Lexicon milestones and discussion of lexicon growth

[ol bofosh]

Thanks, sounds brilliant, I'll go and have a look at it.

[atman]

I think, perhaps, if they're suppletive, maybe they should be counted.

No, there are just a few suppletives in Atlantika (its grammar is already complicated enough!). For example verbs like ezme "I am", fero "I carry", herko "I come, go back", estyo "I eat" and a few more.

[wakinstube]

I looked at lexique but it turns out that it's only for windows and I have a mac. how would one go about it with excel?

[ol bofosh]

With Excel I have a few of columns: one for the Alahithian word, one for the English, the part of speech and now the pronunciation. You can make as many columns with as many details as you want, being careful that each row matches up - a couple of times I've reordered it alphabetically but found I didn't select all the columns.

Question about Lexique: is there a way of transferring a whole list of words from Excel to Lexique, or is it a one by one job?

[SLiV]

I've been spending the last part of my evening translating Schleicher's Fable in Leabathen, and I just noticed I've hit 100 words. The 100th word is lin, the romantic vocative; I've got six vocatives so far. My last word of the evening is number 104: anova, meaning 'to heard' or 'to drive' (kettle, or in this case horses).

So that's pretty neat.

I'm not really pleased with Excel so far, since I've got a lot of words that don't have a literal translation (such as lin), and some words that require more explanation. I'm gonna try Lexique Pro, although I am considering programming something myself. I figure if I wanted to swap enviroments, now would be the time.

[eldin raigmore]

My last word of the evening is number 104: anova, meaning 'to heard' 'to herd' or 'to drive' (kettle cattle, or in this case horses).

What's a romantic vocative?

[Maraxxus]

[Prinsessa]

My last word of the evening is number 104: anova, meaning 'to heard' 'to herd' or 'to drive' (kettle cattle, or in this case horses).

What's a romantic vocative?

What it sounds like, presumably. A vocative used to address a romantically loved one.

[eldin raigmore]

http://www.occultshop.com/occultshop/pot5.jpg

Yes, but, Baba Yaga drove a mortar, not a kettle.

What's a romantic vocative?

What it sounds like, presumably. A vocative used to address a romantically loved one.

So I guessed, but I thought it would be better to have SLiV actually tell me, rather than trust my guess.

[SLiV]

My last word of the evening is number 104: anova, meaning 'to heard' 'to herd' or 'to drive' (kettle cattle, or in this case horses).

Lol oops.

What's a romantic vocative?

What it sounds like, presumably. A vocative used to address a romantically loved one.

Yes, it's a vocative used to address someone you are romantically involved with.

[MrKrov]

So Epaspak has a little over a thousand words. I finally breach this milestone again.

[kiwikami]

My new, unnamed project (which is NOT a fanlang, incidentally!) just hit ten roots. Woo.
They are, for the record: tree, cage, angel, spirit, green, star, needle, language, person/sentient being, faith.

[eldin raigmore]

..., green, star, ....

I take it some of your first few sentences were about Esperanto?

[zee]

..., green, star, ....

I take it some of your first few sentences were about Esperanto?

No, the first sentences were obviously about:

Spirits of tree angels trapped in cages and wanting to get out to the green faithful lands where languages are spoken and to see the stars and make clothing using needles with other people



In other news, my conlangs have been growing very slowly - I need more motivation.

[kiwikami]

..., green, star, ....

I take it some of your first few sentences were about Esperanto?

Nah - angels in cages, green trees, angels with souls, sentient beings who have to do with language, and faithful angels. I'm on an angel thing, apparently. Makes sense. Considering the language's purpose in my head (as a direct counterpart to Culphecc Glyw.)

Do we count names as words? If so, I've hit twenty-five.

Spoiler:

Including, among others:
Angelic One: Yeshcel or Yoshecel/Yoshécel
Linguistic One: Vánciel or Vencel
Birdlike One: Misheihel or Mishehel/Mishahel or Meshel
Caged One: Prahéhel
Loyal One: Cásviel or Cesvel
One of Multiple Loyalties: Cáséviel
Faithful One: Cástiel or Cestel (Rare variations: Cásitiel/Cásótiel, generally found in more religious families as they indicate a specific faith)

They sure all sound like angels. (That was intentional - though here, the -el suffix has nothing to do with God.)

