Search found 25 matches

by MysteryMan23
15 Dec 2019 04:00
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: How to Handle Politics in a Modern Day World?
Replies: 19
Views: 5385

How to Handle Politics in a Modern Day World?

So, the world I'm working on is based off our modern day. It still has magic and nonhuman species, though. One major thing I'm concerned about is the politics. You see, while politics is a major part of any world, it can also be kind of, well, depressing. Especially modern day politics, which is bot...
by MysteryMan23
06 Mar 2019 16:07
Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
Topic: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2019]
Replies: 7086
Views: 1317997

Re: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here

Hmm...not quite what I'm looking for. Truth is, I was hoping for a source that would enumerate the sound changes, ala the source I had for PIE to Proto-Italic. (Leiden and de Vaan's Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages , for those curious. Still, Sihler does seem like a go...
by MysteryMan23
05 Mar 2019 23:59
Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
Topic: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2019]
Replies: 7086
Views: 1317997

Re: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here

Hey there!

So, I'm looking into how PIE evolved into Latin. I've found a source on the changes up to Proto-Italic, but beyond that, I've yet to really find anything I can use. Any good sources on this out there? Thanks!
by MysteryMan23
15 Feb 2019 18:38
Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
Topic: Regional Differences in Vulgar Latin
Replies: 8
Views: 3432

Regional Differences in Vulgar Latin

Okay, so, I've heard that Vulgar Latin had different regional dialects, and that the phonological history of these dialects is effectively one and the same with the early phonological history of the Romance languages. However, I've also heard that the differences between these dialects were minor up...
by MysteryMan23
22 Jan 2019 01:36
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2020]
Replies: 11605
Views: 2044191

Re: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here

Simplification/collapse of grammatical gender is attested well enough (the Romance languages, for example, typically see the neuter merge in with the masculine, and, if I remember correctly, Danish has merged the Old Norse masculine and feminine into a "common" gender). I'm not sure I und...
by MysteryMan23
20 Jan 2019 02:02
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2020]
Replies: 11605
Views: 2044191

Re: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here

Hey there! I'm toying with this idea for a set of conlangs. You see, they all descended from a common language spoken by a now-fallen empire; this language had a system of masculine, feminine, and neuter gender. However, only some of the descendant languages preserve this system; others have changed...
by MysteryMan23
07 Mar 2017 14:56
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Improving my Coastlines
Replies: 14
Views: 4928

Re: Improving my Coastlines

"Glacier" isn't an obscure subject to google, you know. Glaciers create steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys all over the place. When sea levels rise, these in turn create fjords, and more generally a jagged, scalloped contour. Sea levels rises will also be important when you're dealing wit...
by MysteryMan23
05 Mar 2017 20:02
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Improving my Coastlines
Replies: 14
Views: 4928

Re: Improving my Coastlines

"Glacier" isn't an obscure subject to google, you know. Glaciers create steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys all over the place. When sea levels rise, these in turn create fjords, and more generally a jagged, scalloped contour. Sea levels rises will also be important when you're dealing wit...
by MysteryMan23
04 Mar 2017 19:51
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Improving my Coastlines
Replies: 14
Views: 4928

Re: Improving my Coastlines

I'm not sure what is meant by a "smooth" coastline. Can you provide an example or three from Earth of what you mean? Basically, what I'm going for is that, on the scale of a world map, some coastlines appear more rougher and "fractal" than others. Look at a world map; some coast...
by MysteryMan23
03 Mar 2017 21:28
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Improving my Coastlines
Replies: 14
Views: 4928

Re: Improving my Coastlines

I'm not sure what is meant by a "smooth" coastline. Can you provide an example or three from Earth of what you mean? Basically, what I'm going for is that, on the scale of a world map, some coastlines appear more rougher and "fractal" than others. Look at a world map; some coast...
by MysteryMan23
02 Mar 2017 21:34
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Improving my Coastlines
Replies: 14
Views: 4928

