> LUNATIC SURVEY 2005, by Sally Caves
[snip]
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> 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")
Ray Brown.
Many invented languages of my teens (1950s) - most forgotten - I know one
was called Ejl and was an auxlang with a slight Tamil influence! One I
discovered a few notes on dates from 1953 and was called Voldapeko
(obviously an auxlang). There was also at least one artlang, heavily
influenced by Hungarian & Turkish, spoken on Venus - I do not recall its
name.
From late teens till the present, occupied with the Briefscript Project
which seems to be coming together in a conlang called Bax.
(No pseudonyms in any of the above)
> *2. Are you new to the Lunatic Survey or have you filled out a version of
> this survey before?
Almost certainly done one before
> 3. Do you have a website for you language/world(s)? If so, please list
> the URL address.
http://home.freeuk.com/Briefscript/Briefscript.html
> 4. What is your email address? name at hostsite dot whatever.
ray.brown@freeuk.com
> 5. What is your age? (vague answers allowed, but it is an important
> demographic)
66
> 6. What is your gender?
Male
> 7. What is your nationality? Where do you live now?
British - in Surrey, England.
> 8. What is your native language?
English.
> 9. What natural languages foreign to you have you studied or do you speak?
Speak - French, sort of - a bit of Welsh. Can read Latin & French fluently,
and other Romance langs & ancient Greek fairly readily, and many other
languages with effort.
How many languages have I studied? Truly, I do not know - as many as I
have been able to in the past 60 odd years - and still looking for more :
)
> 10. What is your level of education? i.e., your highest degree achieved
> or sought?
I have two masters degrees: M.Litt as the result of researching pre-Greek
languages of Crete; MSC in Computer Science
> 11. What is your profession? Are you a professional linguist? If so, what
> also makes you a conlanger?
Retired - was schoolteacher for 27 years & a college lecturer for 14 years.
Not a professional linguist.
Avid interest in language since a youngster + creative urge.
> 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)?
Briefscript project began in my late teens - so on and off over 50 years
(help!)
> 15. At what age did you first start inventing a language? Can you briefly
> describe your early efforts?
9 or 10 - as the result of becoming interested in the origins of English &
discovering a couple of French text books and being fascinated by the
grammar! Basically a sort of amalgam of French grammar (including
subjunctives) with Old English based lexicon.
> 16. What drew you to start inventing a language and/or constructed world?
> What was the inspiration?
See answer to 14 + inventiveness.
> 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)
Way before the list. Several years before I had heard of Tolkien - a year
or two before I discovered Esperanto which then swung my efforts in the
auxlang direction.
> 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?
I don't speak about it over-much - but it's there on the Internet :)
> 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?
I haven't.
> *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?
Neither nerdy nor sophisticated - but then, it is not my life; I have
other interests.
> 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?
I like music of the classical variety - made a few attempts to compose
when I was a teenager, but never since - regret very much not having
learnt to play - told by others that I can't sing :=(
> 22. There has been a connection noted between linguistic and mathematical
> ability. Are you mathematically inclined or inclined towards computing in
> any way?
Yes, to both.
> 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?)
Cooking.
Like reading poetry.
Revamped 1 website, and designed 3 others - maintain 2.5 of of the latter
(my wife does the other 0.5 :)
> 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.
engelang
> 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-posteriori
> 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 - am using the Roman alphabet.
> 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.
If only I knew all these answers! Probably SVO (possibly SOV) - analytic
(probably), accusative (definitely).
Keep looking at the website!
> 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?
Phonology kind of sorted out and am working on the morphology. Alas, keep
putting off the vocabulary - daunting and the thing I find least
interesting.
> 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.
Neither, so far. But words will not be pulled out of the air.
> 3. Does a constructed world accompany your invention(s)? What is it
> called?
No.
> *9. Has your language and conworld ever served in a role-playing game or
> a world shared by other conlangers?
N/A
> *10. Briefly describe your conculture (is it within the bounds of this
> world? on another world, etc.?)
N/A
> *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?
N/A
> 12. What do you write in it? Poems? chants? lullabyes? prayers? history?
> stories? recipes? Are any of these exhibited on your website?
Nothing 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? :)
Alas, it is far frm being in a speakable form yet - but I expect to be
able to speak it.
> 14. Have you made any soundbytes of your language? Could you provide me
> at a later date with a sample of them?
N/A
> *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.
No unconventional letters or combinations - but some unconventional use of
existing letters.
> 16. How many of you sing in your language and have invented songs for
> that purpose?
Not me.
> *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?
Have done neither to my knowledge.
> *18. What on-line games do you play? (or devise?) Translations,
> Babel-text, Relays, etc.
None.
> 19. Which do you prefer doing: devising phonology? script? structure?
> building vocabulary?
