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Re: Láadan

From:Peter Clark <peter-clark@...>
Date:Thursday, November 28, 2002, 14:11
        I'm combining posts to conserve thread spread.

On Thursday 28 November 2002 02:14 am, taliesin the storyteller wrote:
> Words for the default, unnoticeable level of heat/cold, humidity/dryness > etc. are mostly missing, at least from the languages I know of, which is > not many I'll admit but still. > > Words are certainly needed for the temperature perfect to humans, not so > hot that you sweat, not so cold that you freeze or need to put on more > clothes, that then make you sweat...
It's not one word, but two will still do: "Room temperature." Generally understoood here to be approximately 72 F, or 22 C. Note that it cannot (in my idiolect, at least) be used to refer to other temperatures: *It's hot in here, the room temperature must be 50 C!" So even though you may be in a very hot or cold room, room temperature only refers to a comfortable temperature level. On Thursday 28 November 2002 01:33 am, Nik Taylor wrote:
> A word for "something that makes one feel hungry" (I use "hungrifying") > Ditto for thirsty ("thirstifying")
That would be interesting, even though I think "That makes me hungry/thirsty" sufficiently conveys the thought without too much effort.
> A midrange temperature, such that one does not feel particularly warm or > cool.
See "room temperature."
> Pleasantly cloudy
What is wrong with expressing the concept in two words? It's just a little longer, but still can be expressed in a succinct fashion.
> Distinctions between blood and marital relations for things like "uncle" > and "aunt" (or, conversely, collapsing the distinction between, e.g., > "brother" and "brother-in-law", either way, making it consistent) > Non-gendered term for "uncle or aunt"
Agreed. A couple of months ago I asked about a word to refer to "niece/nephew"--the winner was "sibchild." On that basis, might "aunt/uncle" be "sibsib"? :)
> "Truthe" (Tell the truth, analogous to the verb "lie")
Good one! On Thursday 28 November 2002 04:05 am, Muke Tever wrote:
> A neutral and/or a positive word for "smell" that isn't too high-flung > (closest general-purpose one I can think of is "aroma" which is really too > much). > > A word for the smell of food (like "nidor"...)
Agreed--positive smell words are generally lacking. Although I use "aroma" for nice smelling food. Here's what M-W says: "SMELL implies solely the sensation without suggestion of quality or character <an odd smell permeated the room>. SCENT applies to the characteristic smell given off by a substance, an animal, or a plant <the scent of lilacs>. ODOR may imply a stronger or more readily distinguished scent or it may be equivalent to SMELL <a cheese with a strong odor>. AROMA suggests a somewhat penetrating usually pleasant odor <the aroma of freshly ground coffee>." For me, "smell" is slightly negative ("You smell nice," is not a compliment from anyone but a small child) but in some instances (usually cooking) it can be used positively ("That smells wonderful, what is it?"), while "odor" is more strongly negative. "Stink" is positively negative. :) "Aroma" is the only positive term I can think, but for me it has strong connotations with perfume. *shrug*
> A word for the sense of comfort that comes from being at home. (something > like the opposite of homesickness).
That would be a nice word indeed.
> Also, first person dual inclusive pronoun ("wit/unk/uncher").
I don't know about dual, but I'm all for an inclusive/exclusive distinction. I believe that Elgin's point was that there are concepts that are *difficult* to explain in English that are vitally necessary *to women*--because those concepts lack lexical items, women are at a severe disadvantage. While a lot of the suggested concepts are nice (and make excellent fodder for conlang vocabulary), they don't strike me as a particular handicap. See, for instance, "sniglets." (Google for it--you'll find lots.) Cute, but for the most part they don't add much to our expressive capabilities. Of course, all three of you are men, so maybe that's why. ;> :Peter

Replies

Muke Tever <mktvr@...>
Padraic Brown <elemtilas@...>
Nik Taylor <yonjuuni@...>