> On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 13:41:04 -0500,
> Sally Caves <scaves@...> wrote:
>
>> LUNATIC SURVEY 2005, by Sally Caves
>>
>> There are four parts (A through D) of about 22-24 questions each.
>> These surveys have aided me in my ongoing research on conlanging, but
>> they are also for YOU.
>>
>> *For the few that have requested it, I've put asterisks by the
>> questions that are new to this third installment of the "Lunatic
>> Survey," first posted in 1998, in honor of Marina Yaguello's
>> dismissive title, Fous du langage, translated by Catherine Slater as
>> "Lunatic Lovers of Language." BEAR IN MIND, though, that I've started
>> from scratch, and many of my "old" questions are recast in new ways.
>>
>> You need not answer every question; if you do, please keep most of
>> them fairly brief, although I don't want to deny you a chance to
>> effuse! I would like all the questions answered for A, 1-17, though,
>> even if you took the survey in 2003.
>>
>> Please read them over before responding, so you know what lies ahead.
>>
>> You may respond publically or privately to me at
>> scaves@frontiernet.net. I posted this publically, though, because I
>> think you all like seeing other people's responses, and it was
>> requested. However, If you respond to any of the public responses,
>> PLEASE CHANGE THE HEADER!!! Firrimby. :)
>>
>> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>>
>> 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")
name & nom de guerre: Jonathan Chang/Hanuman Zhang
conlangs: gomilego & Teripang
>> *2. Are you new to the Lunatic Survey or have you filled out a version
>> of this survey before?
I don't recall.
>> 3. Do you have a website for you language/world(s)? If so, please list
>> the URL address.
Nope.
>> 4. What is your email address? name at hostsite dot whatever.
zhang23 at gawab dot com
>> 5. What is your age? (vague answers allowed, but it is an important
>> demographic)
40
>> 6. What is your gender?
male
>> 7. What is your nationality? Where do you live now?
ethnically: Chinese-Indonesian
culturally: Sino-British (parents grew up in British Malaysia, I was born in
London, England)
citizenship: American
I live in Palo Alto, California, USA.
>> 8. What is your native language?
English.
>> 9. What natural languages foreign to you have you studied or do you speak?
I have some "reading knowledge" of Romance languages & some German, but very
little speaking ability.
Necessary politeness demands that I know basic Mandarin and Cantonese
phrases.
I have been an avid fan of pidgins and creoles since joining the conlang
list, so I have a keen liking of Bislama and Tok Pisin.
>> 10. What is your level of education? i.e., your highest degree
>> achieved or sought?
Humanities B.A.
>> 11. What is your profession? Are you a professional linguist? If so,
>> what also makes you a conlanger?
"Occupation?" "Resistance."
I am a professional linguamangler ;)
>> 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)?
Since about 2000.
>> 15. At what age did you first start inventing a language? Can you
>> briefly describe your early efforts?
About 10 years ago I tried starting making an auxlang based on
Greco-Latinate roots... ::chagrinnage::
>> 16. What drew you to start inventing a language and/or constructed
>> world? What was the inspiration?
Science fiction. There is not enough real linguistic change depicted in most
sci-fi.
>> 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)
I started a little before I found the list. In my search for science
fictional uses of languages, I first found the Auxlang list, then I
"defected" to Conlang.
>> 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?
Me? Hide anything? ::hides tricks up his sleeves::
>> 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?
Oh, most people who get to know me think I am a bit strange to begin with...
So conlanging does not really shock them.
>> *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?
Hey, if the average person on the street had any interest or ability to
conlang, a bit of conlanging's appeal for me would be gone. It's fun being
highly different... nerd, geek, whatever.
"I think, therefore I am... er, um, I think."
>> 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?
Musically-obsessed (due to my mild case of synaethesia).
I play percussion and I also make music instruments when I have the
resources. Intrigued with musical scales other than the 12-note Equal
Tempered scale, I am into microtonality/xenotonality.
>> 22. There has been a connection noted between linguistic and
>> mathematical ability. Are you mathematically inclined or inclined
>> towards computing in any way?
I am rather fond of chance, probability, chaos and complexity...
As to computing, I am limited only by economics (& I am
economically-endangered [I have an old Apple iMac, OS 9.2]).
>> 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?)
Writing poetry and science fiction. Making collages. Designing futuristic
things (and scenarios & possible worlds)...
>> 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.
art/auxlang
>> 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)?
posteriori
>> 3. Does a constructed world accompany your invention(s)? What is it
>> called?
futuristic Earth
>> 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?
n/a (Roman alphabet is used).
>> 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.
Creole SVO/analytic with agglutinative elements
>> 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 stable yet.
>> 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.
Build on the roots of other languages.
>> *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.?)
Futuristic Earth between Global Warming Floodings and a new Ice Age.
>> *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.
>> 12. What do you write in it? Poems? chants? lullabyes? prayers?
>> history? stories? recipes? Are any of these exhibited on your
>> website?
Not yet.
>> 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? :)
n/a
>> 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.
Highly phonetic use of basic Roman alphabet.
>> 16. How many of you sing in your language and have invented songs for
>> that purpose?
