Re: Conlang flag description for fotw.net: please help proofread

On Wed, 2 Aug 2006, Sai Emrys wrote:

>> Including names of the major contributors can be done, if someone would be
>> so kind as to point me to the relevant threads in the archives. (That
>> draft summarizes everything I've been able to find out.)
>
> Check the threads where I was asking about it around last
> December/January. I remember asking the same question, and having
> someone answer it - plus point to a site that had previous versions.
Ah, thanks. Here is the new version.

The conlang flag represents both the Conlang mailing list, and language inventors
and constructed language aficionados worldwide. It was flown at the 1st
Language Construction Conference in Berkeley, California in 2006.

The general idea of the conlang flag was decided as a result of a poll of the
subscribers of the Conlang mailing list in 2004. The first proposal that
included the Tower of Babel was submitted by Jan van Steenbergen, and the first
proposal that included a rising sun was submitted by David Peterson. Multiple
list members submitted designs that combined the two elements, the first of
which was by Leland Paul.

The final version of the flag was drawn by Christian Thalmann, who has released it
to the public domain.

Symbolism
The flag depicts a silhouette of a ziggurat in front of a rising sun. The ziggurat
is a reference to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, representing
language and linguistic diversity. The terraced structure of the ziggurat is
also an iconic representation of the way a typical artistic language is created
piece by piece, and is never quite completed.

The rising sun represents the rise in notoriety and recognition of language
construction as an art form.

An earlier proposal for the design had a red sky. This was later changed to
purple, to avoid the association with anarchism that the red-black combination
would have. In addition, purple is seen to symbolise creativity.

Suggested Pantone colours
The following Pantone values were used for the flags flown at the 1st LCC:

black: Pantone Black
yellow: PMS 123
purple: PMS 527

--
Arnt Richard Johansen                                http://arj.nvg.org/
On the Semantic Web, it's too hard to prove you're not a dog. --Bill de hÓra

Reply