Presenting a Conlang

If you're new to these arts, this is the place to ask "stupid" questions and get directions!
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HJH
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Presenting a Conlang

Post by HJH »

Hello

I am new to this forum and am a bit confused about it. I have started creating a conlang, but am not sure how to present it here. Should I create a new thread and, if so, what should I put there? My conlang is currently on a spreadsheet.
Thanks!
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sangi39
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Re: Presenting a Conlang

Post by sangi39 »

HJH wrote: 16 Feb 2019 13:08 Hello

I am new to this forum and am a bit confused about it. I have started creating a conlang, but am not sure how to present it here. Should I create a new thread and, if so, what should I put there? My conlang is currently on a spreadsheet.
Thanks!
I tend to thing it depends on what you have. Like, if you're more still at the "asking questions" trying-to-figure-it-out stage, then presenting bits of it in the Quick Questions thread could work (or any other thread where presenting information on it might be relevant), but if you feel you've got something more concrete then a separate thread could be an idea.

I tend to start with a post covering the background for the conlang (where it's spoken, who by, at what point in history), then move on to the phonology (phoneme inventory, phonotactics, allophony, stress placement, etc.), then move on to things like nouns (noun classes, declensions if their are any, how things like number marking and cases are used), pronouns, then on to verbs (again, classes, conjugations, how and when they're used), then things like adjectives (if they're a distinct word class), adverbs (again, if distinct), adpositions, and syntax. (so sort of "things", "things those things can do/be", "how to make sentences".

Other conlangers have different approaches, but that seems to be the most common one. What you might find is that you do have to present certain things early, e.g. when describing how cases work, you'll have to show off a sentence or two before you've introduced how verbs work, but since you'll end up describing them later anyway it's not that much of an issue.
You can tell the same lie a thousand times,
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
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