FUN! (Note that I have not seen anyone else’s responses to these questions yet,
for whatever research purpose that may serve.)
>>>> Sally Caves<scaves@...> 02/24/05 12:41 PM >>>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>A. PROFESSION, DEMOGRAPHICS, INCLINATION:
>
>1. Who are you, and what is the name of your invented language or languages?
>Pseudonyms allowed. (Are you using
>one? asked "Sally Caves")
James Worlton. Orelynna and emíndahken
>*2. Are you new to the Lunatic Survey or have you filled out a version of this survey before?
New to the survey
>3. Do you have a website for you language/world(s)? If so, please list the URL address.
Not yet.
>4. What is your email address? name at hostsite dot whatever.
emindahken at fastmail dot fm
>5. What is your age? (vague answers allowed, but it is an important demographic)
33
>6. What is your gender?
Male
>7. What is your nationality? Where do you live now?
Texas :)
>8. What is your native language?
English (NOT Texan)
>9. What natural languages foreign to you have you studied or do you speak?
Speak: Spanish; Have studied: German, French, Russian
>10. What is your level of education? i.e., your highest degree achieved or sought?
Doctorate Degree in Music (Composition)
>11. What is your profession? Are you a professional linguist? If so, what also
>makes you a conlanger?
Hmm. Staff at a University Library. Composer by commission.
>13. If you are a student, what is your major or your area of study?
N/A
>14. How long have you been developing your invented language(s)?
Orelynna started in 2003; emíndahken (started as Mindakh) began in 2000 I
think, its most recent incarnation began in 2004.
>15. At what age did you first start inventing a language? Can you briefly
>describe your early efforts?
Um. probably 29. I can’t recall doing anything similar as a child, although
I had thought about it.
>16. What drew you to start inventing a language and/or constructed world? What
>was the inspiration?
Esperanto. Started to learn, then thought it would be more fun to make my own
than to learn another.
>17. Did you start inventing before you had heard of the list or after? Before
>you had heard of Esperanto or Tolkien? (I
>name the two most common inspirations)
Before List; After Esperanto/Tolkien
>18. Tolkien calls it a "shy art" and a "secret vice"; but that was before the
>Internet. How secret do you keep it from
>others outside this list for much the same reasons?
My wife and sons know. No one else does.
>19. Yaguello has called it "pathological," influenced, unfortunately, by a lot
>of psychiatric writings such as _Le Schizo et la
>langue_. To what extent have you encountered such reactions by outsiders you had
>taken into your confidence?
None.
>*20. Do you consider it nerdy to be doing this? This is a term that gets tossed
>around a lot. Or actually sophisticated? Do
>you need to get a life, or is this your life? What is a life?
Hahaa. Not nerdy (thats for computer geeks :)) ). Sophisticated, I like that.
I definitely need to get a life. Life is what you live :) What is ‘to live’
?
>21. There has been a connection noted between linguistic and musical ability.
>Are you musically inclined? Do you sing
>and/or play a musical instrument? Do you compose music?
See #s 10 & 11 (I have been known to play piano, organ, bass guitar, violin
(very minimally), recorder, French Horn...)
>22. There has been a connection noted between linguistic and mathematical
>ability. Are you mathematically inclined or
>inclined towards computing in any way?
Yes, passed AP Calculus in High Scool. Hated it, but could do it. I use
mathematical models frequently in my compositions.
>23. What other passions do you pursue that give you creative pleasure?
>(painting, drawing, sculpting, calligraphy, model-
>building, novel or story-writing, role-playing games, map-making, book-making, poetry,
>web-designing, star-gazing or
>other?)
Stargazing/Astronomy, Conworlding (minimally at the moment)
>B. FEATURES OF YOUR INVENTION
>
>1. Pick the best term for the invented language you are currently invested in:
>auxlang, artlang, engelang, loglang,
>lostlang, philosophical language, or "other." etc.
artlang, I guess
>2. Is your conlang a priori (devised from scratch) or a posteriori (based on an
>existing natural language or drawing from
>a language class such as Semitic)?
a priori
>4. Do you have a script for your conlang? What is it called? Could you provide
>me at a later date with a sample of it? Is it
>on Langmaker's "neography" site?
not yet. Will at some point.
