What languages influence your conlangs?
- WeepingElf
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Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
Old Albic is meant as an Indo-European language related to Hittite, so Proto-Indo-European and Hittite are obvious sources of influence. As are Georgian (for the morphosyntactic alignment), the Insular Celtic languages (as Old Albic is meant to be the enigmatic substratum that some scholars hold responsible for the typological "weirdness" of the Insular Celtic languages), and Tolkien's Elvish languages (for the generic "Elvish" look and feel). And, last but not least, Latin - the language that shaped my general conlanging style when I learned it in school.
Last edited by WeepingElf on 01 May 2022 18:02, edited 1 time in total.
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- mongolian
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Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
I see. For some of my Leholangs, I put together native roots or Classical (like Ciladian) roots to mean newer inventions, the way "television" is far + see in English. But some of my Leholangs are for civilizations so advanced they'd've had televisions and computers and spacecraft and smartphones and zikmaltaks (like iPods, but the inside "folds up" by going into a higher dimension of spacetime) for millennia, and I just give these languages unanalyzable roots, or in the case of the zikmalktak, a Keitelese invention, have them borrow the word.MissTerry wrote: ↑25 Apr 2022 16:46 It's hard for me to make new words for my conlang, but at the same time it's easy. Hard because I can't just make up arbitrary words to be new words in my conlang, because the conlang is supposed to be a sister language of Sanskrit, like how Spanish is a sister language of Italian having come from the same ancestral Latin. And so, to make new words, I would first look through what words, roots, and affixes I already have to see if I can make the news words I need out of them. If I can't, then I have a handful of old digitized Sanskrit dictionaries I go through to find radicals, roots, and new particles (affixes) to assimilate into my conlang. If that doesn't work, than I have no choice but to use my creativity and imagination and resort to inventing an arbitrary root or radical to use. Which is why I classify my conlang as a "sister language" and not a dialect proper of Sanskrit.
. . .
The challenging part is to take those ancient roots, radicals, and particles, and to create words to describe things in our modern civilization such as: jet propulsion, quantum physics, quantum entanglement, atomic fusion, nuclear bomb, hypersonic missiles, airplanes, buses, tin foil, microwaves, screw drivers, nuts and bolts, hotdogs, pizzas, tacos, martian rovers, space probes, television, the internet, internet forums, computers, hard drives, the metaverse, and so on :) My conlang at the moment lacks the ability to talk about the modern world! But I'm working on that. Right now I'm forced to invent a class of arbitrary radicals to use in order to affix to those ancient roots and words to create neologisms that can talk about our modern civilization.
Cool! I never knew "man/Mensch" and "mental" were related!The root "Man" means "To Think." Add to that the suffix +Usha/+Ussa meaning "One who is / that which is" and you get the word "Manusha/Manussa" which is the word for "Human/Person" (literally meaning "That which thinks / one who thinks") and is genetically related to the German word "Mensche," and to the English word "Man." The Sanskrit root "Man" is also genetically related to the Latin "Mens" from where we get our English word "Mental."
For me, it's fun, because I'm fascinated with etymology, and as I go through my Sanskrit dictionaries trying to create new words for my conlang, I actually learn a lot about where our own English words ultimately come from!
I wish you well on your task to create vocabulary for modern things. Here are some sections of the Landau Core Vocabulary that should come in handy for electronic technology:
Spoiler:
♂♥♂♀
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
Thank you!Khemehekis wrote: ↑26 Apr 2022 01:45
I wish you well on your task to create vocabulary for modern things. Here are some sections of the Landau Core Vocabulary that should come in handy for electronic technology:
Spoiler:
Aha... that list is exactly what I actually need! Thank you for that!
...Different Subject...
I was asked to use Basha Humrayan to translate something called "The Sermon In The Thunder" by someone who lived in India for a while. I didn't want to double post consecutively, so I will post the translation in this post.
