Re: Con-prescriptivism
From: | Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...> |
Date: | Sunday, March 28, 1999, 19:08 |
FFlores wrote:
> In the kingdom there are several dialects, and the only
> one considered "proper" is the central dialect, _rithelde'q_
There were MANY dialects of Watya'i'sa, each village having its own
dialect. In addition, there's the unresearched Males' Language.
> while Edhmaquart goes
>
> _bramar, bramres_ (syncopes the middle -a-)
You might want to consider an epinthetic -b- here, especially if your
"r" is a tap. This is similar to the evolution of the Spanish future
forms tendre', pondre', etc. (tenere' --> tenre' --> tendre')
> However, Edhmaquart is more respected because it's the
> commonly used dialect of the noble houses of the north.
> While the southern dialects are different = gross, the
> northern dialect is different = exquisitely excentric.
At the time when the dialect I'm "researching" was spoken (over 2000
years Before Landing, probably late in the BC period), no one dialect
had any widespread prestige. Several dialects had local prestige,
because that village was larger and/or more powerful/rich than its
neighbors, but no wide spread prestige, that is, someone in the East
wouldn't have any opinion about which dialect in the West was better.
However, after the Prophetess, tiNakasu'ni'sa' brought the Faith to the
Faithful Ones, her dialect became prestigious. The Faith now uses her
dialect, in much the same way that the Catholic Church still uses
Latin. Altho W. itself is dead (altho it left a number of descendants),
it is still used for religious purposes, and its use is regulated by the
Most High Priestess's Council for the Language, they especially make
rulings on what to call new devices or concepts, usually coining words
within their language.
--
"It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father
was hanged." - Irish proverb
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