Re: An Idea (Hopefully Non-offensive)

Forgive me, but I can't resist the opportunity of offering my $0.02 on
this question...

> > From: David Peterson
> >
> > In a message dated 4/24/01 4:09:36 AM, dbell@GRAYWIZARD.NET writes:
> >
> > << Is creating a universal auxiliary language really that easy?  Are there
> > really auxlangers out there who can whip up an auxlang with no more effort
> > that it takes to enter a sweepstakes? >>
> >
> >     Well, granted, I'd need three days, maybe a week, but it's
> > not that hard,
>
> Well, what do I know.  It's only taken me something like 30 years to create
> a mere artlang.
>
Amen! In the poetry world, people who post poems "dashed off in a
couple of hours or so" get the derision they so rightly deserve.
Similarly with an auxlang, surely: even if someone does produce a
schema in "a week or so", I would certainly hope that they have spent
the previous few decades thinking about the issues...

Gevey - a language for use in a science fiction novel which will
probably never get written, has taken over 25 years, and still I am
tampering with the basics.

> > I think, if you're only coming up with the grammar, the phonology,
> > syntax, morphology, et cetera, and not a full lexicon.  Of course,
> > I'm assuming a universal language would be totally created with no
> > outside influences whatsoever, save for which phones to choose.  I
> > imagine it would be more difficult for those who feel the need to
> > borrow words from a number of the world's languages.  But anyway,
> > it's April, and if I were to imagine a deadline, it'd be some time
> > in July, so that's two-three months; not bad, I think.
>
> It seems to me that the design of the lexicon (a posterior vs. a
> priori, representation of languages in a posteriori auxlangs, at
> sight readability, ease of learning, cultural neutrality etc.) is
> far more important in an auxlang than in an artlang.  Certainly
> auxlangers debate this more.
>
The biggest question, for me, would be: "what is the purpose of this
language?" International peace, harmony and understanding is all well
and good, but speaking the same language doesn't stop clans fighting
over scarce water supplies.

If the rest of the world decided tomorrow to adopt an auxlang, then I
would still need to be sold a good reason before I joined in. And that
reason would have a direct and significant impact on the structure and
content of the auxlang. While "peace, harmony and understanding" might
call for an easily taught and assimilated language, an auxlang for use
specifically to provide a standard legal structure in the European
Union (ie the language in which all EU Directives are set, and which
could provide the template for local language legislative
translations, to ensure European law is interpreted in exactly the
same manner in a Greek court and a Danish court) would probably need
to be highly specific and unambiguous about what each word in a
sentence was representing, and what effect each word was having on its
neighbours in its clause/sentence.

> But as I said before, what do I know.  I couldn't whip up anything
> remotely resembling a language of any kind in "three days, maybe a
> week."
>
I could try, but I won't: having the rest of the world laugh at my
risable efforts is not high on my agenda for this week.

> David
>
Rik (looking for a $0.02 refund)

> David E. Bell
> The Gray Wizard
> www.graywizard.net
>
> Wisdom begins in wonder.
>
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