What I'll do is first quote "The Sermon In The Thunder" in English as I received it. Below that I will then give the translation in Anglicized Humrayan. And below the Anglicized Humrayan, I will give a detailed breakdown of the words used in the Humrayan translation of "The Sermon In The Thunder":
Michael: Was it not Buddha who heard a sermon in the thunder?
Lucifer: Actually, it is in the Upanishads, but I applaud your ecumenical impulse.
Michael: And the words the thunder said were Datta, Dayadvam, Damyata. Give, sympathize and control. I've always thought of that as one commandment rather than three.
Lucifer: Why do I feel that this particular sermon is being preached at me? I can do control. Nobody is good at everything.
Lucifer: [later] A sermon in the thunder, Michael? Thunder only has one thing to say: it tells us how close the storm is.
Notes On Words Used:Mika’elis: Se te aybuddhashrian ivasam smaschrutat vreyas aye sthighu smaasanyat ya?
Lukivheris: Vaijngayano, te kakshe ayupanishadu as, yevo, mevarat cittrischna prophublogayakaadanan tuan.
Mika’elis: Co, tu pahdwa sthighu gatat se Datta, Dayadvam, Damyata smaasat. Yaklhat ivam Data, Kamphata, Nijhrahata. Aabat agham smawischvolyat citado aivam aika jaaya asatum, yischo yahnte tla.
Lukivheris: Ivartho mevidkuunahe yadto luuvayan ayam vreya rasasanat abhe aghaa as yaye? Mekaruban nijhrahat. Kushtanam sukarat yurokhe saruavidaa as.
Lukivheris: [nitsakan] Vreyas aye sthighu Mika’el yaye? Sthigha rayat aika sahbhva galhatum ubhaiko: vistahmrat naa ivo yadtutan abdimu as.
Mika’elis: Mika'el+is I tried to keep the pronunciation of Michael as close to the Hebrew as possible. +is is the name suffix and indicates that the what it is attached to is a name, which may not always have a meaning like a word proper.
Se: Is an indicator. It indicates that what follows it is hearsay, that which was heard said, “so-called,” or “So it was said,” or “so I hear…”
Te: Is not a pronoun, but a place holder for when what is being spoken about is not anything. For example, the “it” in our English phrase “it is raining” does not refer to anyting, not an object or thing or idea that exists to be spoken about. “Te Raining As [is/be]” would mean “it is raining.”
Aybuddhashrian: Ay is “the” as a prefix. Buddha is Buddha. Shrian means Venerable, from the Sanskrit word “Shri” like “Shri Hare Krishna.” Thus: “The Venerable Buddha.”
Ivasam: Means “Who / Whom.”
Smaschrutat: sma+schrut+at. Sma is a prefix which means “aleady did” and is also the past tense prefix. Schrut means “Hear.” +At is a verb conjugation suffix. Schrutatum means “To Hear,” and “Schrutat” means “Hear” and indicates that it is a verb.
Vreyas: Vreya+s: Vreya means “Teaching / Doctrine.” +S is the indefinite article suffix. Thus: Vreyas means “A teaching or a preaching of doctrine.”
Aye: means “in.”
Sthighu: Sthigha+u. Sthigha means “thunder.” +U is the definite article suffix. Thus: Sthighu means “The thunder.”
Smaasanyat: Sma+As+Anyatum. Sma is the past tense prefix. As means “Is/Be” as a Base Verb (Asatum means To Be, where +atum is the infinitive verbal suffix). The suffix +Anyatum is also an infinitive verbal suffix but it has the Speculative / Curious Mood. Asanyatum means “To Be” but you are talking about something Being something due to speculation or curiosity. Like if we were to say: “I think I am beautiful, but I’m not sure, I’m just speculating.” Thus: Smaasanyat is the Base Verb in its past tense trying to mean that you think or believe something “was being” something in a curious way, where you are expressing your own curiosity or are thinking out loud.
Ya: Is an indicator. It indicates that the statement spoken is a question which seeks an answer.