>5. Briefly describe the outlines of your invented language (syntactical
>structure--VO, OV, etc.; class or type--analytic,
>synthetic, agglutinating, incorporative, accusative, ergative, active, trigger, other,
>combinations, etc.), noting what you
>have done with it that is innovative in your opinion.
Basically SOV, but more accurately: S is the higher of the two noun phrases in
the animacy scale. If the Patient (O) is higher, then that is marked on the
verb, and it (Patient) comes first in the utterance. For me this is innovative,
but some Native American languages do something like this. Synthetic language,
lots of affixes, very productive.
>7. How extensive would you say your invented language is, now? How big the
>vocabulary? Do you provide a vocabulary
>list or taxonomy on your website if you have one?
Not very extensive. Have a total of 103 words/roots/derivations. Have a list
of 17,055 potential roots/words.
>8. How do you build vocabulary? Some people pull words out of the air; others
>build up a base of root words and affixes.
>Many do both.
Both. I look at roots and see what concept would fit, or I need a word/root
for a concept, and look through the roots to find one that works aesthetically.
>3. Does a constructed world accompany your invention(s)? What is it called?
Yes for emíndahken. I don’t have a name for the world yet.
>*9. Has your language and conworld ever served in a role-playing game or a world
>shared by other conlangers?
Nope.
>*10. Briefly describe your conculture (is it within the bounds of this world? on
>another world, etc.?)
On a different world. People are called níímindah (people of the mountain).
There are other societies on the world that I have not discovered yet. They
have a reverence for all life, and feel very connected to the planet, thus
their very complex animacy hierarchy. They are isolated, and have lost a lot of
knowledge about their world outside of their mountain society.
>*11. Are the beings who speak your invented language human or alien? If alien,
>what features have you given the
>language to make it alien or how have you restricted or expanded its phonology? vocabulary?
Human, but native to their planet.
>12. What do you write in it? Poems? chants? lullabyes? prayers? history?
>stories? recipes? Are any of these exhibited on
>your website?
Not much, yet. Will have chants, idioms, and oral histories.
>13. Can you speak your conlang? Are you fluent in it? Is this a goal for you?
>Have you tried to teach it to an intimate? a
>companion animal? :)
Ha! No. Can barely pronounce it. Will work on fluency a bit.
>14. Have you made any soundbytes of your language? Could you provide me at a
>later date with a sample of them?
Not yet.
>*15. If you use Roman script, how recognizably "phonetic" is your writing system?
>In other words, do you use
>unconventional letters or letter combinations to represent sounds? Why or why not? I'm
>thinking, of course, of
>Etabnannery, for those who remember it.
Fairly phonetic.
>16. How many of you sing in your language and have invented songs for that purpose?
Started to write a song (5 part men’s chorus) in Orelynna, whose purpose was
to be a language for singing.
>*17. How many of you, for entertainment or any other reason, resort to gibberish?
>(This is in response to Adrian
>Morgan's question in December). Does it give you ideas for conlanging? (Have you ever
>fooled anyone?) How many of
>you have sung gibberish?
No.
>*18. What on-line games do you play? (or devise?) Translations, Babel-text, Relays, etc.
Did one relay. I’m not much of a gamer. (No time!)
>19. Which do you prefer doing: devising phonology? script? structure? building vocabulary?
Structure/grammar, phonology.
>20. Do you start and stop several different conlangs, or do you tend to stick
>with one and develop it over years?
Probably the latter.
>21. What do you think makes a "complete" conlang, if a conlang can attain
>completion? What are your goals for
>completion? When do you grow "tired" of your conlang, or don't you?
A grammar that can handle any type of expression. Vocabulary is easy to fill
in, once the grammar is in place.
>*22. Which came first: the conlang or the conworld?
Conworld (for emíndahken).
>C. PHILOSOPHY AND AESTHETIC:
>
>1. What aesthetic features do you value in inventing language? Be specific as
>to phonology, structure, script, etc.
Differs by project. I like consistency, but not necessarily regularity. So
there wouldn’t be any words that aren’t allowed by phonological
constraints. In other words, naturalism.
>2. What commonly applied aesthetics have you ever tried to avoid in your
>invention? This has been an oft debated
>question, especially when it comes to Tolkien.
None, that I know of.
>3. Is difficulty or obscurity a goal in inventing a language?
:) it is for emíndahken. But not to the extent of Maggel.
>4. Is efficiency a goal in inventing a language? This question needn't cancel
>out the previous one.
For me it is.
