Re: Caraboo

On Aug 5, 2004, at 11:18 PM, Caleb Hines 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.

I've tried that to avoid people trying to collect money for causes i
don't support, or trying to get me to buy something touristy and
horribly overpriced from their shop in the shuq.

I'm not sure if it worked... this one guy tried talking to me in a
number of languages, and i just kept on responding "nyeng,
aza'nyih-kevent... ha'ezoi-guvdhab ya'rokbeigalmki?" (no, i'm not
understanding... do you speak rokbeigalmki?) in Rokbeigalmki, with a
lot of "hawa?" /ha?wa/ 'what?' thrown in for good measure.  But he may
have been able to detect my American accent through all the uvular
nasals and glottal stops.

I also answer phones with "aló?" instead of a normal American English
greeting like "hello?" or "yo" or whatever, so that if i can detect
telemarketerness fast enough i can just start jabbering in Rokbeigalmki
or some other language.


-Stephen (Steg)
  "the main purpose of the pyramid is to say
   'my unique pyramid is sky high and made of white marble.
   i do not share it with anyone'."
      ~ andrew nowicki