Re: Some Speedtalk and Questions

>===== Original Message From Constructed Languages List >
>> It occured to me that Speedtalk will sound a lot like Heinlein's Martian.
>> The beings that lived on Heinlein's mars appeared in several of his
>> stories. He always described their langauage as sounding like a
>> rhinocerous making love to a tin shed. Sadly, he never gave anything else
>> on the language.
>
>Not quite true. Besides similar vague comments, we know that
>* humans can pronounce the language close enough for Martian comprehension
>* 3 Martian names are given (Gekko, G'kuro, K'boomch)
>* at least some questions begin with a question symbol
>* there is a vocative symbol
Heinlein seemed to have some fascination with languages. I wonder why he never
developed his secret vice any further?

Speedtalk will also have a interogative and an exclamatory marker, since the
tones normally used for this by English speakers, are being used for other
things.

>> One place where I'm deviating from Heinlein is in numerals. his Speedtalk
>> used base 36 counting. I'm not.
>
>Why not?
Mostly because my math skills are non-existant. :(

 My
 Question: when the numeral occurs between words, how
>do you tell if whether it follows the previous sound or precedes the next
>one?
Yes. Today as I was making a huge batch of tuna salad at work, I realized this
flaw. I'm going to have to come up with nine more new numbers so they can ALL
appear at the end of the sound.

Essentially they aren't numbers really. There just inflecting particles.
Heinlein said each "number" indicated the word was a member of a specific
vocabulary of a field or science. Which fields and sciences should I include?


>I'm self-taught when it comes to pronouncing implosives and ejectives, so
>I'd better not say.
:) Me too!

>Jeff
>
 -Duke