Damta: A collaborative world

[brblues]

Also, would this map (this one leaves out the mammoth steppe bordering on the tundra in the eastern half), correctly assume where you want your concultures to be placed?



Nachtuil's Kodikeng were fairly easy to place on the Oratsem pensinsula, while k1234567890y's Sitr on the western part of the continent in a subarctic/temperate climate allows more leeway, so this might very approximate (or the realm might extend quite far). If the climate map so far is correct, then the nearest grasslands/savannahs near the equator for Lúume would be either to the South or North of the Oratsem peninsula (or on the other side of the continent, beyond the mountain range).

For more interaction between our concultures, I would then ideally place mine in the dark green (mediterranean) area between Sitr and Kodikeng (near Lúume, if they go with the location as per the map).

[Khemehekis]

Here's a good wordlist to start out your languages with. By no means do you have to make every semantic distinction included in the list.

Spoiler:

left (direction)
right (direction)
good (in quality)
bad (in quality)
white
black
short (length)
long (length)
wide
thin
thick
small
big
heavy
cold (water)
warm (water)
hot (water)
low (in altitude)
high (in altitude)
deep (vertically)
dry
wet
soft
hard
slow
fast
new
old (opposite of new)
straight
top (of mountain, hill)
bottom (of mountain, hill)
front (of house)
back (of house)
to play (a game)
to meet (for the first time)
to think (cogitate)
to know (information)
to know (a person)
to love (romantically, eros)
to love (as a friend)
to speak, to talk
to say
to ask (a question)
to thank
to sing (of a person)
to build (construct)
to take (pick up and carry)
to give
to pull
to push
to touch
to blow (breathe out)
to throw
to break (glass, plate)
to cut (with knife)
to dig
to sit, to be sitting
to stand, to be standing
to lie (on back)
to fall
to cry
to laugh
to close (one’s eyes)
to open (one’s eyes)
to breathe
to eat (of people)
to drink
to sleep
to see (with the eyes)
to hear
to feel (with the sense of touch)
smooth (of surface)
rough (of surface)
to wash (body parts)
to go (on foot)
to come (towards third party)
to turn (change direction)
to climb (a tree)
to climb (a mountain, hill)
to dance
to fly
to run
to swim
to walk
to bite (of mammal)
to hurt (injure)
to kick
to kill (person)
to fight (physically, intransitive)
world
sun
star
moon (the Moon)
sky
wind
rain
cloud
water (cold, moving)
water (hot, moving)
water (cold, not moving)
water (hot, not moving)
ice
air (sky)
light (natural)
fire
earth (ground, dirt)
wood
dust
rock, stone
salt (in sea)
sand
soil, dirt
mountain
sea (ocean)
river (flowing into the sea)
river (flowing into another river)
lake
to flow (move in a stream)
morning (early morning)
morning (late morning)
day, daytime
evening
night
round (spherical)
to freeze (transitive)
to burn (transitive)
food (I need ~ and water)
to cook
meat
fruit (as food)
water (as drink or for cooking, cold)
water (as drink or for cooking, hot)
home, house
music
clothes
leaf (on plant)
leaf (fallen off)
seed (to be planted)
seed (inside apple, watermelon, etc.)
stick
wing (of vertebrate)
body
hair (mass, on head)
head
face
eye
nose
mouth
tooth
tongue
ear
neck
arm
hand
finger
nail
knee
foot
skin (as an organ)
heart
blood
tear
egg (as reproductive device)
life (experience of living)
to live (be alive)
mind (center of thoughts and emotions)
to grow (intransitive)
to die (of a person)
happy
sad
afraid
angry
plant
flower
tree
mother
father
older sister (of a sister)
older sister (of a brother)
younger sister (of a sister)
younger sister (of a brother)
older brother (of a sister)
older brother (of a brother)
younger brother (of a sister)
younger brother (of a brother)
child (reciprocal of parent)
daughter (of a mother)
daughter (of a father)
son (of a mother)
son (of a father)
person/people
baby
child (prepubescent person)
girl (female child)
boy (male child)
girl (young woman)
boy (young man)
woman
man (as distinguished from woman)
friend

[Nachtuil]

That looks about right yeah, nice work. I'll have to make a map at some point showing their migration through time. I imagine them to be traceable to some position in the E column.

[Khemehekis]

A question: How far back do our languages go? I'd like to help with conlangs for this project, but I want to know if the proto-languages all have to date from the beginning of history. And are we going to wait to start our conlangs until we've gotten the history fleshed out well?

[brblues]

A question: How far back do our languages go? I'd like to help with conlangs for this project, but I want to know if the proto-languages all have to date from the beginning of history. And are we going to wait to start our conlangs until we've gotten the history fleshed out well?

It would be amazing if you wanted to join! And there's no need for the proto-lang to go back to any specific date IMO. For the sake of maximising interaction, it would obviously be better to go back to at least the date the earliest langs in the world are being developed now, but that's not a requirement, and one could also work back after developing something (though that's harder!).

