Lexember 2022

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shimobaatar
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Lexember 2022

Post by shimobaatar »

Happy December, everyone!

Welcome to Lexember, a monthlong "game" that challenges participants to create at least one new word in one of their conlangs daily from the 1st through the 31st of December, and to post the results here in this thread. This is the 11th year of the Lexember tradition, I believe, and its 10th year here on the CBB!

Commenting on the words others have made is always encouraged, as is taking inspiration from them! Even if you're not participating yourself, you're still welcome to leave comments here in the thread. It's been mentioned in previous years that communities of conlangers on various social media platforms also participate in Lexember (in fact, I believe it was started on Twitter), so if you're active elsewhere, you might consider posting your words there as well. Of course, if you'd like to participate in the challenge, but would prefer not to post the words you come up with anywhere, that's perfectly fine.

I want to emphasize that there is no "correct" way to participate in Lexember. I don't want anyone who might be interested in the challenge to be discouraged from participating just because they feel that they might not be able to participate every single day or make their posts as detailed as they would like, or that none of their conlangs are "ready" enough. I've tried to address these potential concerns under the spoiler:
Spoiler:
If you miss a day, you always have the option of posting two words the next day, but making up for missed days is never a requirement. You can also simply stop or start participating at any time, with no explanation needed.

Some participants like to include example sentences, IPA transcriptions, cultural notes, and/or etymological details with their entries, but none of these things are required. You can include as much, or as little, information as you'd like in your posts. The amount you include is entirely up to you, and it doesn't have to be consistent from day to day.

It's perfectly alright to use the same conlang throughout the month or to switch back and forth between using different conlangs as the month goes on. Participants also have the option of making entries in multiple conlangs or coining multiple words per conlang on any given day.

Finally, there are no objective requirements your conlang must meet in order for you to be able to participate in Lexember. If your conlang is very new and you end up deciding to completely rework parts of it as the month goes on, that is absolutely fine, even if your previous Lexember entries end up becoming "outdated" as a result.
If you have any questions about Lexember, please feel free to post them here in the thread or message me directly at any point throughout the month.

Additionally, participants have the option of challenging themselves to learn a new word in a natural language they're studying each day, and to include it with their Lexember entries. Credit for this idea, as far as I'm aware, goes to qwed117, who first did this three years ago with Sardinian.

The five weekly "themes" for this year's Lexember, based on suggestions from prospective participants that were submitted here in the thread over the course of the week leading up to December 1st, can be found below. These are intended to serve as potential sources of inspiration throughout the month, so I've tried to choose themes that will hopefully help facilitate the creation of pretty basic vocabulary for anyone who's participating with a fairly new conlang, but which are also broad enough and open enough to interpretation that those participating with more developed conlangs should also be able to follow them, if they so choose. Next to each theme, I've credited the user(s) whose suggestion(s) inspired it. Naturally, no one is ever required to follow these themes at all, let alone throughout the entire month, and those who do choose to follow them should feel free to interpret them however they'd like. If anyone would like to suggest additional or alternative themes at any point throughout the month, please feel free to do so.

Weekly Themes: 
  • Week 1 (Dec. 1-3): Three, Numbers (qwed117)
  • Week 2 (Dec. 4-10): Gender, Genre, Class, Social Categories, Types of People, Social Interaction (Khemehekis)
  • Week 3 (Dec. 11-17): Change, Breaking Down Walls, Novelty, Reform, Difference (qwed117)
  • Week 4 (Dec. 18-24): The Forest, The Woods (Iyionaku)
  • Week 5 (Dec. 25-31): Holidays, Traditions, Heritage, Customs, Folklore, Rites, Rituals (GoshDiggityDangit, Iyionaku)
Previous years' threads can be found here: 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021
Last edited by shimobaatar on 30 Nov 2022 13:54, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by Khemehekis »

Hmmmm . . . how about a theme for gender? It could include straight gender words (female, male, transgender, non-binary), age/gender words (boy, girl, married man, woman, etc.), sexual orientation words (gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual), and even gendered pairs of words (policewoman vs. policeman, sow vs. boar). I suppose it could be combined with other theme categories like sex and sexuality, or maybe age, race, class, etc.
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by qwed117 »

my preference has always been for more vague or hyperspecific and variously interprable categories. So I’d suggest Change, Breaking Walls or Threes. We don’t need to run all or even two of them. Just choose the best on. :)
Spoiler:
My minicity is [http://zyphrazia.myminicity.com/xml]Zyphrazia and [http://novland.myminicity.com/xml]Novland.

