Re: NPR interview

Irina:
> Matt Pearson wrote:
>
> >I (and the people in the NPR piece) meant "model" figuratively--a
> >clever simulacrum, intricately detailed, which resembles the real
> >thing in many important ways but is not (or cannot) be used the
> >way the real thing is.
>
> Well, yes, that's the point I take issue with; I can't speak for
> anyone but myself, but I resent Valdyan being called "a clever
> simulacrum" - that makes it less real. I know it's only in my mind,
> but in my mind it has real existence; I can't, for instance,
> arbitrarily change it to accommodate new linguistic insights or neat
> things I've seen, the way some people like to do with their
> languages. That's not what it's *for*. The fact that I can't fully
> represent every bit of it is only the inadequacy of the person, not
> of the language; I'm still exploring, and it's larger than I know.
How about this as an analogy:
Conlanging is like inventing an extremely elaborate and fascinating
game that nobody will ever play.

--And.

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