Re: Caraboo

--- Caleb Hines <cph9fa@...> wrote:

> Anyway, "Princess Caraboo" was a great movie from a
> conlang perspective. A
> must see! In fact, it demonstrates a great way to
> use a conlang. I wonder if
> anyone on the list has ever tried doing something
> similar in real life. Have
> any of you ever walked up to someone (preferably a
> complete stranger!) and
> started speaking your conlang to them? I mean
> seriously speak it, as if it
> were your L1, and you didn't understand English? I
> wonder what would happen.
> Probably in this world of international globalism,
> nobody would hardly
> notice or care.
>
> The only specific sample word I can remember off the
> top of my head is
> 'nai!' which, in context, obviously meant "no". It
> occurred in the following
> scene:
>
> Deeply moved by a chamber ensemble's music (I think
> it was a piece by
> Schubert), the princess starts crying. Mrs. Worral
> misinterprets this, and
> asks the orchestra to stop playing, but the princess
> jumps up and shouts
> "nai! nai!" and motions for them to continue. The
> ensemble, pleased to be
> performing in the presence of such an admirer,
> happily continues. I remember
> this particular word because I remember thinking how
> similar it was to IE
> words for 'no'. My own non-IE Akathanu even has 'na'
> (one of the first and
> few words I actually know in thej language).
>
Which obviously proves that Princess Caraboo (whom I
don't haven the pleasure to know personnally) is
Alsacian. The word for "no" in Alsacian is "nei",
pronounced "na:j".

The hypothesis that "nai" in fact wouldn't mean "no",
but "please go on" would refer to female psychology,
rather than to compared linguistics.


=====
Philippe Caquant

"High thoughts must have high language." (Aristophanes, Frogs)


	
		
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