Minicity has fallen :(
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by Iyionaku »

shimobaatar wrote: 24 Nov 2022 21:00 Hello everyone! Like last year, I'm creating this thread a week in advance of December 1st for two main reasons. First, if you've never participated in or even heard of Lexember before, I hope that this post will help you decide whether or not you'd like to give it a try. Second, I'd like to use this week leading up to the start of the challenge to ask for "theme" suggestions from anyone who's interested in participating this year. Please see below for more details.
Who-hoo! Aside of the ongoing relay and all the various translation challenges, Lexember is my favorite part of the CBB! I'll join with Yélian, like every year. Potentially I will do bonus words from Spanish.

May I ask you to provide the topics for week 1 by Tuesday, if possible? I will be on vacation from December 1 to December 7, so I'd like to do week 1 (Lexember 1-4, if we do it the same way as last year) in advance and then resume with week 2 when I come back.

Interestingly enough, my preference has always been for more limited categories, as it helps me come up with fitting words way more easily. I guess a mixture of both approaches - vague vs. limited - is good [:)]
Therefore, I suggest The Forest as a weekly topic. Species or parts of animals, plants or funghi that live in there, ecological or economical benefits and challenges, societal aspects of forests...
That's not to say that I don't really like Khemehekis's and qwed's suggestions!
qwed117 wrote: 25 Nov 2022 02:26 So I’d suggest Change, Breaking Walls or Threes.
If I may ask, what is "Threes"? I am not a native speaker and I don't know this concept.
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by shimobaatar »

Thank you to Khemehekis, qwed117, and Iyionaku for your suggestions!

qwed117 wrote: 25 Nov 2022 02:26 my preference has always been for more vague or hyperspecific and variously interprable categories. So I’d suggest Change, Breaking Walls or Threes. We don’t need to run all or even two of them. Just choose the best on. :)
Nothing wrong with "vague" and "open to interpretation", IMO! [:)]

Iyionaku wrote: 25 Nov 2022 07:01 Who-hoo! Aside of the ongoing relay and all the various translation challenges, Lexember is my favorite part of the CBB! I'll join with Yélian, like every year. Potentially I will do bonus words from Spanish.
[:D]
Iyionaku wrote: 25 Nov 2022 07:01 May I ask you to provide the topics for week 1 by Tuesday, if possible? I will be on vacation from December 1 to December 7, so I'd like to do week 1 (Lexember 1-4, if we do it the same way as last year) in advance and then resume with week 2 when I come back.
Certainly! Though this year, Week 1 is Dec. 1-3. If you'll be away until the 7th, I could try to post the themes for the first two weeks by Nov. 29th at the latest, if you'd like?
Iyionaku wrote: 25 Nov 2022 07:01 Interestingly enough, my preference has always been for more limited categories, as it helps me come up with fitting words way more easily. I guess a mixture of both approaches - vague vs. limited - is good [:)]
Therefore, I suggest The Forest as a weekly topic. Species or parts of animals, plants or funghi that live in there, ecological or economical benefits and challenges, societal aspects of forests...
That's definitely the kind of thing I had in mind, since "forest(s)" as a theme could inspire basic words like "tree" or not-so-basic words like "deforestation", "leaf litter", "canopy", "biome", "ecosystem", etc.
Iyionaku wrote: 25 Nov 2022 07:01
qwed117 wrote: 25 Nov 2022 02:26 So I’d suggest Change, Breaking Walls or Threes.
If I may ask, what is "Threes"? I am not a native speaker and I don't know this concept.
My assumption is that qwed117 meant "(things that typically come in) groups of three".
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by Khemehekis »

shimobaatar wrote: 25 Nov 2022 14:35 Thank you to Khemehekis, qwed117, and Iyionaku for your suggestions!
You're welcome!
If I may ask, what is "Threes"? I am not a native speaker and I don't know this concept.
My assumption is that qwed117 meant "(things that typically come in) groups of three".
Or words like "triple", "threesome", "thrice", "triplicate", "triangle", "trilogy", "trigonometry", "triathlon", "troika", "three-corner hat", "three-bean salad", "tricouleur", "Rule of Three", etc.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by Iyionaku »

shimobaatar wrote: 25 Nov 2022 14:35
May I ask you to provide the topics for week 1 by Tuesday, if possible? I will be on vacation from December 1 to December 7, so I'd like to do week 1 (Lexember 1-4, if we do it the same way as last year) in advance and then resume with week 2 when I come back.

