varrio meme-sutr'a ["various thought-threads"] (re: A conlang howto,TROLLS, Kinya, etc.)

to help reduce list density overload,
    I am responding digest-style to some _varrio meme-sutr'a_
    /var\`.r\`io meme sut'.r_ha/ ["various(variation(s)) thought-threads"]:

re: DESIGN

In a message dated 3/26/02 03.05.39 PM, taliesin@NUTS.EDU writes:

>Do you have good references for this? I prefer red-on-black (for emphasis)
>and yellow-on-black (standard) myself, but my surroundings keep claiming
>I'll go blind :)
    One of my design books say that the easiest to scan for extended
durations is ... ta-da, _crepuscular orange_ (slightly brighter in hue than
saffron orange, describable as the orange one sees in a setting sun at
twilight) on matte black.
    May all the Pagans re-joice ;)

----------------------------------------------

re: TROLLS

In a message dated 3/26/02 04.55.05 PM, and_yo@HOTMAIL.COM writes:

>>| Mathematically inclined guyz - I get more and more interested in what
>>kind
>>| of society made up by erectids needs a number system much more complicate
>>| than that used in many Homo sapiens societies!
>>
>>Why, it's a simple base-10 system. Should I use base-5 instead?
>
>Well, many hunter-gatherer peoples have had languages with only a few
>unsystematic basic nummerals and ordinals. From you descriptions I'd rather
>expect a Troll to count "one, two, three, many, lots ..."
    *snarfle*   one thumb, 1, two thumb, 2, ... one hand, 5, ... one hand and
two fingers, (7), etc. ... er, some kind of base-2 AND 5 perhaps? eh?
    It makes sense if that aren't your average trogaldyte (sp?) and you have
a bit of a rep as being mathematically inclined like some idiot savants! And
you have said they are genetically altered, right?

    ::applauds LANKA::
____________________________

re: LIST DENSITY

In a message dated 3/25/02 08.05.35 AM, christophe.grandsire@FREE.FR writes
responding to Maarten <dungeonmaster@...>:

:
>So I enjoy this post to make it clear to people: I read all your
messages!!<ZNiP>

    I read most messages, at least glance, scan or skim all. I could learn
more things, new ideas :)

>Nothing from this list stays unnoticed. I at least will
>notice it :)) . But don't except me to always answer. I'm just an amateur
whose
>linguistic knowledge mostly comes from the list itself! :)) And I also
>have a real life which takes some time during the day :)) . So when I have
nothing
>to say, I prefer to shut up. But my eyes stay open.
    Like-wise. ::eyes wide, itching opposable thumbs & wiggling digits::

>> 4) If you include a long text in your mail, do not post any important info
>> after that, like questions you want to ask etc. Most people will not read
>> the entire page through to the end to find your questions or remarks.
Christophe:
>I do! But I'm probably the only one... :((
    I try to. So much meme-rich info, so lil' time...
    "There is no failure in trying."
________________________________

re: THE BEAUTIFULLEST PHONOLOGY


In a message dated 3/25/02 03.17.34 PM, a.rosta@NTLWORLD.COM writes:

>Not mashed together, but as one of those gallic banquets with 20 courses
>containing every sort of edible creature under the sun (and under the
>sea). IMO English comes closer to that ideal than other langs I know
>of.
    Talkin' of sea food and NatLangs, there is Bislama (Bichelamar), the
English-lexifier pidgin/creole of Vanuatu...
    The name itself is from the French _biche la mar_ meaning "trepang" or
"sea slug."
    Bislama is one of my favourite NatLangs  - besides Archaic/Classical
Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia/Malay, Dutch, English (& mutant Englishes like
Hindilish & Tok Pisin, but not African-American "Ebonics"), German, Italian,
Hellenic/Classic Greek, Japanese, Latin, Sanskrit... recent favourite: Tsez,
a Caucasian language similar to Georgian & the fricative-heavy-weight
Karbadian/East Circassian (even the name "Tsez" is like a tempting appetizer
of what the rest of the language is like!).