Re: Improving my Coastlines

If you'd like to just fake it, here's a tutorial from the Cartographer's Guild on how to make nice-looking coastlines in GIMP. I like to use this method to give me a general idea, and then modify it as necessary. Erm, thanks but no thanks. I was kind of hoping for answers to my questions. If you ha...
by MysteryMan23
02 Mar 2017 02:28
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Improving my Coastlines
Replies: 14
Views: 4928

Improving my Coastlines

So, I'm working on my world map, and I'm having trouble making my coastlines realistic. Here's what they look like right now: http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb342/MysteryMan23100/Delmeiri%206-30-2016.png I want to make the coastlines of my continents more varied and realistic. I want to make it...
by MysteryMan23
05 Jul 2016 05:29
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Questions about coastlines, etc.
Replies: 11
Views: 3055

Questions about coastlines, etc.

Hi. I'm aiming to create my world's coastlines using a method I found at Cartographer's Guild; you might already know it. In GIMP terms, you basically use the random noise, fade, and threshold functions to randomize the coastlines. I plan to use the resulting map as a basis for a heightmap. Anyways,...
by MysteryMan23
27 Feb 2016 22:05
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Programs for creating timelines for conworlds
Replies: 4
Views: 1880

Re: Programs for creating timelines for conworlds

So, I did some looking, and I found this program called Aeon Timeline . It has a custom calendar feature, so you can enter your conworld's calendar into the program. The full version of this program does cost $40; however, there is a trial version. In any case, though, I am as yet unaware of any fre...
by MysteryMan23
27 Feb 2016 01:25
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: Programs for creating timelines for conworlds
Replies: 4
Views: 1880

Programs for creating timelines for conworlds

So, I'm interested in building a timeline for my conworld, but I haven't found any that work well for conworlds with non-Earth calendars. Are there any such programs designed for that? If not, what program would you recommend for such a task? Thank you.
by MysteryMan23
15 Feb 2016 21:30
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2020]
Replies: 11605
Views: 2044191

Re: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here

I do think it's a little unusual that /i/ shifts to /ei/ but /u/ does not shift to /ou/. I agree here. But, MysteryMan, if you can find a reason for /ou/ to already exist in the vowel inventory before the shift starts, that could justify /u/ not moving and maybe even /i/ shifting to /ei/. Both /ei/...
by MysteryMan23
15 Feb 2016 04:35
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2020]
Replies: 11605
Views: 2044191

Re: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here

So, I just decided on a vowel shift for my language:

/au oi ou/ > /o/ > /a/ > /e/ > /i/ > /ei/

I just wanted to know if it was particularly unusual for a vowel shift to hit /o a e i/ but not /u/. Thanks!
by MysteryMan23
10 Feb 2016 23:26
Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
Topic: Origin of Latin Conjugations
Replies: 2
Views: 1710

Origin of Latin Conjugations

Okay! So, according to Fortson, the various conjugations of Latin came about because of sequences ending in -ye contracting to become long vowels. I was wondering if this was initially a regular sound change, or if it was more of a sporadic change? And what about verbs with stems that didn't end in ...
by MysteryMan23
26 Jan 2016 00:07
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: How to keep a language monosyllabic over the long term?
Replies: 7
Views: 1935

Re: How to keep a language monosyllabic over the long term?

Lnaguages where roots are mostly monosyllabic seem pretty well-attested. In terms of words, though, I think there may be more factors contributing to polysyllabicity than just disambiguation of homophonic roots. It seems hard to me to combine "mostly monosyllabic words" with "isolati...
by MysteryMan23
25 Jan 2016 19:07
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: How to keep a language monosyllabic over the long term?
Replies: 7
Views: 1935

Re: How to keep a language monosyllabic over the long term?

Well, when I say "monosyllabic" I don't exactly mean all the words are monosyllabic. However, I do intend most of the roots to be monosyllabic; and this, combined with the highly isolating nature of the language, means that the majority of words will be monosyllables. As for polysyllables,...