Re: Conlanging techniques

Bjorn Kristinson wrote:
>
>First of all, you've been great! :D Must be the friendliest list I've ever
>subscribed to :)
>
>Now to my question, I was wondering if you had any conlanging techniques to
>share. Like, do you use computers much and what software do you use? Do you
>follow the now-surely-famous The Language Construction Kit guidelines? Or
>what? I personally have found it very difficult making up a whole phonetic
>system with restrictions and the lot before starting with the actual
>lexicon, and likewise I find it difficult forming a grammar after making up
>a lexicon, but then it's not easier at all doing it the other way around :P
>
>So if you've found a good way of organizing things and such, please share
>:)
We-ell, I'm to chaotic to construct my langs in an organized manner. I
usually start with a general idea, like "this lang is going to have alot of
cases and a small consonant inventory". From this, I usually work out the
phonolgy and a small lexicon very quickly. I then haphazardly work out the
morphology, semantics and syntax, adding new lexical items and going back
and changing things all the while. If I'm doing a language in a series of
forms (eg, reconstructed ancestor form, ancient classical form, modern
colloquial form), I often work on 'em all at once, and often decide on the
final form of the word before I conjure up its etymology.

                                                      Andreas
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