Certainly! Though this year, Week 1 is Dec. 1-3. If you'll be away until the 7th, I could try to post the themes for the first two weeks by Nov. 29th at the latest, if you'd like?
That would be awesome!
Wipe the glass. This is the usual way to start, even in the days, day and night, only a happy one.
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by shimobaatar »

shimobaatar wrote: 24 Nov 2022 21:00 As of November 28th, the themes for the first four weeks have been added below for anyone who'd like to begin preparing in advance of December 1st. Next to each theme, I've credited the user whose suggestion inspired it. I will remain open to suggestions throughout December, but I plan to update this post again with Week 5's theme within the next two days.

[…]

Weekly Themes: 
  • Week 1 (Dec. 1-3): Three, Numbers (qwed117)
  • Week 2 (Dec. 4-10): Gender, Genre, Class, Social Categories, Types of People, Social Interaction (Khemehekis)
  • Week 3 (Dec. 11-17): Change, Breaking Down Walls, Novelty, Reform, Difference (qwed117)
  • Week 4 (Dec. 18-24): The Forest, The Woods (Iyionaku)
  • Week 5 (Dec. 25-31): TBD
The OP has been updated!
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by GoshDiggityDangit »

For the end of the month, how about some holiday terms? Religious and secular traditions, common items and characters, etc?
“Like billowing clouds, Like the incessant gurgle of the brook,
The longing of the spirit can never be stilled.” ― St. Hildegard von Bingen
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by Iyionaku »

GoshDiggityDangit wrote: 28 Nov 2022 21:33 For the end of the month, how about some holiday terms? Religious and secular traditions, common items and characters, etc?
I like the idea! Maybe we can summarize it as Traditions and Heritage.
shimobaatar wrote: 28 Nov 2022 17:23 Weekly Themes: 
Week 1 (Dec. 1-3): Three, Numbers (qwed117)
Week 2 (Dec. 4-10): Gender, Genre, Class, Social Categories, Types of People, Social Interaction (Khemehekis)
Week 3 (Dec. 11-17): Change, Breaking Down Walls, Novelty, Reform, Difference (qwed117)
Week 4 (Dec. 18-24): The Forest, The Woods (Iyionaku)
Week 5 (Dec. 25-31): TBD
Thanks shimo! I'll prepare all the posts for week 1 in advance and then release them day by day.
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by qwed117 »

Khemehekis wrote: 25 Nov 2022 22:24
shimobaatar wrote: 25 Nov 2022 14:35
If I may ask, what is "Threes"? I am not a native speaker and I don't know this concept.
My assumption is that qwed117 meant "(things that typically come in) groups of three".
Or words like "triple", "threesome", "thrice", "triplicate", "triangle", "trilogy", "trigonometry", "triathlon", "troika", "three-corner hat", "three-bean salad", "tricouleur", "Rule of Three", etc.

Both of those answers are right. I like it as vague as possible. Things that come in threes, stuff related to the number three; multiples of three, ternary systems. Everything works.
Spoiler:
My minicity is [http://zyphrazia.myminicity.com/xml]Zyphrazia and [http://novland.myminicity.com/xml]Novland.

Minicity has fallen :(
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by shimobaatar »

Since it's already December 1st in some parts of the world, the OP has been updated again with Week 5's theme.

GoshDiggityDangit wrote: 28 Nov 2022 21:33 For the end of the month, how about some holiday terms? Religious and secular traditions, common items and characters, etc?
Iyionaku wrote: 29 Nov 2022 16:34
GoshDiggityDangit wrote: 28 Nov 2022 21:33 For the end of the month, how about some holiday terms? Religious and secular traditions, common items and characters, etc?
I like the idea! Maybe we can summarize it as Traditions and Heritage.
Thanks to both of you! [:D] This is actually more or less what I would have made Week 5's theme if I hadn't received any more suggestions.
Iyionaku wrote: 29 Nov 2022 16:34
shimobaatar wrote: 28 Nov 2022 17:23 Weekly Themes: 
Week 1 (Dec. 1-3): Three, Numbers (qwed117)
Week 2 (Dec. 4-10): Gender, Genre, Class, Social Categories, Types of People, Social Interaction (Khemehekis)
Week 3 (Dec. 11-17): Change, Breaking Down Walls, Novelty, Reform, Difference (qwed117)
Week 4 (Dec. 18-24): The Forest, The Woods (Iyionaku)
Week 5 (Dec. 25-31): TBD
Thanks shimo! I'll prepare all the posts for week 1 in advance and then release them day by day.
Glad to be able to help!
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by Johnathan_4 »

I will be participating in Lexember 2022 on CBB! [:D]
NO MATTER HOW YOU FEEL, GET UP, DRESS UP. SHOW UP, AND NEVER GIVE UP. [:D]
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by eldin raigmore »

Does Lexember consist of November and December?
Or maybe of September and November and December?
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

As our resident Australian, I guess I get to bite first [:P] . This lexember I'll be participating with Vissard and Ai, and I'll be learning words from the natlang Picard. (Take that, qwed! Who's learning the obscurest romlang now aye?)
I just realised Vissard and Ai are both a posteriori, so I'll add in Project Tumbleweed which I kinda gave up on.

