Modularity and Self-expression

I read the following line in conlang today and it has the ring of truth
to me:

> May it be that conlanging is all about communicating with and
understand ONESELF in order to better communicate with others ? Two
times more communication...

Mathias "Mathias M. Lassailly"
<lassailly@...>

A direct corollary of this is that we should make an earnest effort
with NGL not to design out any major feature sincerely wanted by any of
the major players. I assume we each represent a larger constituency.
Thus it is clear that Jack wants latin-style inflecting verbs and loves
derivational morphems. Stephen has made clear his taste for
practicality, directness, and grace of expression.  Julian has made his
love of innovation and distaste for esperanto clones evident. My things
are precision and unambiguity when wanted, combined with an ability for
high level generalization to get above detail, and the latest and
greatest in logic, isolating forms, and high information content per
syllable. I share with Jack a love of metaphor.  I share with Stephen a
love of beautiful language. I share with Julian a love of genuine
creativity and innovation, and a desire to begin anew.

Today while picking up my grandchildren I heard on the car radio a
discussion of a new book called "The Argument Culture: From Debate to
Dialog", written by Debra Tannen. Stephen has already called on us to
make this transition. Of course we must debate, as that initiates the
process of compromise. A founder of the USA said, we must all hang
together or we will surely hang separately. Our only enemy is
ourselves. We need to be sure that the final version of NGL maintains
and extends that self-communication spoken of by Matias for each of us,
and we can then be assured that many others will join us in a genuinely
new language culture.

thoughtfully,
jerry