Re: Presentation on Language Creation

 --- "Douglas Koller, Latin & French"
<latinfrench@...> wrote: > David writes
<shameless snip>
>
> The "waste of time" argument irks me. I lump it
> together with the
> "study music so you'll be better at math and
> science" ads that have
> been running recently in the US. Like, what's wrong
> with learning
> music 'cause music, an sich, is cool? Creativity is
> creativity; where
> it stops, nobody knows.
>
but i don't think there's any harm in getting more
people on board ( i've been doing music since i was 4,
and i don't think i was too concerned at that time
about maths ( which was probably counting bananas ) or
science ( playing with sand and water ), but it
_might_ work as a ploy. all the same, it might put
lots of people off . . . ' eeeurgh, i don't want to do
maths, i just want to play my guitar ' )

<even more shameless snip>

> "Is there
> a real/imagined parallel between coming out as a
> conlanger and coming
> out as a homosexual?"
hmmm. interesting that one. i'ld say telling a new
acquaintance i was gay was pretty straightforward (
most of the time ), whilst explaining that i liked
playing around with language structures would probably
get me funny looks

relatedly, the most successful anti-chat-up line i've
ever used was in reply to 'what do you do ?' ; 'study
philosophy' elicited 'oh, that's nice. well, see you
then.'

if philosophy's such a turnoff, i can see why
conlanging might be seen as one ( tho i imagine
philosophers are much more annoying in arguments than
conlangers. actually, from what i've seen on various
email groups, gay people are more annoying than both,
but i don't think that's what potentially puts people
off )

i suppose it boils down to the 'ick' factor ( because
of course gay people have nasty dirty sex whilst
straight people have lovely lavendar-smelling happy
sex ) against the 'urgh' factor  ( because someone who
likes playing with languages must be socially
incompetent and unable to express themself normally .
. . that's why they have to make up their own
languages surely )

anyway, i'm freewheeling . . . probably the
aftereffects of the hangover/food poisoning which laid
me out yesterday

bn

=====
bnathyuw | landan | arR
stamp the sunshine out | angelfish
your tears came like anaesthesia | phèdre

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