Re: First post :)

Robertí Hilí nsakwish:
<     Anyway, lemmie get to business. What do you all think a language
REALLY needs. I am only making a simple language for now, you know, kind
of like a Dwarven language (stupidity reigns). I really just dont know
where to start. Maybe a checklist? I would be very greatful to anyone who
can help me in this area(s).
       Good Bye, or as they say in Neo Elvish, Qwsqwl.
                                   Robert Hill>

I'll assume that you're as stupid as I was when I started.

First, an objective. What is the feel of the language you want? Do you
want to base it on an existing language?
Next the phonology. What sounds would you like to have, and how will you
arrange them? (I missed this when I started. :))
I'd do the basic grammar next, but you could start with words. At least
decide if you want endings based on part of speech and whether you'll
have noun classes (genders) before the words.
Make a lexicon. Make words. I usually do it by translation so that I
don't get two hundred entries whose glosses all begin with "a" and then
abandon the language. Translation also gives you a working example of
your language almost immediately as well as making all your words quickly
useful.

Phonology expansion:
Experiment with sounds. Carefully choose which ones you want, then assign
a letter for each. You can even assign more than one, if you run out of
letters. Then decide on the syllable style (how many and which consonants
and vowels can go where in a syllable). Also remember to include a stress
rule (which syllable is accented). You might want to think of tonal
stress, but not for your first language if you don't know a tone
language.
-Sounds
-Syllable style
-Stress

Grammar expansion
Generally, the first thing I decide about the grammar is word endings
(like Latin nouns supposedly all ending in -a or -us). Another big thing
is word order (how to arrange the subject, verb, object, and indirect
object in a sentence, and how to arrange nouns with number modifiers and
adjectives). Also decide whether you want to modify words with affixes or
separate words and whether affixes can be stacked together. You need to
think about noun cases, which usually take the place of prepositions
(look at a grammar of Latin for more case information). Then make all the
specifics.
-Word endings (optional)
-Word order
-Affixes (optional), including noun cases and verb conjugations

It's traditional to translate the Babel text (Genesis 11:1-9) first.

Hoping to be helpful,
Chris Wright