Re: my conlang: anyone interested?

On 7 Dec, Greg Johnston wrote:

> OT: How many languages have ways to state that you
> know yourself?
    In my conlang, rtemmu, one would use the
word  |rvlegm|, whose basic meaning is
the process of waking up.
    In rtemmu, every word describing a process
must be preceded by a rate-of-change marker
and the reflexive marker precedes it.
    Thus, to know oneself might be expressed by:

fnuhna rvlegm  (fnuh-na  rvelegm), where
fnuh = reflexive marker
na = the rvlegm process (of waking up,
        becoming aware) is subjectively changing
        at a "normal" rate

    Of course, things are seldom simple in rtemmu.
By changing the rate-of-change markers, the sense
of "self-knowledge" is altered. For example:

fnuhne rvlegm (ne =  subjective, fast rate of change)
    could mean an extremely good connection with
    one's inner self,

fnuhni rvlegm  (ni = subjective, rate of change so fast
                        that it can't be followed)
    could mean a sudden inspiration

fnuhno rvlegm (no = subjective, slow rate of change)
    could mean self-awareness with all the speed of
    a fatigued snail

fnuhnu rvlegm (nu = subjective, change so slow that
                        it isn't noticed)
    could mean someone who is simply  "thick-headed"
    and obtuse

    Of course, one shouldn't overlook the effects of
acceleration and deceleration markers on the
process of self-knowledge. (They are placed
immediately before the rate-of-change markers.)
    Thus, using |ut|, the acceleration marker:

fnuhutna rvlegm ( = fnuh-ut-na rvlegm)
could mean:
a normal ability to acquire self-knowledge,
but getting better and better all the time

or using |it|, the deceleration marker,

fnuhitnu rvlegm (=fnuh-it-nu rvlegm)

could be a nasty insult: totally obtuse
and getting even worse and worse all the time.

    And these are just the _subjective_ set
of rate-of-change markers. By using the
_objective_ set of markers, one would be
focussing on the self-knowledge of observable
bodily actions or states, as in an athelete
knowing his physical limits or  monitoring the
state of his body during a competition, or
of a doctor diagnosing himself.
(Or, as we used to do back in my student days,
cheat on our anatomy exams by probing ourselves! ;-)   )
    I'll leave it to the imagination as to what
nuances would come from expressing the
process of self-knowledge at different objective
rates of change.


Dan Sulani
------------------------------------------------------------
likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a.

A word is an awesome thing.

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