CONLANG Digest - 20 Oct 2003 to 21 Oct 2003 (#2003-297)

 > ------------------------------
 >
 > Date:    Tue, 21 Oct 2003 11:27:53 -0400 From:    Paul Bennett
 > <paul-bennett@...> Subject: Re: OT<?>: Linguist Heros was Re:
 > No pronoun, no article
 >
 > Of the languages where enough about each language is given for
 > judgements to be made, each language is self-consistent (i.e. not
 > just subtitled gibberish[*]) and they seem to me to be derived fairly
 >  straightforwardly from existing "classical" languages on Earth.
 >
 > OTOH, having a Latinate, Germanic and Egyptian language all described
 >  as "dialects" of Goa'uld (the main alien culture) smacks more than a
 >  little bit of the wackiness with the science, especially when
 > another Germanic language is described as one of the Ancients'
 > languages (a totally unrelated group of aliens).

That may well be where I got the idea that they were somewhat
disjointed!  I don't follow the series very closely, so tuning in to
hear a "dialect" of Goa'uld that sounds totally different probably just
sounded like drek to me.  OTH, I seem to recall reading an article
somewhere that they did, in fact, just make up words now and then.  I
think it was in Starlog, or something similar.  An interview with
Richard Dean "MacGyver" Anderson, if I recall right, wherein he
mentioned that occasionally they just said words backwards to get their
new Goa'uld.  I'll have to root through my pack-rat stack of magazines
to see if I can find it.

 > Yes. My vision of the Stargate-SG1 writing pit includes a small
 > faction of hard-pressed and creative conlang- and conculture-types,
 > fighting the daily battle of sense-against-nonsense with the vast
 > hordes of suits trying to make the show more "viewer-friendly", with
 > the excuse that "nobody's paying that much attention, anyway".

Hold tight to that dream and don't let go!
Somehow, I picture a bunch of writers who are passing around a bottle of
hard liquor saying "How far can we push this gag before someone catches
on?"  But, then, I'm a bitter cynic. ^_^

 >
 > Paul
 >
 > [*] Bonus point for anyone else who kept that little conlang-l quote
 > in their brains as long as I did.
 >
 > ------------------------------
Hmm, you got me on that one.  Source of quote?  (I'm betting it's John
Cowan, but sometimes I think I give him too much credit.)

Thanks!
Jim
--
"It's better to light one candle
   than to curse the darkness."
-Chinese Proverb and The Motto of the Christophers
                      http://www.christophers.org

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