===>  NATLANG REQUEST:   While I am manic-ly at it, anybody have resources
for Tsez? and/or the fricative and affricative inventory for Karbadian?
Charts? Audio?

******************************************************

re: Henry Miller and ever-mutating ConLangs (or in my case ConLang singular)

In a message dated 3/26/02 02.01.59 AM, hmiller@IO.COM writes:

><ZNiP> And Tirelat's undergoing yet
>another big revision of phonology and romanization. After so many, I wonder
>if it'll ever really settle down into a form I can start using.
    At least I am not the only one "notorious" for mutating his/her ConLang
repeatedly.

>Unfortunately, my conlanging ideals have changed to such an extent from
>this list and other linguistics-related reading <ZNiP>
    Likewize... those things - this list and linguistic reading - and my
polyglot fiend-friend Yuri, who sends me snail-mail TWICE to THREE times a
day! Full of questions about X-SAMPA, answers to my questions on various
languages he knows (39 * and counting...), advice on my reeeeaaaally rough
drafts of re-visions to .ur-ae'u'm, ideas for same, etc..

    * no, I can't list _all_ the languages he knows- ranging from the fairly
expectable NatLangs of a professional translator to a bunch of truly odd
NatLangs (& AuxLangs) that I can't hardly believe exist... ask him yourselves
when he joins the list in like 6-7 months time. He has been (incredibly)
instrumental (& patient) in increasing _my_ linguistics learning curve
immensely (as have Christophe, Maarten, Kou, John Cowan, Romilly, Steg,
Yitzik (sp?), Pavel, Mathias, DaWier., Imperative, Henry Miller, Ferko, Yoon,
David "DigiScreamer", And. R. ..., hehe, etc. ad infinitum. <= this is not a
complete list, naturally... just a list of peeps who come immediately to mind
that I feel the need to say thanx to, so that I know I have done my part of
showing appreciation and gratitude to those who don't "get it enough" &/or
soon easily forget.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

re: Kinya (& Miapimoquitch) (was: RE: [CONLANG] Silindion)

In a message dated 3/25/02 10.02.37 AM, a.rosta@NTLWORLD.COM writes:

>>      10.  Kinya (I really like the alphabet, which is why it's on the list
>> at all, seeing as there really isn't any grammar up at all).
>
>The morphology is Semitic-like; of the grammar proper I recall little,
>but it is notable for the way it is described in terms of the indigenous
>grammatological tradition, employing the yin- and yang-like notions of
>_valam_ and _lah_ that figure prominently in the philosophy of Kunay.
    ::ears perked/pricked up, eyes wide:: I must been asleep if you have
posted about Kinya's lexico-semantics.
    If not, praytell  tale much more :)
    ::shapeshifts into Curious Cat Mode::


Hanuman Zhang  {HANoomaan JAHng} /'hanuma~n  dZa'hN/
~§~
_LILA_ <from Sanskrit> = "Divine Play"  - the 'joyous exercise of spontaneity
involved in the art of creation' (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan)...the play of
creation, destruction, & re-creation, the folding & unfolding of the cosmos...
both the delight & enjoyment of this moment, & the play of [the] God[head]
("the universe is what happens when God wants to play").

_Spielraum_ <from German> = free scope to experiment with things & ideas; to
toy with ideas; room to play in

    WHIM = 1a. a sudden fancy; a caprice. b. capriciousness. 2. a kind of
windlass for raising ore or water from a mine. [17th century: origin unknown]
    WHIMSY (plural forms: WHIMSIES, WHIMSEYS) = 1. a whim; a capricious
notion or fancy. 2. capricious or quaint humour. [related to WHIM-WHAM
]/Italian _capriccio_, French _boutade_
    WHIM-WHAM = a toy or plaything