Re: Uber newbie-conlanger conlang

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kevin Athey <kevindeanathey@...>
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 08:17:40 -0600
Subject: RE: Uber newbie-conlanger conlang
To: saizai@saizai.com


>From: Sai Emrys <saizai@...>
>
>So: Advice? What would you want to do to not grow out of, but *build
>upon* all those newbie's mistakes you've made?
>
>(This is presumably somewhat different than merely the opposite of the
>"naturalism" goal, though that's a good starting point.)
>
>FWIW, the setting is post-apocalyptic California.
1)  Identical phonemic inventory too the local language (presumably English)
2)  Grammar starting from the local language with new rules stacked on to
this base
3)  Lexicon drawn (irregularly, especially) from local languages (presumably
Spanish and Chinese, as well)
4)  Hyperregularity (mostly unconscious:  often with cypher irregularity,
such as different forms for am, is, are, was, and were)
5)  No formal phonotactics
6)  (In VERY "kludgy" conlangs) borrowed affixes (-s, -ed, -tion, etc)
6a)  Homophonous affixes treated identicly in the conlang (plural and
possessive with the same affix)
6b)  Identical analytic verb constructions
7)  Literal translation of idioms
8)  Identical semantics

If it is too be REALLY bad, it can just be a neography with a couple added
words.

In any case, the key is too effectively copy the local language.

Athey

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