Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: Brr (was: Re: A few questions about linguistics concerning my new project)

From:ROGER MILLS <rfmilly@...>
Date:Wednesday, August 1, 2007, 20:05
Ray Brown wrote:
> >Thinks: How does one give a language that Brr factor?
Back in the 70s, my Natl.Public Radio station ran a series produced in Alaska-- folk tales of the Aleut (IIRC) people. The title ("The things that were said of them") was given in the language, as were the names of course and occasional phrases. It was all spoken very quietly and was full of [q]s and [?]s, and perhaps [x]s and [G]s. Somehow it felt "cold"*-- I imagined that the language had evolved that way so that the people wouldn't have to open their mouths very wide in the freezing cold :-)) *maybe too, because of the subject matter, or because it was broadcast during winter? They were very strange but affecting stories, and I'd love to hear it all again. Gwr should be a "cold" language, as they too live in the frozen north (odd place for simian types to evolve, but hey... Maybe they moved up there to get away from the Kash, whose early ancestors preyed on them) , but I'm not sure it is. It does have /q/ and /x/........

Replies

Eugene Oh <un.doing@...>
R A Brown <ray@...>