Re: Semantics, poetry and the feel of a language

On Sun, 24 Sep 2000, andrew wrote:

>Am 09/22 16:56  taliesin the storyteller yscrifef:
>> http://www.acidrefluxcomic.com/c280.gif
>>
>> Btw: check out the nice conscript!
>>
>> Background: the little girl in the last panel is an omnipotent,
>> omniscient 5000 year old god and incidentally the God for the universe
>> of Acid Reflux.
>>
>Darn, no transliteration!  I guess it is probably an alphabet, or an
>abjad, rather than a really longwinded syllabary - although that can be
>ruled out.
>
>Comparing panels three and six suggests to me that there is two
>different ways of saying or spelling "My primary sexual display fringe
>was/is too orange"!  Must be a rich language.
Indeed! Also, I and my seem to be "spelled" the same. (v. panels 5&6)
But that particular spelling isn't used earlier (panels 1&2 are
different). There also appear to be two ways of saying "last time I
saw her". I wonder why "soccer"  ball got put in there and not some
other cultural reference?

>The musical instrument Tuque is playing is fascinating.  I have seen
>something similar in a TradeAid shop, but it only had one string and one
>chamber.
Kind of like a two sided banjo. Though appearances in cartoons may be
deceiving; the instrument as depicted in panel two would have limited
range due to the fact that the strings go off at a rather steep angle
from the fingerboard (though this might in part be alleviated if the
instrument were bowed rather than plucked). Though this changes from
the next panel on. Give it two fingerboards and different tunings for
each side and I think you'd have a wonderful little axe.

I think I shall order some goat skin and give a shot...

Padraic.

>- andrew.