Search found 2979 matches

by Salmoneus
21 Dec 2023 21:02
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

Something that just came to my mind is syntactic ergativity vs. morphological ergativity. If you assume that there is a language with true and total ergative word order, where intransitive S is treated like the object/patient O of a transitive verb, could can get the following languages. SV, SOV SV...
by Salmoneus
20 Dec 2023 22:49
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

The one thing that really leaps out from those stats (thanks for compiling them!) is the SOV/SVO issue. From your figures, of languages as a whole, there's 564 SOV languages to 488 SVO languages - i.e. 46% of S-initial languages are SVO. But among ergative languages, there's 20 SOV languages to 1 SV...
by Salmoneus
17 Dec 2023 20:54
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

How do you develop consonant clusters? I have always found it problematic. Do you just table all three consonant combinations possible with the consonant inventory and decide which ones you like? Do you just have some kind of intuition? Do you read a grammar of some native American language and cop...
by Salmoneus
17 Dec 2023 01:48
Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
Topic: a question about monster raving loony alignment
Replies: 4
Views: 476

Re: a question about monster raving loony alignment

I'm afraid I don't speak Rushani, so I don't know how it deals with this problem. However, if a language doesn't have a dedicated mechanism for indicating counterintuitive argument assignments, it may use a general mechanism - perhaps an unexpected topicalisation or focusing can encourage listeners ...
by Salmoneus
17 Dec 2023 01:39
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

As Arayaz says, the obvious answer is vowel loss. /dakata/ > /dakta/, etc. A rarer option is fortition of glides, which can originate in vowels or through excrescence: /daita/ > /dakta/, or /dat_ja/ > /dakta/ It's also possible to have direct decomposition - a labial-velar stop could become a cluste...
by Salmoneus
12 Dec 2023 14:31
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: Word for 'chicks'
Replies: 3
Views: 234

Re: Word for 'chicks'

I'd also note that not only is English "chicks" for "young women" mostly offensive, it also makes you sound like a 1980s American yuppie. [the connotations of "chick" for one woman may be slightly different, and certainly if it's used in the vocative] This demonstrates ...
by Salmoneus
11 Dec 2023 01:41
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

It is extremely creepy to make us stalk people from somewhere else who don't know us, and whom we don't know. Did you ask them before taking their words and reposting them elsewhere on the internet without any context? It's disturbing thinking you may be doing the same thing to us. Is it even legal,...
by Salmoneus
11 Dec 2023 01:27
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: Extreme Conlang Ideas
Replies: 37
Views: 2155

Re: Extreme Conlang Ideas

My conlang, U, departs from normal linguistic (Saussurean) expectations by not using signs that represent things or ideas. [at least, not at the heart of the language; there are some functional gestures that could be seen, I guess, as symbolic]. I never got too far into it, though (partly because I...
by Salmoneus
09 Dec 2023 15:34
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: (C&C) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1938
Views: 656315

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

It's not really a republic at the earlier stages of history, but it was established in response to a monarchy, so I will call it republic. It probably could be called a councilist elective aristocratic monarchy with a palace economy, too. That's literally exactly what a republic usually is: an elec...
by Salmoneus
09 Dec 2023 14:15
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: The Sixth Conversation Thread
Replies: 762
Views: 193831

Re: The Sixth Conversation Thread

Be glad you're not doing the "move in to new home in morning, have to move out of old home completely and forever by evening" thing. That is... stressful.
by Salmoneus
08 Dec 2023 17:38
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

Not that English spelling and pronunciation have a great correspondence, but the pronunciation with /e/ doesn't even make sense looking at broader patterns in the language. The only instances of stressed <a> saying /e/ that I can think of are "any" and "many". (Curious if anyone...
by Salmoneus
08 Dec 2023 16:06
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: Extreme Conlang Ideas
Replies: 37
Views: 2155

Re: Extreme Conlang Ideas

My conlang, U, departs from normal linguistic (Saussurean) expectations by not using signs that represent things or ideas. [at least, not at the heart of the language; there are some functional gestures that could be seen, I guess, as symbolic]. I never got too far into it, though (partly because I ...
by Salmoneus
08 Dec 2023 15:59
Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
Topic: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1110
Views: 282395

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

Is there any instance of a language distinguishing voicing in all fricatives except lateral fricatives? In other words, in a naturalistic conlang that has f/v, s/z, ʃ/ʒ etc., would it be fine to only have ɬ, or should I also have ɮ in that case? Looking at some of the languages listed here , I foun...
by Salmoneus
04 Dec 2023 19:14
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: (C&C) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1938
Views: 656315

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

I should probably add: another common option in fantasy settings is to model magical craft on mediaeval European non-magical crafts and have a guild: hence master and apprentice, often some intermediary term equivalent to 'journeyman', probably a council of masters and some sort of 'grandmaster'. I ...
by Salmoneus
04 Dec 2023 18:24
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: (C&C) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1938
Views: 656315

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

I'm no economist, so I have no idea if this would make sense, even for a Kardashev II civilization, particularly since I've already established that normal space colonies exist to fill this need. But the idea just sounds too cool to ignore.[/qauote]You could justify it if your society has rampant c...
by Salmoneus
04 Dec 2023 17:58
Forum: Conworlds & Concultures
Topic: (C&C) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1938
Views: 656315

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

What is a good term for the boss/head of a wizard association/council? Also, what is a good term for that council? There's no answer to that. There are two ways you could decide (or you could find a compromise between the two): internal logic, and artistic function. Internal logic would ask what wo...
by Salmoneus
30 Nov 2023 02:01
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: The Sixth Conversation Thread
Replies: 762
Views: 193831

Re: The Sixth Conversation Thread

Bad News: my ancient laptop's screen, which was occasionally iffy, has now stopped working entirely. Good News: I'm pretty sure I know why. It's not the screen, it's the cable attaching the screen to the board. And I've worked out I can buy a replacement quite cheaply. Bad News: in investigating whe...
by Salmoneus
29 Nov 2023 19:08
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

Oblong countable objects vs non-oblong non-countable objects Is this intended as a joke? Or, that could actually be a valid gender system.. different shape classes. Japanese (in part) makes use of different counters for different shaped things. Not specifically a gender system but maybe it could be...
by Salmoneus
29 Nov 2023 14:16
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

Oblong countable objects vs non-oblong non-countable objects
by Salmoneus
27 Nov 2023 17:15
Forum: Conlangs
Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Replies: 1678
Views: 347445

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

Sorry for double-posting, but I have another question. In English, one can nominalize a verb and state its patient by using the genitive (" the eating of vegetables is beneficial for one's health"). In addition, one can state the agent with a possessive construction (" my running in ...