My proto-lang I've been working on for a while is set in the iron age, around 1000BC or PS9000 (the method of time reckoning in-world).

It might seem a bit chaotic, but working on the conlangs and history concurrently would be best I think, cause the more freedom the individual members have, the more output we will have; I know that I myself sometimes suffer from "conlanging fatigue", but would be more than happy to do some conworlding then, and expect others might be the same.

A good idea would possibly be if we had the option of asking one another questions about parts of the history of our relevant parts of the world and languages. At the moment, we're not sure yet where everyone is located; do you have a preference there? I think I would put myself into the (dark green) Mediterranean zone, but could also be on the eastern side of the continent, if you (or somebody else) wanted to go there and need companionshiped

There are so far also two rough climate drafts I made, with input from others, which can be found in this thread; one of the options would presuppose a high mountain range in the D4 and E4 quadrants, and one a lower one; the one with the higher mountain range would feature a "mammoth steppe".

Which one would be preferable to you guys? The maps aren't finalized yet as they are only drafts, so feel free to make changes to them as well if you want to or make suggestions

[k1234567890y]

the time for proto-Sitr is unknown, and all known Sitr languages(or “dialects”, Sitr people usually call varieties of Sitr languages as “dialects” or “vernacular speech”) are from Old Sitr/Classical Sitr, it is not known if there are any Sitr languages evolved from pre-classical Sitr, it is likely that Sitr languages are similar to Romance languages, which evolved from Latin, and scholars sometimes assume that proto-Sitr is very similar(if not nearly identical) to Classical Sitr.

Btw, I already have more than 1,700 CWS entries for Classical Sitr.

[Khemehekis]

It would be amazing if you wanted to join!

And there's no need for the proto-lang to go back to any specific date IMO. For the sake of maximising interaction, it would obviously be better to go back to at least the date the earliest langs in the world are being developed now, but that's not a requirement, and one could also work back after developing something (though that's harder!).

I think I'd start with the equivalent of Proto-Indo-European, or Proto-Afro-Asiatic, or Proto-Austronesian . . . in other words, the furthest language back in a reconstructible phylum.

My proto-lang I've been working on for a while is set in the iron age, around 1000BC or PS9000 (the method of time reckoning in-world).

Oh, cool!

It might seem a bit chaotic, but working on the conlangs and history concurrently would be best I think, cause the more freedom the individual members have, the more output we will have

Sounds good!

A good idea would possibly be if we had the option of asking one another questions about parts of the history of our relevant parts of the world and languages. At the moment, we're not sure yet where everyone is located; do you have a preference there? I think I would put myself into the (dark green) Mediterranean zone, but could also be on the eastern side of the continent, if you (or somebody else) wanted to go there and need companionshiped

I think I'll start my people out in a desert area. My daughterlangs can be spoken by a religious desert people (like the Israelites and Arabs), a trader desert people (like the Phoenicians), maybe someone like the Sumerians.

Of course, languages like PIE, PAA, or Proto-Austronesian usually become the beginning of a large phylum because of some big innovation. For Proto-Indo-Europeans, it was wheeled vehicles. For Proto-Austronesians, it was the ability to travel across the Pacific Ocean. What such innovation could a desert people have?

There are so far also two rough climate drafts I made, with input from others, which can be found in this thread; one of the options would presuppose a high mountain range in the D4 and E4 quadrants, and one a lower one; the one with the higher mountain range would feature a "mammoth steppe".

Which one would be preferable to you guys? The maps aren't finalized yet as they are only drafts, so feel free to make changes to them as well if you want to or make suggestions

Hmmm . . . well, mountain ranges makes for lots of language phyla and branches, and smaller phyla and branches in the regions. Grasslands make for many languages in one or two phyla over the area. I'm not sure which of the two would be optimal for this project.

[k1234567890y]

The country for Sitr-speaking people is called Kompalia, it has existed for more than 3,000 years(more than 5,000 years including mythological era).

The history of Kompalia is divided into the following stages: Kompalian States(ca 800 BC -220 BC), The First Kingdom of Kompalia(220 BC- 204 BC), The First Republic of Kompalia(203 BC - 220 AD, interrupted during 5 AD - 25 AD), The Era of Four States and the First Intermediate Period(220 AD - 589 AD), The Second Kingdom of Kompalia(579 AD - 619 AD), The Second Republic of Kompalia(621 AD - 904 AD), The Second Intermediate Period(904 AD - 978 AD), The Third Republic of Kompalia(958 AD - 1360 AD), The Fourth Republic of Kompalia(1369 AD - 1640 AD), The Fifth Republic of Kompalia(1660 AD - 1909 AD), the Sixth Republic of Kompalia(1910 AD - now)

The Kompalian States during ca. 800 BC - 220 BC marked with the earliest written record of the Sitr language, and archaeological evidence shows that there was at least one unified Sitr-speaking state that existed between ca, 1500 BCE-800 BCE

[k1234567890y]

The ethnonym of Sitr speaking people is Lvkaqueeg(/ləkäkʷi:g/) or Leekan(/li:kän/) in Classical Sitr. As most Sitr-speaking people have lived under the same regime for most of the time, they have developed a shared identity despite the substantial differences between post-classical Sitr languages.