>5. How natural do you wish to make it, or is that a concern? Or rather, how
>unnatural do you wish to make it?
As naturalistic as I can.
>6. Can conlanging be sexy? sensual? obsessing? how does it heal or harm you?
Obsessing maybe.
>*7. How many of you have developed a rich vocabulary of obscenities?
No.
>8. Can it be mystical? To what extent does conlanging fulfill a spiritual
>purpose for you? Or a magical one? Did it ever
>start out that way?
Not really.
>9. How many of you have developed a rich vocabulary of magical, religious, or incantatory terms?
emindahken will have a lot of that. The people are very spiritual/ritual oriented.
>*10. How many of you have striven to invent words that express novel ideas, or
>are not expressed in any natural
>language that you know?
Not really.
>11. Name a few of the words in your language(s) that you are most pleased with
>and are the most original to you.
From emíndahken and the root meaning ‘circle’ [-KaL-]:
[’eKaL] - the point of view that all of creation is linked—part of one whole
[Je:KaL] - true essence of existence (‘divine/sacred circle’)
From Orelynna and the root meaning ‘gift’ [dal-]
dalanna - divine, or spiritual gift; a talent
>12. How do you sense that a word is "right" for its meaning? How much do you
>labor at fitting a sound to its sense? Or
>don't you care?
It just ‘clicks.’ Actually, I try NOT to think about it too much. If it
feels right, then it works, if not then I keep looking.
>*13. Do you ever rely on a software program to build vocabulary? Do those who
>don't think that's cheating? :)
Yes.
>*14. Is conlang a hobby, a craft, or an art in your mind? This has been hotly
>debated, so the question is not as weird as
>it seems. Can conlanging be considered an art? Why or why not?
Hobby. It can be considered an art as well, because it involves, to some
extent, the pushing of boundaries in a creation. Yikes, don’t ask me do
define art.
>*15. If it is, who do you think are its consumers?
The creators mainly, also the community of conlangers.
>*16. This question is directed as well at any auxlangers on the list. Is it an
>art, a political tool, both? And who do you
>think could be its consumers?
>
>*17. There has been some exciting talk recently (and over the years) about what a
>conlang is or is not. If you could pick
>a metaphor or write a descriptive phrase defining "conlang," what would that be?
Hmmm. ‘An outlet for control freaks’, perhaps. :)
>*18. Why or why not would you eschew the metaphors "miniature" or "model"?
I would not, because they both fit my view of what a conlang is. It is not a
‘living’ language (with a few exceptions). Therefore it is a ‘model.’
That does not mean that it doesn’t function as a language, however. Since it
is not ‘living’ it can’t be ‘complete’ in the sense that a natlang
can, so it is ‘miniature’ (on various scales, of course).
>*19. Is a conlang more like a glimpse of something lifesize? (Irina's suggestion in 2001)
I like this description.
>*20. There has been some invigorating discussion lately about what a conlang can
>do that most natural languages don't
>(such as produce OSV structure, or eradicate verbs) What experiments have you made
>with your artlang(s) along these
>lines?
None really.
>*21 What do you think distinguishes a conlang from a natural language, if you
>think so at all? What would it take for a
>linguist to be fooled into thinking a conlang was a natural language?
>
>*22. How much do you study other languages in order to discover what is natural
>in language? Or to discover how you
>can stretch the boundaries of language to make it do things that are unnatural?
To some extent. I have looked at a lot of Native American languages for
inspriation for emíndahken.
>*23. Can such a language function?
Why not? If it can express any concept, it should be considered fully functional.
>*24. There has been quite a bit of fascinating debate about the relevance of
>conlanging to linguistic study. We all know
>that linguistics can aid conlangers, but in what ways can conlangers aid
>linguists? Or does it matter?
I don’t think it matters. If they want to be inspired by us, then great. If
not, by bubble won’t burst.
>D. THE LISTSERV
>
>1. How did you first hear of this list?
Internet search.
>2. How long have you been on this listserv or on other related listservs?
>Continuously? Infrequently? Off and on? More off
>than on and vice versa?
I joined in May or June of 2003. Been on and mostly lurking ever since.
>*3. What is the appeal of being on a listserv and contributing to it? Do you
>think you contribute moderately or excessively,
>or not enough? Do you tend to lurk ?
I like to get ideas from other people who are doing the same thing
(conlanging). Plus, it’s a good place to ask questions. I don’t contribute
much, see answer to #3.