[Xing]

I take it some of your first few sentences were about Esperanto?

No, the first sentences were obviously about:

Spirits of tree angels trapped in cages and wanting to get out to the green faithful lands where languages are spoken and to see the stars and make clothing using needles with other people

You're both wrong. Obviously it was about Wally Toxic:

..., green

[eldin raigmore]

Do we count names as words?

We count them as part of the lexicon/vocabulary.
Some of the respected professional/academic linguisticians made a stink about someone they considered a quack because s/he didn't include propernouns as part of a child's vocabulary while acquiring an L1.
So if we don't want that stink to adhere to us we'd better count propernouns as part of the lexicon.

But "part of the lexicon" (or "part of the vocabulary") may or may not mean "they are words". I'll leave that up to you.

But I don't think we need to count compound/complex propernouns, such as fullnames, separately from their component simple names.

Nah - angels in cages, green trees, angels with souls, sentient beings who have to do with language, and faithful angels. I'm on an angel thing, apparently. Makes sense. Considering the language's purpose in my head (as a direct counterpart to Culphecc Glyw.)

So where do the stars come in?
Do Culphecc Glyw's speakers assign any special significance to Fomalhaut?

---

I can't believe I forewent the opportunity to pun about your language "hitting" ten "roots" of which the first was "tree".

[Xing]

Do we count names as words? If so, I've hit twenty-five.

I guess you can count them if you want.

This thread could better be labelled "how many lines are there in the spreadsheet (or whatever program) you use for your conlang's lexicon?"

The problem that arises when one tries to count the number of words in a given language is that one will always encounter various borderline cases - should this or that count as a word or not? - so that it's impossible to come up with a fixed number of words.

At the moment, I have about 2700 lines in my spreadsheet for Wakeu.

[Lambuzhao]

http://www.occultshop.com/occultshop/pot5.jpg

Yes, but, Baba Yaga drove a mortar, not a kettle.

What's a romantic vocative?

What it sounds like, presumably. A vocative used to address a romantically loved one.

So I guessed, but I thought it would be better to have SLiV actually tell me, rather than trust my guess.

BTW-
Baba Yaga drives an Olivewood Mortar & Pestle Combo,
V8 engine with fuel-injection cut-offs and
chrome-plated rods, purple-fringed taillights
systematic, hydromatic, Manual Transmission,
Glass-packed dual Mufflers
Magnetic/Genetic Ignition
Which demands your soul

[kiwikami]

Do we count names as words?

We count them as part of the lexicon/vocabulary.
Some of the respected professional/academic linguisticians made a stink about someone they considered a quack because s/he didn't include propernouns as part of a child's vocabulary while acquiring an L1.
So if we don't want that stink to adhere to us we'd better count propernouns as part of the lexicon.

But "part of the lexicon" (or "part of the vocabulary") may or may not mean "they are words". I'll leave that up to you.

But I don't think we need to count compound/complex propernouns, such as fullnames, separately from their component simple names.

Makes sense. I think I'll just count roots, in which case I'm up to 46 as of today. (Including, among other things: God, loyalty, vessel, honor, night, thunder, circle, earthquake, might, secret, comfort, flower, hand, foot, and hallucination [*cough* √ l-s-d].)

Nah - angels in cages, green trees, angels with souls, sentient beings who have to do with language, and faithful angels. I'm on an angel thing, apparently. Makes sense. Considering the language's purpose in my head (as a direct counterpart to Culphecc Glyw.)

So where do the stars come in?
Do Culphecc Glyw's speakers assign any special significance to Fomalhaut?

---

I can't believe I forewent the opportunity to pun about your language "hitting" ten "roots" of which the first was "tree".

"Star" came in because I wanted to see how noun declensions worked in a root with certain characteristics - a duplicated consonant and voicing agreement, specifically. I just assigned the root I used to "star" because it was the first thing I came up with. So now I have dass, a star, dzós, the star, and so on and so forth.)
And yes. Fomalhaut is orbited by the planet where Aphoom-Zhah was born, and is near the star Korvaz, where Cthugha is imprisoned.

Heh heh. Roots. Tree. Very funny.