Re: Reactions to the secret vice (was: Steg's wonderful sig.)

Irina Rempt-Drijfhout wrote:

> I've never felt comfortable with the concept of "miniature" as
> applied to conlangs (or concultures either) because, for me, it
> implies a replica of something that already exists, rather than a
> completely new thing. That the thing isn't finished, and will never
> be finished enough for common use, and isn't even intended for that,
> doesn't make a difference: Valdyas, and the Valdyan language, *are*
> things in themselves, and I'm not consciously imitating anything.
But miniatures are ALSO "things in themselves," Irina.  The term only
means "small."  That is, with respect to the real thing it models itself
after.  Some miniatures are huge, and some conlangs are very impressive!

Are you uncomfortable as well with the term "model-language"?  You see,
I can make miniatures of things that don't exist, so the term doesn't
bother me.  My friends and I used to go out in the empty lot and build
tiny houses out of sticks and cardboard and dried grass and little
stones.
We weren't imitating any specific house; it wasn't like making a
miniature,
say, of the White House (someone's already done that!).  So I feel quite
comfortable invoking the terms model or miniature when I'm explaining
what
we do to a stranger.  Remember that this man's first reaction was "how
arrogant."  I think what he meant was: how can any one person create a
language that is as complex as or has the history or circulation of a
real
language.  Teonaht will never do that, and I don't really think Valdyan
will either, no matter how long either you or I live to work at it.
Teonaht
doesn't imitate anything, but it is a miniature language.  But then,
I like miniatures.  In fact, I'm obsessed with them.  And I like models,
and am intellectually drawn to the contemplation of them.

Were I to make a "model" human being, no matter how much I labored at
the process, even if I had the skills of de L'Isle-Adam's Edison in
L'Eve future, it would always only be an android.   So is Teonaht
an android?  what a fascinating question.  Real languages are spoken
and that's what gives them life.  Is Teonaht a beautiful statue?
Probably.
That makes it unique in and of itself.  But never once do I allow myself
to think that this is a REAL language, that changes and grows and dies
because of the human lives inside it.  I have dreams that it may be,
but then it would cease to be my creation.  But it *is* a real thing,
and has a unique life of its own that may be valuable only to me, in
the long run.  Sigh.

Sally

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SALLY CAVES
scaves@frontiernet.net
http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves (bragpage)
http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/teonaht.html (T. homepage)
http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/contents.html (all else)
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Niffodyr tweluenrem lis teuim an.
"The gods have retractible claws."
                                from _The Gospel of Bastet_
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