Re: conlang maturation

In a message dated 7/16/01 9:23:48 PM, tom@TELP.COM writes:

<< Is this the case for others, too? Or do you systematically enlarge
vocabulary? Do you translate into the conlang for no other reason than to
stretch it? Do you use the conlang yourself in daily life, to stay immersed
in it? Do you solicit friends to help? Do you try to compose original texts
in the conlang, rather than writing in your primary language first and
translating? Or do you have a conculture project that makes steady demands
on the conlang? >>

    I was about to say "yes" to the "composing in the original", but then I
remembered that that story I wrote I had written in English, first.  I bet I
could now, though, adding a word or two here and there.  One of the problems
I have specifically with language growth is whether I want the language to be
a model real language, or whether I want to some day use it.  My largest
languages are of the latter variety, so I make up base roots for the concepts
I want in the language.  If I wanted to go in and do a real language, though,
I think you'd almost have to start with some sort of a Proto language from
which other words were developed, and other concepts, like how someone
mentioned "happy" coming from "hap", which meant "fortunate, occurrence(?)".
I'm eventually going to do this.  I'll start out with a basic proto language
with words only for physical entities in the world.  Then I'll expand from
there, maybe take one of my existing languages and borrow words from it, etc.
 For growth I just write things, though.  For some reason it doesn't bother
me that none of my friends are interested in any of this, and that I have no
one with whom to share this.

<<Has anyone kept track of the lexical growth rate for their conlang? Has
anyone maintained a steady growth for one language while starting a swarm
of new ones? (this is always my great temptation)>>

    This is what I did.  My first language has literally thousands of words,
to which I add every now and again when I think up one or two, then I went on
to create about five others which are very, very small.  I expand them
whenever I get the inspiration for a particular one.

-David