Re: Operation Infinite Vocabulary

From: "Christopher Wright" <faceloran@...>

| I'll just consider words. Try adding sandhi and removing any spare
| syllables you find. Collapse diphthongs, shorten vowels, remove them
| according to a system. I'd probably assimilate /ai/ to /aj/ and perhaps
| even /j/.

I need to study the art of sandhi, particularly in Sanskrit and Dravidian. All
the intricate rules. I just know a few, like ai > e and au > o, that sorta
thing.

| Your dragons have long mouths that don't open very far, I take it. Or at
| least, the area in which they pronounce vowels is small.

Of course I've never looked in a dragon's mouth (and don't want to honestly). I
just came up with a human approximation of the language. I might have more
vowels. The /a/, /i/ and /u/ represent extremes. Since lip-rounding is unlikely,
/u/ might be more like /M/, and labial consonants would be just a "closed mouth"
articulation.

They probably didn't even communicate verbally millions of years ago, but
adopted a human-like language in the future when they came back. They just have
their own language for cultural identity (the Elves do as well, since they can
communicate telepathically).

The idea of "dragons" also came from obvious sources: Babylonian, Biblical,
Chinese, Mayan etc.

| I have met people online who think they're dragons. However, I think a
| dragon would be more fluent and erudite, not using the latest 'net slang.

Like vampires?