Re: Langauge Constets (was Natural Semantic Metalanguage)

> [mailto:CONLANG@listserv.brown.edu] On Behalf Of Lars Finsen
> I think if enough derivational morphemes are allowed, it should be
> possible to create a fully usable language from much less than 20
> words. If mathematics can be derived from just two entities,  0
and 1,
> why not a speaking language? I think the words 'here' and 'there'
are
> a good place to start,

Sasxsek doesn't have any adverbs of place (or time).  "here" and
"there" are "tu co" and "tu to"  (lit: "at this" and "at that")
unless motion is involved then a different preposition is used like
"fu co" ("toward this").

Interestingly, I have been working a lot lately on my (yet unnamed)
oligosynthetic loglang so I'm open to any ideas which will keep the
vocabulary down though I don't want to take it to an impractical
extreme like Toki Pona.

One thing I'm using to reduce vocabulary is a gradation system, so
degrees are just derivatives of a main concept.  "big" and "small"
for example are both taken from "size".

	da		= great (relative to norm)
	pi		= little (relative to norm)
	ni		= -less, without, null, void, absent
	ta		= standard unit of measure

	fon		= sound
	fonda		= loud
	fonpi		= quiet
	fonni		= silent

	li		= size, volume
	lida		= big
	lipi		= small
	lita		= liter

	me		= line, linear
	meda		= long
	mepi		= short
	meta		= meter

	hai		= height (maybe I could make "vertical
length?"
	haida		= high
	haipi		= low