Re: What criteria do you have for your own or others' languages?

Sally Caves wrote:
> > > I REALLY REALLY love the language of Darmok on Star Trek.  That was
> > innovative!  Teonaht should have more of that.  I understand that
> > Malaysian
> > (?) is a challenge for westerners.  Not so much because of the structure
> > of
> > the language or its vocabulary but because of its allusiveness.
You're probably referring to the Malay poetic form called _pantun_, a
four-line verse (abab) in which the first 2 lines refer to one thing, the
last two to quite another-- the trick is to find the relationship. (Many of
the commentators in the google search say there is NO necessary connection;
the first two lines are simply to set the rhymes.)

One I recall describes (1) a pretty girl, nicely dressed etc. but wearing
fake gold jewelry (2) "a single drop of indigo ruins an entire pitcher of
milk."

Another, which is quite cryptic but very popular:
"if there's a well (~spring) in the field
we'll bathe together.
If there's long life,
We'll meet again."

Kalau ada sumur di ladang
kita bisa bersama mandi.
Kalau ada umur panjang,
kita bisa bertemu lagi.

There's a lot on google  (_pantun_); frustratingly, I find them very
difficult to translate.

I've tried to approximate the form in some Kash poetry, but my mind just
doesn't easily work that way :-(((