Re: CHAT: The Conlang Instinct

Jeffrey Henning wrote:
>
> Paul Bennett <Paul.Bennett@...> comunu:
>
> > It's also interesting to note that when the normal "ma / pa" pattern is
> broken,
> > it often becomes "pa / ma".
>
> These patterns are so widespread that in Dublex I decided to form the
> epicene (all Dublex nouns are epicene) as a joining of them:
>
> map:  parent -- a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to
> a child
> [Blend of English 'ma' & 'pa', which have many cognates throughout the world
> (/m*-/ for "mother" is extremely widespread). Reversal of Acadon 'pa' & 'ma'
> combination.]
Well that is only because "mapa" is already taken for a word
meaning -- you guessed it -- "map."  That MAP- root is in dozens
of languages around the world, many of them non-Wensa.

Regards,                                 Leo