Re: Láadan

On Friday 29 November 2002 02:17 pm, Doug Dee wrote:
> Do you think any of the words Elgin created for Laadan filled a significant
> gap?
> (If you don't have the grammar, there's a sample of Laadan words at
>
> http://www.sfwa.org/members/elgin/nativetongue/laadansampler.html
>
> Obviously, not all of them are intended to fill gaps in English -- we
> already have a word for "butterfly," for example -- but do you think any of
> them would fill a gap?
        I printed out a copy and handed it to my wife, asking her to comment on them.
Her comments are below the word; "No" indicates that she doesn't feel the
word is needed or important, "Yes" indicates that it might be needed or
important, "Yes!" indicates her feeling that it would be very nice to have
such a lexical item. "-" means "neither here nor there, no opinion." I
removed words that already have English counterparts.
---
ashon love for one who is not related by blood but is heart-kin
        No

azháadin to menopause uneventfully
        No (What???)

dólhorado to dominate with evil intent
        -

doóledosh pain or loss which comes as a relief because it brings to an end the
anticipation of its arrival
        Yes!

doólelasholan alone at last, after putting up with tiresome people
        Yes!

edama the science of touch -- touch-science
        No

éeme love for one neither liked nor respected
        Yes

hena sibling by birth
        -

héena sibling of the heart
        -

honáal the hours between midnight and dawn
        No (She must have been an insomniac.)

lalal mother's milk
        No

lewidan to be pregnant for the first time
        -

lirini an achievement that seems small to other, but means a lot to the
achiever
        Yes!

méhéna compassion despite negative circumstances
        Yes

móna compassion for foolish reasons
        -

múna compassion for bad reasons
        -
uhud nuisance

nehena contentment despite negative circumstances
        Yes

niná the one responsible
        Yes

ninálh the one to blame
        Yes

núháam to feel oneself cherished, cared for, nurtured by someone
        No

nuna contentment for bad reasons '
        No

ohehena respect despite negative circumstances
        No

óothanúthul spiritual orphanhood; being utterly bereft of a spiritual
community
        Yes

radama to non-touch; to actively refrain from touching
        Yes!

radamalh to non-touch with evil intent
        No

radena unfriendliness for good reasons
        -

radíidin non-holiday, a time allegedly a holiday but actually so much a burden
because of work and preparations that it's a dreaded occasion; especially
when there are too many guests and none of them help
        -

radodelh non-interface, a situation which has not one single point in common
on which to base interaction, often used of personal relationships
        ?

radona unfriendliness for foolish reasons
        -

rahéena non-heart-sibling; one so entirely incompatible with another that
there is no hope of ever achieving any kind of understanding or anything more
than a truce, and no hope of ever making such a one understand why (does not
mean "enemy")
        Yes

rahom to non-teach; to deliberately fill students' minds with empty data or
false information
        No

ralith to deliberately refrain from thinking about something, to wall if off
in one's mind by deliberate act
        Yes

rarulh non-synergy, that which when combined only makes things worse
        -

rashida non-game, a cruel "playing" that is a game only for the dominant
player who has the power to force others to participate
        -

rathom non-pillow; a "lean on me so I can step aside and let you fall" person
sham love for the child of one's body, presupposing neither love nor respect
nor their absence
        -

shol absence-of-pain
        Yes!

thehena joy despite negative circumstances
        Yes

thuna joy for good reasons
        - (Duh!)

wesháana to menstruate late
        -

widazhad to be pregnant late in term and eager for the end
        Yes!

wina gratitude for no reason
        No (no such thing)

wonewith to be socially dyslexic; uncomprehending of the social signals of
others
        Yes!

wóo evidence morpheme indicating the speaker/writer's total lack of knowlege
as to the validity of what is said or written
        N
---
        Of the seven concepts that she marked "Yes!", she did not feel that the
absence of any of them particularily hindered or handicapped her in any
way--rather, it was more of "Oh, that would be very nice to have in English."
She did not feel that any of them filled a significant gap, but that she
could communicate the feelings or situations behind the terms with little
problem. Of the seven, I can think of several instances in which she
communicated five of them to me--doóledosh, doólelasholan, lirini, widazhad
(not on her part, but about other women), and wonewith.
        I'd still like to hear from some women on the list if they have any opinion
about it, but so far it doesn't seem as though there are any significant gaps
to be filled.
        :Peter

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