Re: Moesteskin

On Sat, 03 Aug 2002 17:47, Santiago wrote:
> I'm glad to be welcomed so warmly... This is a wonderful group, really
>
> I had a look at some of your languages on the web, not all, because of
> problems in my server... but I will
>
> I see your conlangs are very original... mine has a very large lexicon, but
> its grammar and phonetics quite resemble the indoeuropean languages,
> although it has some interesting features... As I started creating my
> language when I was 14, and at that time I had hardly any knowledge of
> linguistics and languages other than Spanish and English,  it was very
> similar to them, but as time went on, I modified it as much as I could to
> meke it look more original... and now I feel it can´t be altered so much
> more
Not to worry - my first attempts at conlanging were after I started seriously
learning Latin, at age 18, and I created a minimal list of declinations and
conjugations based around infixes, as both English and Latin were declined
with suffixes and I wanted something a little bit different.  It didn't last
for long, though - conlanging was harder work than I had thought it must be.

>
> My next languages will be very original
>
> Unfortunately, I don´t have a webpage with my language, but I´m thinking of
> making one soon
>
> I think one interesting feature of Moesteskin is what I call (maybe
> wrongly) the "double plural" Take the word "vric", which means "foot" (I
> need to look for the ASCII fonts on the net to be able to tell you the
> pronunciation, but for now, if you know Spanish and English, pronounce the
> "v" as in English, the "r" and "i" as in Spanish and the "c" as an alveolar
> affricate: "ts"). So, following the rather complex rules for plural
> formation, the plural of "vric" is "vricen", and as this plural is
> generally taken to mean the two feet, it actually means only two feet, but
> of course, not more. If you want to convey the idea of more than a pair of
> feet, then you can make a new plural out of the plural form. Following the
> rules for the plural, this would be "vrícenal", which means more than one
> pair of feet. Not 3, not 5, but pairs of feet.
Or in other words it's a plural form that acts as a dual number.  In
actuality you have a system of "singular - dual (for specific objects) -
general plural".  In this it's no different to how Classical Greek and
Sanskrit operated.  And if my memory serves me right, how Classical Hebrew
and Arabic operate as well.

Anyway, it's good to have you on board with us!

nisha yara echenai - may your trails be clear!

Wesley Parish

>
> I would like to know if you know some natlangs that share this feature or
> some of your conlangs that do so...
>
> Santiago
--
Mau e ki, "He aha te mea nui?"
You ask, "What is the most important thing?"
Maku e ki, "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
I reply, "It is people, it is people, it is people."