Not yet.
>> *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?
I can sing like a Gremlin (a la the movie _Gremlins_)
I can also do a good imitation of Disney's Stitch...
>> *18. What on-line games do you play? (or devise?) Translations,
>> Babel-text, Relays, etc.
n/a
>> 19. Which do you prefer doing: devising phonology? script? structure?
>> building vocabulary?
Vocabulary and structure. Phonology a close 2nd.
>> 20. Do you start and stop several different conlangs, or do you tend
>> to stick with one and develop it over years?
Stuck with one, but possibly two...
>> 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?
Life itself is ever incomplete...
Boredom is a virus; Avoid infection.
>> *22. Which came first: the conlang or the conworld?
Conlang and conworld are equal.
>> C. PHILOSOPHY AND AESTHETIC:
>>
>> 1. What aesthetic features do you value in inventing language? Be
>> specific as to phonology, structure, script, etc.
I try to make a naturalistic pidgin/creole-like conlang... The structure is
a simple TMA-marked SVO, the phonology is based on "linguamangling" English
and other languages' word-roots, the script is phonetic Roman...
>> 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.
::blinks eyes rapidly::
>> 3. Is difficulty or obscurity a goal in inventing a language?
Not for me.
>> 4. Is efficiency a goal in inventing a language? This question needn't
>> cancel out the previous one.
Yes, for me.
>> 5. How natural do you wish to make it, or is that a concern? Or
>> rather, how unnatural do you wish to make it?
I will be happy if my conlang(s) pass for realistic futuristic
pidgin/creoles.
>> 6. Can conlanging be sexy? sensual? obsessing? how does it heal or
>> harm you?
Obsessing. Insomnia-inducing.
"Too much of a good thing is a baaaaad thing...."
>> *7. How many of you have developed a rich vocabulary of obscenities?
LMAO. Pidgins and creoles have a reputation for being "gutter talk", you
know.
>> 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?
::rolls eyes:: Hell no ;)
>> 9. How many of you have developed a rich vocabulary of magical,
>> religious, or incantatory terms?
n/a
>> *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?
Yes. This is my absolute favourite part of vocabulary creation!
>> 11. Name a few of the words in your language(s) that you are most
>> pleased with and are the most original to you.
_gomilego_ => "garbage-language"
_pod_ => "container, room"
_frenpod_ => "computer" or "cerebration machine"
>> 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?
I play it by ear ;)
>> *13. Do you ever rely on a software program to build vocabulary? Do
>> those who don't think that's cheating? :)
I can't find any that would work with my 'puter...
>> *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?
All of the above. And I will argue that it can also be an "anti-art", too.
>> *15. If it is, who do you think are its consumers?
::burp:: Peeps like me....
>> *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?
Eh?
>> *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?
Conlangs are like mutant lab mice ;) Some can even glow in the dark!
>> *18. Why or why not would you eschew the metaphors "miniature" or
>> "model"?
Bonsai trees are "miniatures" and they are "art."
>> *19. Is a conlang more like a glimpse of something lifesize? (Irina's
>> suggestion in 2001)
Perhaps.
>> *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?
n/a
>> *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?
Ohboy... natlangs have time, socio-politics and culture to incubate them,
conlangs are much more "ephemeral" and individualistic. A very good conlang
can pass for a natlang if the conlang is thoroughly naturalistic,
"true-to-life."
>> *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?
LOTS. & I do like the idea of pushing the envelope a lil...
>> *23. Can such a language function?
Mayhaps.
>> *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?
::brain hurts::
>> D. THE LISTSERV
>>
>> 1. How did you first hear of this list?
Bumped into it head-first during a websearch.
>> 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?
Nearly continously.
>> *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 ?
Comradery. I contribute as well as I can...
>> *4. For those of you who remember its inception, how has it changed
>> over the past decade?
n/a
>> *5. How helpful has the list been in developing your language? In
>> learning linguistic information?
Verrrrry helpful and inspirational. Linguistic eduatainment at its finest,
bar none!
>> 6. What books have you consulted? On your own, or because you heard of
>> them on the list?
Too many books to mention.
>> *7. Do you peruse the websites of other conlangers?
I try to.
>> *8. Do you sense that people on this list are interested in your
>> conlang and give you feedback on it?
Yes, some do indeed.
>> 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?
Yes.
>> *10. Do you peruse Jeffrey Henning's Langmaker.com site?
Often.
>> *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?
Not yet.
>> 12. Have you ever tried to introduce a friend to the list?
Yes. I think he is lurking right now...
>> 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?
n/a
>> *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 dunno...
>> *16. What Internet technology would you most like to see developed
>> that would aid you in showcasing your language(s)?
Dunno yet...
>> *17. What lists like conlang exist in other cultures and languages
>> that you know of?
n/a
>> *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?
Yes.
>> *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?
Creating a conlang helps me learn natlangs.
>> *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.
>> *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?
Closing in on it at the very minimal least.
>> *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?
Of course over-exposure makes any thing "banal", but the dross will always
be eventually weeded out by the discerning.
>> 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. Hanuman Zhang.