--- Sally Caves <scaves@...> wrote: > >
PART III: NON-CELTIC CONLANGERS:
>
>
> What is your name and what do you call your conlang?
>
bnathyuw (Matthew Butt)
bac /batS/
eestaak/gedtarak /"E:sta:k/
> So what is unappealing about the Indo-European model
> for conlanging? Or
> Tolkien's Elvish?
nothing at all . . . i just like a priori conlanging
>
> How did you start conlanging? What was your initial
> inspiration?
i don't really remember, it just came about
>
> Did you know about Tolkien's inventions? Read the
> books, the appendices?
> etc. Or not?
>
i had done when i was about ten or eleven, but i don't
know whether i kept them in mind. i did subsequently
reread the appendices, but found them rather sketchy !
> What language types have you modeled your
> language(s) after?
>
on various sorts, magpie fashion ( there is even
indeed a bit of celtic in bac, in that it uses
consonant gradation to form various grammatical
categories, but i'd say it has more chinese in it ! )
> What features of these languages or language types
> appeal to you?
new ways of doing things . . .
>
> Some of you, and I'm thinking in particular of a
> conversation I had with And
> Rosta, are not interested in producing a language
> that is
> "mellifluous"--that "mellifluousness" is a thing to
> be avoided in your
> conlang and especially as it is associated with
> Tolkien's Elvish or copiers
> of Elvish. Is this so? Why?
i wouldn't say i aimed for mellifluousness, but each
language has its own esthetics. eestaak is rather
harsher than bac, but has a certain charm . . . sound
is something i consider, but not something i take to
be prescriptive
>
> For how many of you, though, is beauty and/or
> efficiency a factor in your
> language? Or elegance? How would you define these
> terms?
see above. i determine these according to the
principles that develop ( circular i know, but a
virtuous circle )
>
> For how many of you is the "exotic" a desired
> feature of your invented
> language?
the exotic is desirable. the incomprehensible not. i
like a language which has an odd ontology/grammatical
structure, but which is at the same time quite simple
to understand even if you don't know the thought
behind it
>
> How many of you invent a non-human language? And if
> so, how alien are its
> sounds and constructions?
not me
>
> Do you prefer inventing an a posteriori language or
> an a priori language?
> In other words, how many of you invent a language
> wherein you base it
> closely on a natural language (Arabic, Tagalog) or a
> combination of
> languages, and how many others of you invent a
> language from, well, scratch?
> (if that can be done.)
a priori, but with multiple influences
>
> How many of you invent a language based on a
> particular type (Ergative,
> Accusative, Trigger, etc.)?
yep, but it was a type i hadn't come across until i
came up with it ( it no doubt exists, but i don't know
where )
>
> To what degree is difficulty and irregularity of
> language important to you
> in your conlang? what natural language
> eccentricities (or efficiencies) do
> you like and try to reproduce?
i like regularity of accidence and irregularity of
syntax it appears !
>
> To what degree is accessibility, efficiency, and
> regularity important to
> your conlang? What natural language "faults" are
> you correcting?
not really
>
> How many of you invent logical languages?
not me
>
> How many of you invent IALs?
not me
>
> How many of you have invented non-Tolkienesque or
> non European concultures
> and what are they like?
haven't done so, but ( and i have the feeling this is
the inverse of the majority experience ) the languages
are slowly forcing me to invent cultures for them !
>
> How many of you started out by pulling words out of
> the air, originally?
> How many of you have chosen a more methodic form of
> vocabulary building?
> I.e., how have you gone about setting up the
> framework for your words and
> your grammar?
> (I started out pulling words out of the air.)
i tend to start with phonology, then basic word forms
and structure, as well as ways of deriving forms. then
i get onto finding words for various things. bac has a
very productive form of word derivation, so i tend to
find the most productive roots i can and take them to
their limits
>
>
> PART IV: THE LUNATIC SURVEY REVISITED (because we
> are all "fous du
> langage," according to Yaguello and other French
> critics.
>
> Why do you conlang? Who will speak it? Read it?
> What's the point? What's
> the beauty? what's the intellectual draw?
because of a love of language and a desire to create.
i can't say more. why does a painter paint, a poet
write, a musician play ? i think it's comparable
>
> To what would you compare a conlang? Is it a
> miniature? Is it a model? Is
> it a tapestry? Is it an act of obsession and
> madness? <G> Or is it a
> communicable language?
i would like to communicate with it ( why write a
piece of music that's never heard, carve a statue
that's kept in an attic ? ), but i have yet to get
anyone speaking it
>
> If it is a communicable language, to whom do you
> speak it?
my boyfriend, but he doesn't understand. i plan to use
it on my website when that's running properly as well
>
> To what extent is the opacity or "alterity" of your
> language something that
> pleases you? In other words, the sounds and the
> script have, even for you,
> a quality of being foreign, and this delights.
> Comment? (I know that when I make maps of cities,
> and imagine myself in
> them, they delight me because they are both familiar
> and foreign at the same
> time.)
not something i've thought about really. i suppose i
tend to like to find alternative ways of doing things,
so in this way it does please me
>
> This is a difficult question: how is it that a word
> sounds "right" to you?
> We recently discussed this. To what extent are you
> finding righter, better
> words for the world in your conlang? (Perhaps
> unanswerable).
phonetically, bac has strict rules on what is and
isn't allowed . . . these were probably the main
esthetic judgment. now all words have to follow these
and usually
>
> How many of you are fictive map-makers, designers of
> fictive floor plans,
> fictive yachts, fictive star-ships, world-builders,
> calligraphers,
> cartoonists, etc.? (These pursuits have been
> associated with conlanging. I
> 've done most of them.)