Lukivheris: Likivher+is Pronounced as Loo-Kee-Fair. I tried to keep the pronunciation of Lucifer as close to restored classical Latin as possible. +is is the name suffix and indicates that what it is attached to is a name which may not always have a meaning like a word proper.
Vaijngayano: Means “actually” or “truthfully,” or “honestly.”
Kakshe: Means “within.”
Ayupanishadu: Means “The Upanishads.”
As: is the word “Asat” which is the Base Verb “is/be” conjugated from Asatum (to be). Asat in its present tense form is the only verb where the final +at can be dropped.
Yevo: Means “but.”
Mevarat: Me+Varat. Me is the ‘First Objective Singular Person Male’ prefix. Humrayan, like many Southeast Asian languages, has two sets of first person singular pronouns, one for each gender. Varat is conjugated from Varatum meaning “To Praise / To Salute Respectfully.” Thus: mevarat means “I Praise,” but a male is speaking it. Ya+ is the ‘First Objective Singular Person Female’ prefix. And so Yavarat means “I praise,” but a girl is saying it.
Cittrischna: Cita+Trischna. Cita [pronounced as “Chee-Tah”] comes from the Sanskrit Citta, meaning your Heart-mind, the seat of your emotions. Trischna [pronounced as “Tree-Shnah,” rhymes with Krishna] means “Urge.” Thus Cittrischna means an emotional urge or impulse or impulsive thoughts and feelings.
Prophublogayakaadanan: Pro+Phubloga+Yakaada+Ana+An. Pro means “For / To Carry Forward / To Support.” Phubloga means “Public / Society / World Of Common People / Public Order.” Yakaada means “Unity / That which is United.” +Ana is a suffix meaning “A set of beliefs, practices, actions, behavior.” And the suffix +An changes a word into an adjective or descriptor. Thus: prophublogayakaadanan means something like “the quality and characteristic of supporting the beliefs, practices, actions pertaining to the unity of the public,” or approximately “Ecumenismical.”
Tuan: Means the “Second Singular Person Possessive Pronoun” or “Your.”
Co: Pronounced as “Cho,” rhymes with “Go,” and means “And / Also.”
Tu Pahdwa: Tu means “the” but refers to many somethings. Pahdwa means “word.” Thus: Tu pahdwa means “the words.”
Gatat: Is the base verbal conjugation of Gatatum which means “to say or speak with a thunderous voice.”
Datta, Dayadvam, Damyata: Are Sanskrit words proper from the original quote.
Yaklhat: Is the conjugation of the verb Yaklhatum which means “to mean, to signify.”
Ivam: Means “What / That / Which,” the same as the Spanish word “Que.”
Data: Datum+ata. Datum is the word for “to give / to offer.” The suffix +Ata is the imperative suffix where you tell or instruct or command someone to do something.
Kamphata: Kamphatum+ata. Kamphata means “sympathize, empathize,” +Ata is the imperative suffix.
Nijhrahata: Nijhrahatum+ata. Nijhrahata means “control,” +Ata is the imperative suffix.
Aabat: means “have” and is conjugated from Aabatum (to have).
Agham: is the “First Singular Subjective Person Male Pronoun” (it means “I”), and comes from the Sanskrit pronoun “aham” and also is related to the Latin word and pronoun “ego.” For females, the first subjective person singular pronoun is “Anam.”
Smawischvolyat: Sma+Wischvolyat. Sma means “did already.” Wischvolyat is the conjugation of Wischvolyatum. Wischvolyatum is the word “Wischvat” which means “believe” but in the “imaginitive mood” indicated by the suffix +Olyat/+Olyatum. The suffix “+Olyatum” means that what verb or action is done did not happen in the real world, but happened in your mind, your imagination; and thus implies delusion. Wischvolyat means “to believe” but what you believe is only in your own mind and is not real in any way. Thus, smawischvolyat means “believed” but what was believed was never real, never a reality/truth in the real world.
Citado: Means “always / ever.”
Aivam: Pronounced like “Eye-vam,” and means “that.”
