Re: Naming the conlang

Aside from the name of my first ever language, all the names
I've had for my languages have just been thought up on the
spot.   More often than not, I've ended up changing the language
to accomodate the name.   For example, I thought that "Sathir"
[sA.'Tir] would be a good name for a language I was working on,
and it stuck.   About a month later, I realized that: (a) It was
impossible for a word to end in an [r] in Sathir (pretty unfornuate
since the name of the language has one right in it at the end), and
(b) all words were stressed penultimately, and I'd always pronounced
"Sathir" with the stress on the final syllable.   So my work was cut out
for me.

Same is true for "Epiq".   I liked the name because it reminded me of
Yup'ik (an Eskimo language, on which Epiq was loosely patterned),
and because it had a nice English reminiscence.   Unfortunately, the
only vowels in Epiq, at the time, were [a], [i], [u] and [@].   I ended up
changing the phonology, and it's turned out for the better.

One name I came up with, "Zhyler", I later broke down into two
morphemes, even though it started out as a simple name that
meant nothing.

So that's how I've done it.   I guess it's a little different every time.
I recommend going with a name you like, then work into the
schema of your language.   It's better than coming up with a name
you hate based on the current logic of your language (which may
change).

-David
*******************************************************************
"sunly eleSkarez ygralleryf ydZZixelje je ox2mejze."
"No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn."

-Jim Morrison

http://dedalvs.free.fr/

Replies