Most definitely devising phonology. Devising scripts & structure are also
interesting - but building vocabulary is tedious.
> 20. Do you start and stop several different conlangs, or do you tend to
> stick with one and develop it over years?
Have stuck with the same project for a long time. If I started & stopped
several, I'd get even less done.
> 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 properly described phonology & grammar and enough vocabulary for
everyday use - I don't get tired of my conlang.
> *22. Which came first: the conlang or the conworld?
N/A
> C. PHILOSOPHY AND AESTHETIC:
>
> 1. What aesthetic features do you value in inventing language? Be
> specific as to phonology, structure, script, etc.
I want these features to be pleasing to me - but I do not put a high value
on aesthetics.
> 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.
I haven't - I actually like Quenya
> 3. Is difficulty or obscurity a goal in inventing a language?
Most definitely not.
> 4. Is efficiency a goal in inventing a language? This question needn’t
> cancel out the previous one.
Yes.
> 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 do not want it to be unnatural.
> 6. Can conlanging be sexy? sensual? obsessing? how does it heal or harm y
> ou?
Frankly I do not understand how conlanging can be sexy or sensual. It
could become obsessive - but I do not let it. I am not aware of it either
healing or harming me.
> *7. How many of you have developed a rich vocabulary of obscenities?
I haven't.
> 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?
I guess it could be mystical - but it is neither mystical nor spiritual
for me, and certainly not magical.
> 9. How many of you have developed a rich vocabulary of magical, religious,
> or incantatory terms?
No.
> *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 relevant in the Briefscript Project.
> 11. Name a few of the words in your language(s) that you are most pleased
> with and are the most original to you.
Regrettably, I cannot
> 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?
Not a thing I would spend much time on.
> *13. Do you ever rely on a software program to build vocabulary? Do those
> who don’t think that’s cheating? :)
I think it is quite sensible - I may do it myself :)
> *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?
In my case, a hobby which involves craft.
> *15. If it is, who do you think are its consumers?
Depends on the language - cf. Esperanto, Klingon & the Tolklangs.
> *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?
See answers to 15 & 15 above.
> *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?
Modelling
> *18. Why or why not would you eschew the metaphors "miniature" or "model"
> ?
I would not eschew them. A conlang is obviously rather smaller than a
natlang, and their creators seem to me to craft them or model them.
> *19. Is a conlang more like a glimpse of something lifesize? (Irina’s
> suggestion in 2001)
Depends on the language - something like Quenya or Tepa could well be -
obviously Bax will not be.
> *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?
I haven't - tho when (if?) Bax is finished, I may well be tempted to
experiment more.
> *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?
I do not see any reason why languasges like Quenya, Sindarin or Tepa could
not be taken as natlangs. But no one would take Lin or Fith as a natlang.
> *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?
Answer to the first question: as much as possible. Answer to second
question: No.
> *23. Can such a language function?
Who knows?
> *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?
Personally, I don't think it matters.
> D. THE LISTSERV
>
> 1. How did you first hear of this list?
Forgotten - probably just searching several years ago.
> 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?
12/ 13 years?
> *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 ?
Interesting seeing other people's ideas - occasionally get interesting
feedback. I find lurking almost impossible - probably contribute too much.
> *4. For those of you who remember its inception, how has it changed over
> the past decade?
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
> *5. How helpful has the list been in developing your language? In
> learning linguistic information?
Very much so.
> 6. What books have you consulted? On your own, or because you heard of
> them on the list?
Books - too numerous to list - mainly of my own, tho some because of the
list
> *7. Do you peruse the websites of other conlangers?
Yes.
> *8. Do you sense that people on this list are interested in your conlang
> and give you feedback on it?
I sense that artlangs are likely to cause more interest than an engelang -
so I don't sense that mine provokes 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?
Very occasionally.
> *10. Do you peruse Jeffrey Henning’s Langmaker.com site?
Very occasionally
> *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?
I don't
> 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 see this remaining the main, general conlang list. John's limit on mails
per day seems to have worked well & I find the volume of traffic now
manageable.
> *16. What Internet technology would you most like to see developed that
> would aid you in showcasing your language(s)?
I don't know.
> *17. What lists like conlang exist in other cultures and languages that
> you know of?
I know they exist in Italian & Spanish.
> *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?
Fine for me.
> *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?
What's wrong with doing both?
> *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?
Almost.
> *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?
IMHO not a fad. It's exciting because it's creative & intellectually
challenging. I suspect there will always be conlangers. Why not?
> 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 have my permission - you may quote whatever of my names you wish.
>
> Thanks!
You're welcome.
Ray
===============================================
http://home.freeuk.com/ray.brown
ray.brown@freeuk.com
===============================================
Anything is possible in the fabulous Celtic twilight,
which is not so much a twilight of the gods
as of the reason." [JRRT, "English and Welsh" ]