Aika: Pronounced as “Eye-kah.” Is the Humrayan word for “one,” as in one, two, three (aika, dwa, tla).
Jaaya: When anglicized, a double vowel is the Long Vowel which is pronounced like the Short Vowel but longer in duration of pronunciation. If the short vowel is half a second long, than the long vowel is one second in duration. Jaaya is the noun form of the verb Jaayatum meaning “to order, command” in the military sense, because Jaayatum is related to the word Jayatum which means “to fight, to battle.” Thus, jaaya means “commandment.”
Asatum: Means “to be.”
Yischo: Means “rather.”
Yahnte: Means “than”
Tla: Means “three” (3).
Ivartho: Means “wherefore / why.”
Mevidkuunahe: Me+Vidkuuna+Ahe. Me is the first person male pronoun prefix attached to verbs. Vidkuuna means “feel / sense” and the suffix +Ahe means “that which or one who passively receives an action/verb." Thus: mevidkuunahe means “I feel” or “I am that which is the receiver of a sensation.”
Yadto: Means “that”
Luuvayan: Means “particular.”
Ayam: Means “this.”
Vreya: Means “teaching / doctrine.” There is no word that exactly means “sermon” in Basha Humrayan, as in a church sermon.
Rasasanat: Ra+Sasana+Atum. Ra is a verbal prefix which means “in the midst of doing or being done right now” or “that which is being done at this very moment as we speak.” Sasana means “teaching, ordinance, instruction,” and the suffix +atum makes a word into a verb which needs to be conjugated by dropping the +um. Thus: rasasanat means “in the midst of preaching / instructing right now.”
Abhe: Mean “at / to.”
Aghaa: Means the “First Person Singular Objective Male Pronoun” in other words, it means “me” but for male speakers. The girl first person singular objective pronoun is “Anaa.”
As: Means “be/is.” It is “Asat” which is the conjugated form of Asatum (to be), but the final +at in this tense can be dropped.
Yaye: Ya+Aye. Ya Indicates that the speaker has asked a question which seeks an answer. The word “Aye” means “within / inside.” Thus: Yaye indicates a rhetorical question being asked. It is a question where the answer remains inside oneself or inside another person and that such answer is not sought to be spoken/revealed. Here Lucifer is asking Michael a question, rhetorically.
Mekaruban: Me+Kar+Uban. Me [pronounced as “may” as in the month of May] is the first person male prefix appended to verbs indicating the doer of the verb. Kar is from Karatum meaning “to do / to make.” The suffix +Uban means “capable of or able to.” Thus: Mekaruban means “I can do / I can make” where a male is saying it (the female version is “yakaruban”).
Nijhrahat: means “control” as a base verb.
Kushtanam: Means “nobody.”
Sukarat: Su+Karat. Su is a prefix which means “good” and Karat means “do/make.”
Yurokhe: Means “with.”
Saruavidaa: Means "everything / all."
As: Means “is/be.”
Nitsakan: Means “later in time.”
Vreyas: Means “a teaching / a doctrine.”
Aye: Means “in.”
Sthighu: Means “the thunder.”
Mika’el is the archangel Michael.
Yaye: Indicates a rhetorical question being asked.
Sthigha: Means “thunder.”
Rayat: Means “have,” from Rayatum (to have).
Aika: Means “one” (the number).
Sahbhva: Means “thing.”
Galhatum: Means “to speak / to sound.”
Ubhaiko: Means “only.”
Vistahmrat: Vi+Stahmratum. Stahmrat is the conjugation of Stahmratum which means “to tell.” The prefix Vi+ is the “First Person Animal or Object or Thing Pronoun Prefix” and indicates “that which does or performs the action” it is appended to. In this case, the prefix Vi+ refers to the thunder, which is doing the “telling.” Thus: Vistahmrat means “it tells.”
Naa: Is the “First Person Objective Plural Pronoun” (in other words, it means “us”).
Ivo: Means “how / in what way”
Yadtutan: Means “near, near by.”
Abdimu: Means “the storm.”