>
> How many of you have a special script in your
> conlang?
one so far for bac ( with various variations ), one in
development for eestaak ( a syllabary, with an
alphabet to be developed in future )
>
> If you use Roman script, how recognizably "phonetic"
> is your writing system?
> In other words, do you use unconventional letters to
> represent sounds?
> Why?
eestaak is relatively phonetic, bac isn't entirely
phonetic, but represents the orthography of the native
script, which is closely tied to the grammatical forms
of the language
>
> This is a question Heather asked, but I also asked
> it four years ago: how
> many of you write in your language? What do you
> write?
not much at the moment, but it slowly gets more used
>
> How many of you sing in your language and have
> invented songs for that
> purpose?
not me ( yet ), but i do eventually plan to write
music in it
>
> How many of you started conlanging when you were a
> teenager and have stuck
> to the same language over many years? Why?
yes with bac, altho it's changed a lot. other projects
have been abandoned
>
> How many of you change conlangs regularly,
> developing structures for many
> languages but not sticking with any one for very
> long? Why?
i'm relatively faithful, altho i'm slowly adding to my
repertoire
>
> For how many of you does your language function as a
> spiritual instrument?
> This is a deeply personal question--let me give you
> an example. When I
> first started inventing "Tayonian" in my early
> teens, what I wrote were
> spells and prayers. They had a talismanic quality.
> Does that ring a bell
> for anybody?
not me, but i'm one of the least spiritual people i
know ( in that sense. i would say i was very spiritual
in that i believe in the strength of the human spirit
insofar as that represents our will and consciousness,
but that's not the same application of the term )
>
> For how many of you was your language at least at
> one stage of its making
> meant to fool others, or to write secret diaries?
> (Me, waving my hand).
no, i had/have a personal script i use for secret
writing. i don't use it for conlanging purposes
>
> How many of you can speak your language, at least to
> yourself and your pet?
> child? spouse? <G> To what extent?
a little bit ( i can get further than eg 'i love you'
but not very much ! )
>
> How many of you have put up websites where your
> language can be showcased?
> If so, what is the website address?
yep, www.bnathyuw.com
>
> How many of you have made soundbytes of your
> language so the rest of us can
> hear it? If so, give the site.
not yet, but i plan to ( again at www.bnathyuw.com )
>
> How many of you are comfortable talking to your
> boss, your professors, your
> family members about this pursuit? How many of you
> have received
> condescending or other negative responses to your
> disclosure? (I have.) Or
> even been called "pathological"?
none too comfortable, altho i talk about it freely
with my boyfriend ( he rumbled me by visiting my
website, which any of them _could_ look at ! )
>
> If this attitude is changing, to what do you
> attribute the change? (On New
> Year's Eve, a delightful, elderly gentleman could
> not understand why I would
> be interested in this pursuit. What purpose could
> it serve?)
n/a
>
> For how many of you is the damning statement "better
> to learn real languages
> than invent private ones" a criticism you have
> encountered? What would be
> your response to such a remark?
#raised eyebrow#
actually, i'm more than happy learning real languages,
but it's something completely different. i play the
piano and also write music ; is one better than the
other ? i don't think so. if the human brain is
finite, it's at a capacity much higher than i'll ever
graze . . . i'm going to fill mine with as much stuff
as i can before it rots away again
>
>
> PART V: GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS:
>
> What is your age (optional--and can be general:
> 30-40, for instance).
>
24 in mid jan 2003
> What is your profession or your station in life
> (i.e., if you are a student,
> what is your MAJOR; if a middle or high-school
> student, what is your
> intended major)?
no profession. i work on website, publicity,
publication &c for a small public sector think tank in
london, whatever you want to make of that
>
> What is your gender?
male
>
> What is your nationality and your native language?
british citizen, english
>
> What natural languages do you speak or have studied?
speak french, some dutch and some german. have studied
latin and greek ( and verious others )
>
> How many of you have chosen a profession in
> linguistics because of your
> interest in inventing languages? Or plan a
> profession in linguistics?
not me
>
> What have you learned from conlanging?
ooh, where do i start . . .
>
> What texts on language and linguistics have you
> consulted to help invent
> your language?
lots of language course books &c. crystal's
encyclopedia of language, campbell's compendium of
world languages, various other texts on languages,
various web resources
>
> Do you know of anyone who has not connected with the
> Internet or the List
> who has invented a language? (I'm firmly convinced
> that "conlanging" has
> been a private pursuit for many people long before
> the list started, but
> that the list has increased its visibility as an
> art).
i knew a couple of people at school who had an
interest here, tho whether this was true conlanging or
just secret words i don't know
>
> Can you give me a short sample of your language with
> interlinear description
> and translation?
sot Res ses ghehtapucic
/sOt 4Es sEs "GETtaputSItS/
sot Res ses g[h]ehtap.uc.ic
I have-feeling breath [OBL]planet.outside.this
I feel becuase of breath of a planet outside this one
I feel the breath of another planet
Ich fühle Luft von anderem Planeten
( i can get you a longer passage if you want )
>
> Would you object to my mentioning your conlang/and
> or your name in my talk?
> I will be discreet about some of the more personal
> questions you answered.
of course
>
>
> Ev send poto, yry poy poy firrimby!
>
Lawbu Cawres
/laUbU tSaU4Es/
La[w]b.u Ca[w]r.es
[PAST]smile.! [PAST]do.this-way
I smiled to do it
My pleasure !
bn
=====
bnathyuw | landan | arR
stamp the sunshine out | angelfish
your tears came like anaesthesia | phèdre
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