Re: probably a bloody obvious question...

On Sun, 20 Aug 2000, Marcus Smith wrote:

> Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
>
> >When y'all design languages, do you have a checklist or template you work
> >from?  I'm using the Language Construction Kit and Pablo Flores' pages
> >for now--I find them an easy-to-use starting point due to my lack of
> >experience.
>
> When I first started conlanging I used a checklist.  I moved down the list,
> filling in details as I went.
>
> Nouns:
> Gender?  If so, what types.
I would someday like to use a categorical gender system (a la Swahili?)
but it's too much to handle right now.

> Dual or no dual? (Plural was a given).
<wry g>  Whereas I'm ignoring singular/plural distinctions because that's
a feature I like from Korean/Japanese.

> I began to feel like I was just assembling things, rather than creating, so I
> abandoned checklists completely.  Now I take a much more "organic"
> approach.  I
> start with a basic idea of a couple features, and pursue it, devising new
> traits as they come along.  I have gaps in basic areas following this
> procedure, but I'm filling them in as I write my grammar.
Perhaps someday I'll try that approach.  As I'm still learning, though, I
think I'll keep it structured until I know what I'm doing.  Thanks!

YHL