Re: A Conlang, created by the group?

 (makes Mathias happy?),
> but cleary marking our six vowels.
>
> >
> >--Pablo Flores
Matjas hapi / Hapi of Matjas / Matjas hapi-be / Matjas-BEN this-CAUS
weather-in-feeling-ABS ATT-pleasing-0 / etc. :-)
My mails suggest, tease and smile - like yours. They never ever claim for
anything. That's why I keep discussing on this list. I don't care a penny about
our own alienity:-) (just kidding. ouch ! mind my tentacle please) I know your
languages and I don't think the syntax or word-making I like would appeal to
any of you. So I wouldn't like to be in charge of that. My only wish is that
people could express themselves in that language without complying to very
difficult structures. Let me take an example (influencing all degrees of
integration : the making of words, adjectives, connectives, and main phrases) :
some of us are left- , others right-branching. That's no trifle : some will
have to strive to get a single phrase ok while others won't. Heavy inflexion
may allow to use both directions in the same language at the level of the
phrase and maybe the adjectives, but it may prove difficult to some of us to
get right all the inflexions this would require. Herman's question ab!
ou!
!
!
t genitive is an example : some would use genitive as a general linking-tag,
then others would like to be more precise : is 'John's thought' a thought about
John, of John ? etc... Think of compounding words in either way, then topple it
with a case. Some would pant : 'Ha ! and now where do I stick that darn case ?
Right in the end ? Let's see : one, two words, here it is ! I got it ! Er..
what's the right case by the way. I need remember the verb's voice at least.
Where is the verb again ? Gosh. It's in the end of the sentence. Why do I have
to put that connective in front of the main ? I've already had to do that with
the last adjective and now I'm stuck with the noun. Try again'. Some others
would go : 'Hey, I'm just starting that compound word and I already have to
stick a case in front ! Why the heck ? Let me first give you the core of my
thought, we'll tag details afterwards !'
That's how I experienced - discussing like you do with foreign friends from different
countries - that a syntax with 2 or 3 cases + adverbal pre/postpositions is
easier to learn than a whole range of abstract case affixes : examples :
go+tag or tag+go = towards/illative ; inside+tag or tag+inside = in/inessive,
past+tag : past tense ; completed+tag = perfective ; finish+tag = perfect, etc.
The tags usually are pronouns referring to the verb or the sentence to make
adverbs and adverbal connectives, or to a noun to make adjectives, connectives,
topicals. In such languages tags are often dropped : 'I know the men come' .
This is easy because it allows left- and right-branchers to get pretty right very
short phrases put together to make the whole sentence, whatever direction they
have to stick to. (I think some easy natlangs work like that precisely because
of it settled a compromise between different fusing cultures - but that's only
an illusion of mine). This is also why you can hear people say : 'spoken
Japanese is easy'; 'Indonesian is easy'; 'Khmer is easy'; 'English is easy -
but I can't get the tenses, aspects and prepositions right' (Hold on ! I'm not
implying at all that any one of these languages is the result of a mix of other
languages ;-). This is also why you can hear people say : 'Japanese are so
vague'; 'Do Indonesian know what cause and effect mean ? 'Do Khmer know more
than 100 words ?' :-)
I don't say I would like this feature in our lang : this proves a very BORING
structure to many -- anyway a very un-Alienic one :-)). I know this : no wonder
IAL fans never made one language truely like that (yes, I know Esperanto. It's
not). I'm just trying to say that funny features may be a nightmare to some
while easy features may be boring and vague to others. I'm just ok with any
design of yours whatever its complexity. I've no specific requirement (or idea)
because I know that any system has bads and goods. That's why I'd rather watch,
then comment in a positive way, if I may. That's what I do best - I'm often
told so :-)
Mathias

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