Word definitions and making less distinctions

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LittleLynx_53
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Word definitions and making less distinctions

Post by LittleLynx_53 »

I've noticed, at least for myself, that it can be a lot easier to make a new distinction in your conlang that your native language doesn't than to do the opposite. The world is filled with other natlangs and conlangs that make cool distinctions you might have never thought of. But if you keep doing that indefinitely you're going to end up with loglang or something similar. (Of course if that's what you were going for in the first place, congrats. Those things are a beast to handle and I'm glad you're willing to do it. I'm just not up to the task myself.)

What are some of your strategies for cutting down distinctions, either to balance things out or for con-culture reasons? What are some distinctions English (or whatever your native language is) has that other natural languages don't? Are there any of those distinctions that you've chosen not to have in your conlang? How does your con-culture factor into which distinctions you put in the language, and how you define the words?

I find this a fascinating topic and I'd like to hear your thoughts.
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Reyzadren
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Re: Word definitions and making less distinctions

Post by Reyzadren »

Yes, absolutely, it is easier for me to see from the perspective of the conspeakers because I never really like any natlang anyway, even my native ones. However, it wouldn't end up like a loglang because its "logic" arrives from its own ic world, rather than our rl world.

If a distinction is naturally made, it doesn't get removed, and vice versa, because eventually everything gets balanced out anyway and/or it is what it is according to the conculture. 1 cute example of a non-distinction from my conlang is /'ɣYder/ which means both "dragon" and "dinosaur" (whatever 2 these words actually mean). Of course, irl these are 2 different animals, but ic it's the same word not because of the language, but rather it's a conworld reason. If one casts a magic spell that works only on /'ɣYder/, one would end up affecting both dragons and dinosaurs, thus confirming the non-distinction of that word.
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Flavia
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Re: Word definitions and making less distinctions

Post by Flavia »

Reyzadren wrote: 07 Apr 2022 00:20 /'ɣYder/
It's <ʏ>, not <Y>.
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