[brblues]

I am glad about everybody else's input and continue to conlang and conworld for the collab myself, just too busy to make posts presenting the things right now, but I will soon again!

[Khemehekis]

Have we decided on the date on this planet for the invention of the wheel? The first people to use wheeled vehicles? I'm thinking my desert proto-people could be the first people in their desert to use the wheel for camel caravans.

[k1234567890y]

Have we decided on the date on this planet for the invention of the wheel? The first people to use wheeled vehicles? I'm thinking my desert proto-people could be the first people in their desert to use the wheel for camel caravans.

Not yet. I guess you can do it if your conpeople had the need and the right condition for them.

Speaking of wheels, everyone can read this: https://www.livescience.com/18808-invention-wheel.html

[Nachtuil]

That's a really cool link Ky!!

[Nachtuil]

It would probably make sense that the wheel would have been invented in the north east, or so I imagine just due to it having a large area of grassland and steppes but that certainly need not be the case of course.

[Khemehekis]

K1-0y: I agree with Nachtuil, that's a great article!

It would probably make sense that the wheel would have been invented in the north east, or so I imagine just due to it having a large area of grassland and steppes but that certainly need not be the case of course.

How about: A savannah people invents the wheel, and then my nomadic desert dwellers are traveling in proximity to the savannah when they come across the wheel, and are the first people in their desert to borrow the wheel, giving them primacy in their desert area and making them the ancestors of a big future language phylum?

[Nachtuil]

That works for me.

[brblues]

K1-0y: I agree with Nachtuil, that's a great article!

It would probably make sense that the wheel would have been invented in the north east, or so I imagine just due to it having a large area of grassland and steppes but that certainly need not be the case of course.

How about: A savannah people invents the wheel, and then my nomadic desert dwellers are traveling in proximity to the savannah when they come across the wheel, and are the first people in their desert to borrow the wheel, giving them primacy in their desert area and making them the ancestors of a big future language phylum?

That also sounds fine by me, and we could actually begin to set some more specifics in stone if that's okay with everybody!

Is your desert people's homeland the deserts (i.e. bright yellow parts) in D3/4 and E3?

By the way, I really hope that I got the climate map roughly right. Given that ky, the creator of the map, has said that the huge mountainous plateau may be surrounded by high mountains, I would then go with that and consequently the map posted in that post, but this one might also still be subject to improvement if anybody has anything to add/correct.

If that is where you want to settle, Khemehekis, then the inventors of the wheel would hail from one of the pink areas (savannahs) near the deserts, which would give you plausible access to it. And, by virtue of the proximity, also to me (via the desert people) if I'm in the dark green area Yes I know I should commit finally, but I want to make sure the conditions are right :D And also, that we maybe get a somewhat even distribution, but others might also still want to join, I hope!

In another option, I also wouldn't mind "playing" the inventor of the wheel and to originally hail from E4. Khemehekis' desert peoples, being located in the deserts to the west of the highlands/mountains, could then come into contact with the invention as intrepid explorers to my area, use it for themselves to their advantage and eventually also settle the whole mediterranean (dark green) part in D3 in addition to their deserty area.

What do you think?

[Zekoslav]

I've got one more input on the climate map: because of how deserts work (evaporation > precipitation), warmer continental areas are more likely to be desert than cold continental areas. That is, I'd make the southern half of F2 (currently steppe) a cold desert and the northern half of E2 steppe (currently desert). This rather replicates what we see in Asia on Earth.

I also have a hunch that the monsoon climate would extend somewhat more inland than it currently does: the mountain range in northeastern F3, if it's tall enough, may be wet (monsoon) on it's southern side and dry (desert) on it's northern side.

[brblues]

Thanks againfor your assistance, Zekoslav, I will amend the map.

Would you by any chance also be interested in joining with a conlang of your own? There is still a good amount of empty space all over the map! The possibility of extensively borrowing vocab from other conlangs would mean that you would need to fret less about "what to call what" ;)

[Zekoslav]

Thanks againfor your assistance, Zekoslav, I will amend the map.

Would you by any chance also be interested in joining with a conlang of your own? There is still a good amount of empty space all over the map! The possibility of extensively borrowing vocab from other conlangs would mean that you would need to fret less about "what to call what" ;)

Thanks for inviting me to join! It would be nice to make a conlang for the conworld if I manage to get over my word-inventing block (none of my a-priori conlang ever got past the phonology sketch stage).

If it ever comes to that, may I take the E2 quadrant, in the steppe/desert whose existence I proposed?