As: Is Asat (is/be) with the final +at dropped.
Last edited by MissTerry on 01 May 2022 15:32, edited 3 times in total.
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- mongolian
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Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
You're welcome! And it occurred to me, you'll probably want the words for transportation and travel, too:
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
♂♥♂♀
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
Ah yes ː) Thoseǃ I have a lot of thinking to do now. Thank you.Khemehekis wrote: ↑27 Apr 2022 03:59You're welcome! And it occurred to me, you'll probably want the words for transportation and travel, too:
And weapons:Spoiler:
Spoiler:
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- mongolian
- Posts: 3883
- Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
- Location: California über alles
Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
You're welcome!
Tell me if there are any more categories you need.
♂♥♂♀
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
Those will keep me busy for a long time ː) I appreciate itǃKhemehekis wrote: ↑27 Apr 2022 09:03You're welcome!
Tell me if there are any more categories you need.
Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
A good chance to make up an informal catalogue of my current conlangs:
Cauclang:
Phonology: NE Caucasian, Proto-Germanic, Byzantine Greek, Old Japanese, Turkic, Persian, Arabic
Grammar: NE Caucasian, NW Caucasian, Kiranti (Sino-Tibetan), Na-Dené, Yeniseian, Chukotcho
Vocab: PIE, Turkic, Old Chinese, Caucasian, others?
Tochlang:
Phonology: Tocharian, Algonquian, Iroquoian, Sioux, Utian, Caddoan
Grammar: Tocharian, Algonquian
Vocab: Tocharian, Algonquian
Greeklang:
Phonology: Ancient Greek to Modern Greek, Sanskrit to Pali to New Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Iranian, Turkic
Grammar: Greek, Indo-Aryan
Vocab: Greek, Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Syriac/Aramaic, Arabic, Dravidian
Hawntow 2:
Phonology: Papuan, Oceanic, others?
Grammar: Papuan (eg. Yimas), Oceanic, Uto-Aztecan, Mayan, Pirahã, others?
Vocab: Papuan, Oceanic, Pirahã
Cauclang:
Phonology: NE Caucasian, Proto-Germanic, Byzantine Greek, Old Japanese, Turkic, Persian, Arabic
Grammar: NE Caucasian, NW Caucasian, Kiranti (Sino-Tibetan), Na-Dené, Yeniseian, Chukotcho
Vocab: PIE, Turkic, Old Chinese, Caucasian, others?
Tochlang:
Phonology: Tocharian, Algonquian, Iroquoian, Sioux, Utian, Caddoan
Grammar: Tocharian, Algonquian
Vocab: Tocharian, Algonquian
Greeklang:
Phonology: Ancient Greek to Modern Greek, Sanskrit to Pali to New Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Iranian, Turkic
Grammar: Greek, Indo-Aryan
Vocab: Greek, Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Syriac/Aramaic, Arabic, Dravidian
Hawntow 2:
Phonology: Papuan, Oceanic, others?
Grammar: Papuan (eg. Yimas), Oceanic, Uto-Aztecan, Mayan, Pirahã, others?
Vocab: Papuan, Oceanic, Pirahã
: | : | : | :
Conlangs: Hawntow, Yorkish, misc.
she/her
Conlangs: Hawntow, Yorkish, misc.
she/her
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- rupestrian
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Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
My first "real"* conlang, Nyosangeyish, was inspired by Turkish and Malay. My current one**, 'aadachi, has aesthetic and grammatical influences from Bengali, Portuguese, and various languages of the southeast US (primarily Cherokee, since it has a lot of documentation). I'm also playing with a language idea which has an anti-five-vowel system /ɨ ɛ ɔ a ɑ/ and is very fricative- and nasal-heavy; that idea was inspired by "inverting" the phonology of Toki Pona.
* as in, usable in any tangible way
** the one I'm working on right now
* as in, usable in any tangible way
** the one I'm working on right now
Re: What languages influence your conlangs?
my new conlang try was inspired with uralic and slavic languages :)