Re: CONLANG Digest - 1 Nov 2000

Muke Tever wrote:
>
> > From:    Yoon Ha Lee <yl112@...>
> > Subject: Re: CHAT:  Keyboard (Was: YAC: or more exactly: yetanotherconlang
> >          sketch)
> >
> > <thinking>  ObConlang, I think you *could* design a typewriter for
> > Chevraqis, it'd just be a pain in the butt.
>
> Aaack, now I have to wonder what an Atlantic keyboard layout would look
> like.
In Ajuk, the keyboard would be somewhat similar to our own - you just do
away with "q", "w", "y", "x", & "c", and probably switch the places of r
& i, or something like that. For foreign compliance, though, those 5
letters would probably be off to the sides, typed by the pinky. Also, I
might even consider having an "ij" key.

<el snip grande>

> > From:    Robert Hailman <robert@...>
> > Subject: Re: CONLANG Digest - 31 Oct 2000 to 1 Nov 2000 (#2000-299)
> >
> > > In Hadwan/Atlantic I have:
> > >
> > >       /s/ - s         (Hadwan, Atlantic)
> > >       /z/ - z         (Hadwan, Atlantic)
> > >      /ts/ - c<dot>    (Hadwan)
> > >      /dz/ - z<dot>    (Hadwan)
> > >      /tS/ - c<acute>  (Atlantic)
> > >      /dZ/ - j         (Hadwan, Atlantic)
> > >       /S/ - s<acute>  (Hadwan, Atlantic)
> > >       /Z/ - z<acute>  (Atlantic)
> >
> > Ooh, I like this system. I like putting accents on consonants. :o)
>
> Yup.  I had to go through several systems to find actual accented consonants
> available in common fonts (all those letters are in Times New Roman, Arial,
> etc)--I have Unicode fonts on my computer, but not everybody has...
Do Times & Arial have z<dot>? I can't say I've noticed that.

> > > I come to think, however, that I don't like <j> for /dZ/.  (and
> "dz<acute>"
> > > is unappetizing)
> > > If I wanted a _regular_ system, it'd be z<acute>, and then /S/ and /Z/
> could
> > > be s-caron and z-caron or somesuch...  But I don't really like carons.
> > > (Suggestions?)
> >
> > No suggestions, but carons are our friends. :o)
>
> I had carons for them before.  But the shape just seemed so complex compared
> to the dot and the acute.
They are complex, I can't deny. I used them in the original draft of
Ajuk, but my handwriting turned them into breves and then to macrons -
but then again, I write lower-case "f"s as something vaugely resembling
upside-down checkmarks.

> I think I will be keeping <j> for /dZ/.  However, the concultural
> explanation will be that they couldn't find a good Romanization of /dZ/
> either and borrowed the old alphabet's /dZ/ letter (which, descended from a
> kind of zayin, looks already quite like a j...)  I already have a habit of
> not dotting the i's and j's when writing Atlantic, so it's all right.
I kand use <j> for /dZ/, I already use it for /j/, as inspired by Polish
& German.

> (Why the habit?  Probably because in the native Hadwan script the dot
> indicates the stress accent.)
I leave dot's off of "i"s and "j"s in my handwriting, it's faster that
way. That's my excuse, yours is better.
> > > > I've never come across an abcdefg... keyboard, or heard of one. I do
> > > > know of the Dvorak layout, but I've never seen a Dvorak keyboard
> > > > anywhere.
> > >
> > > I made my own (basically I dismantled my qwerty and rearranged the
> keycaps).
> >
> > How'd you get the computer to interperet the keystrokes as their new
> > vowels? I wouldn't mind dowing this, on the computer in my room.
>
> In windows, there's a setting under language under keyboard under the
> control panel.  On X, you can find a Dvorak .xmodmap if you search the web
> (you may have one already).  I don't know how to do it for the Linux command
> line, but they gave me the option when I installed the OS.  (No, I'm back on
> W95 now.)
Yes, yes, I found it. I might try that out some time.

<snip>

--
Robert