Re: Conlanging techniques

On Tue, 3 Apr 2001, David Peterson wrote:

>     All my projects usually start with some sort of orthography (which is, to
> me, by FAR the most interesting part).  After I come up with some sort of
<wry g>  I've screwed myself up badly by doing orthography before
phonology.  I can only envy you.

> writing system, I attach sounds to the characters.  Then I usually come up
> with one word (usually a verb that's very simple, like "eat"), and I play
> with it: Moods, conjugations, aspects, tenses, et cetera.  After that, I come
> up with a noun, and play with it as well.  Then I come up with pronouns and
> write a sentence.  After that, I come up with some grammar to work with these
> things.  Then I get to classes of nouns and verbs and so forth, and come up
> with a thing that looks like the "Overall Guide to" whatever language in a
> language dictionary.  Then comes the fun of creating words.  Unlike what
> appears to be most people on this list, I love creating words, and usually
> create a lot.  For instance, my first language (on the computer; my Mac--the
> most superior machine out there, no matter what those eunuchs say!) has over
> 100 pages of words--my dictionary.
A kindred spirit!  (The fact that I also have a Mac is peripheral...I
don't use Painter 6 deeply enough to use its superior? graphics
capabilities but I got it freshman year because I liked what I heard
about stability, and as a writer it is less important to me whether I can
play the latest cool computer games--though I enjoy them--than whether
the computer will *safely* and reliably hold my WP files for extended
periods of time.  But I'm hearing Windows platforms are more stable these
days, so....)  Words.  I love working with words.

Perhaps someday there should be a conlang exchange, where people
"exchange" lexicon-creation for basic syntax-creation, or whatever they
don't want to do that others like to do.  I could happily sit there and
devise words if I felt I had a good "feel" for what words ought to sound
like, the aesthetic of the particular conlang.  (Well, not now; but
perhaps in the future, after I graduate this spring....)

YHL