second conlang (the reason I havent
> described it, is because i wasn't ever settled on anything I liked). Then
> I thought of a system like the tri-consonantal system of Arabic and other
> semitic langs, and thought of this plan, which i'm not sure if it is
> similar to what semitic langs do or not, but I kind of like it (it's
> disgustingly regular , and very rough:)):
My conlang looks somewhat like yours but that's probably just because I'm
using the tri-consonantal system too.  :-)

Then I decided to go back to the ancestor--I hadn't known about *that*
method of language-generation when I started writing the thing--and it
screwed up all my verb conjugations.  Thanks to people on this list,
though, I ran a bunch of Aragis verbs through Mark Rosenfeld's sounds
program and managed to massage everything into two conjugation classes,
plus a bunch of interestingly weird irregularities.

BTW, is there a rule-of-thumb figure for how much of a language could be
irregular?  I want it to be naturalistic but not a total pain in the butt
to learn.  As I figure out patterns some of the "irregulars" may actually
turn out to be special cases, but there are a few too many in a run of 20
verb/nouns/adjectives for my liking.

> Basic noun: CaCaCi - zamari
> Instrument: CiCiC - zimir
> Thing that does what root specifies: iCuCiC - izumir
> Adjective: CaCuCi - zamuri
> Infinitive: aCiCaC - azimar
> reflexive infinitive - CiCuCi - zimuri
Neat.  :-)  I'm probably going to handle reflexives with a pronoun
construction.

> Tense endings:
>
> Past -am - azimaram
> pres. -ul - azimarul
> fut. -ad - azimarad
> past participle -ez - azimarez
> pres. participle -iv - azimariv
> conditional -iya - azimariya
> imperative -az -azimaraz
>
> So there we have it. Something I like, and I think is nice sounding.
I like.  :-)  OC my verb system's sort of made-up (it uses evidentiality
and a lot of aspects, and no future), but hey.  I use dynamic and static
mainly because I saw the description in the LCK and thought, Neat!

I'm afraid most of the features I use are because I see 'em and think,
Neat!  I wish I could be more methodical, but it's so fun....

Another thing that I'm finding really fun about using tri-consonantal
roots is dividing semantic space in interesting cultural ways.

basjaru (to meditate/dream) breaks down as:
basjaíru (dreamy, dreamlike) [adjective]
basra (enlightenment) [noun describing state]
basrena (dreamer or monk) [noun describing actor or profession]
besra (dream or koan) [noun describing tool]
(plus a bunch of infinitive-aspect forms I haven't bothered including)

nabaru (to guard/be located at)
nabaíru (watchful)
nabara (vigilance)
nabrana (guard)
nebara (fort)

sjabamu (to darken/be dark)
sjabaímu (dark)
sjabema (darkness)
sjabemana (night)
sjebama (sunset, though more properly I might translate it as "nightrise,"
  to parallel bajaru, to dawn/shine from sun, moon, star, natural sources)

YHL