>*4. For those of you who remember its inception, how has it changed over the past decade?
>
>*5. How helpful has the list been in developing your language? In learning linguistic information?
On a scale of 1-10, probably an 8. Without the list, conlanging would be like
my many other interests, and not be actively pursued.
>6. What books have you consulted? On your own, or because you heard of them on the list?
Describing Morphosyntax (heard on the list); Atlas of Languages (on my own);
An Introduction to linguistics textbook that my wife has (on my own); lots of
articles about Native American languages (on my own).
>*7. Do you peruse the websites of other conlangers?
Occasionally.
>*8. Do you sense that people on this list are interested in your conlang and
>give you feedback on it?
I haven’t supplied much info about mine, and what I have didn’t seem to
generate much interest.
>9. Have you ever set out to learn at least a little bit of someone's conlang,
>if only a word or two, or a phrase?
Not really.
>*10. Do you peruse Jeffrey Henning's Langmaker.com site?
Infrequently.
>*11. What on-line techniques do you use to showcase your conlang, such as
>Audacity or other sound programs,
>Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Fontography, and so forth? Did you hear of them on the list?
None yet.
>12. Have you ever tried to introduce a friend to the list?
No.
>13. Do you know of anyone who does this kind of thing but who has never heard of the list?
No.
>*14. What other lists do you frequent related to conlanging?
None.
>*15. What do you think will be the future of the list? I see it giving birth to
>alternate lists like Conworld, Lostlanguages,
>Romlang, etc. What improves the present list and its helpfulness or entertainment value?
I think the fact that we are all ‘mature’ enough (even those in their
teens) about our hobby/art keeps this list from degenerating into frequent
flamewars and hormonal outbursts.
>*16. What Internet technology would you most like to see developed that would aid
>you in showcasing your language(s)?
I just need to use the tools out there already...
>*17. What lists like conlang exist in other cultures and languages that you know of?
Don’t know of any.
>*18. There has been some terrific talk about CONLANG as a community. And yet so
>many of us seem to want the world
>to know of it and respect it. Is the CONLANG community enough?
For me it is.
>*19. In my 2000 on-line article
>(
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0003/languages.php) I suggested that the
>Internet
>"may provide a site that, with the impetus of competition and showmanship,
>encourages inutile and obsessive activity"; I
>was quoting Jeff Salamon's article "Revenge of the Fanboys." Village Voice 13
>Sep., 1994. He wrote that over ten years
>ago. Do outsiders still entertain such notions, do you think, about listservs
>like this one? Do you? To what extent has the
>list increased obsessive development in you? Would you be inventing as furiously
>as you are without the list or knowledge
>of other inventors?
>20. If asked whether it is not better to turn your linguistic talents to the
>learning and speaking of natural languages (a
>common response I've met with and aimed at criticizing introversion or solipsism),
>how would you answer?
‘Probably.’
>*21. In Elizabethan times there were the inkhorn neologisms. There were ciphers
>and pasigraphies. Today there is
>conlanging. Do you think the contemporary world is more open to language innovation or
>more closed?
More open, and largely due to auxlangs and Tolkien.
>*22. What would Tolkien have done with such a community? He writes in "A Secret
>Vice" that language inventors "hardly
>ever show their works to one another, so none of them know who are the geniuses
>at the game, or who are the splendid
>'primitives'." He suggests that perhaps in a later time language invention will become
>respectable, and such things can be
>exhibited. Have we reached that time?
I think so. I doubt he would want to be the Listmaster, though.
>*23. Is there a danger that over-exposure can make conlanging "banal"? To what
>extent is it exciting because it is a)
>considered disreputable, "corny" or "mad," or b) largely unknown to the world? Does it
>have a fizzle-out date? In other
>words, is it just a fad, or is it a natural human inclination that will stand the test of time?
Over-exposure of anything is dangerous. Think of popular music (flame me
off-list). To me the ‘obscurity’ of it adds to the excitement, but I would
probably do it anyway, even if it were more commonplace. I doubt it will ever
fizzle out until the end of the world, and maybe not even then...
>Finally, may I have your permission to use any of this material of yours for my
>academic work on conlanging? First
>name? last name? pseudonym? anonymous?
Yes you may. Full name, if needed.
>
>
>Thanks!
>
>Sally Caves scaves@frontiernet.net