:con: Vissard:
trigolo [triɡuˈlo] n. and adj. Slang/mocking term for France or a French person, or anything French in origin. (Eye dialect of tricolor "tricolour, the French flag" < Latin TRICOLOR, combined with rigolo "joker", a French borrowing)
(masc.nom.sg./obl.pl. trigolos [triɡuˈlyː]; fem. trigoloe [triɡuˈlo]; fem.pl. trigoloes [triɡuˈlo])
Bunits Ian Kolers to Asdeu-t-sope-Demer wrote:Mi, i pense ke le manzete trigoloe che ist surkoucete.
[ˈmi iˈpɛ̃n kəlmãnˈzet triɡuˈlo ʃiykuˈset]
1SG.TONIC | 1SG.SUBJ think.PRES REL the.F.SG food French.F.SG DEM be.PRES overrated.F.SG
"Me, I think French food is overrated."

:con: Ai:
(gotta skip the theme with Ai coz the speakers don't really use the number 3, and I already have words for 1 and 2)
tedíd [tɛ̀ɾíɾ] (LH tone) n. Rainbow. (cf. Biritai teadatu, Obokuitai deseid’ia, Sikaritai kdebesigja, Abawiri ja)
Íúdáhída wrote:Tedid gú tákí ko tébúdí bo i baud.
[tɛ̀ɾíɾ ͜ ɣú tákí kɔ̀ tɛ́βúɾí βɔ̀ ì ɓàu̯ɾ]
tɛ̀díd=ɡu tákí=kɔ tɛbudi=´`=bɔ ì bau̯d-`´
rainbow=PAT sky=OBL extend-IPFV=TOP 1SG see-PFV

"I can see that there's a rainbow stretched across the sky."

:con: Tumbleweed:
rdnagngilyi [ˈɖ͡ɳɑɡ͡ŋeʎe] n.III Trilobate leaf; any plant species with a trilobate leaf.
(No examples until I relearn/rework the grammar)


:fra: Picard:
seudard [sœˈdar] mn. Soldier. (Old French souldart, from soulde "soldier's sallary" < Latin SOLIDUS, + the suffix -art, from Frankish *-hard).
(pl. seudards [sœˈdar], fem. seudoére [sœˈdwer])
Échl onme il est ch’seudard k’os parloinmes d’li.
DEMONSTR man 3M.SG.SUBJ be.PRES.3SG DEF-soldier REL 1/2PL.SUBJ talk-IMPERF.1PL of 3SG.TONIC
"This man is the soldier that we were talking about."
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Re: Lexember 2022 - Open to Weekly Theme Suggestions!

Post by Iyionaku »

Lexember 1 - Yélian

tiyéurel [tɨˈʃeː.ʉɾəl] - triangle (music instrument)
Etymology: ti "three" + yéurel "bell", literally "three-bell"

Vat bit tsofár! Renim nepia alúicbit secárenclevaniprèsa o'secarúiesce, èpa inuvat miatmegclevet u'tiyéurel!?
[vɐ‿bɨt t͡sɔ̈ˈɸaːd̟! ˈreːnɨm ˈneːpɪ̯ɐ aˈlubɨt səˈkaːɾənkləʋɐnɨˌprɛsɐ ɔ̈səkɐˈɾuː.əskə, ɛpɐ ɨˈnuːʋɐt mɪ̯ɐtməˈgleːʋet ʉtɨˈʃeː.ʉɾel]
DEM COP.3SG.ANIM scandal | 1PLEX.POSS daughter clearly-COP.3SG.ANIM pupil-SUP-musically_literal-COMP DEF.GEN=school-complete, and anyway only-PERM-play-3SG DEF.INAN=triangle
That's a scandal! Our daughter is clearly the most musical student in the entire school, and yet she's only allowed to play the triangle!?

Bonus word for the example sentence:

clevaniprès [kləʋɐnɨˌprɛs] - musically literate, skilled in playing music
Etymology: clevani "music" + -près "worthy"
Last edited by Iyionaku on 01 Dec 2022 21:31, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by Flavia »

Lescembel 1 — Abaniscen

mon [mṍːn] — three
XIPA
:pol: > :eng: > :esp: > :lat: > :fra: > :por: > :deu:
Abaniscen cancasirnemor
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by Jackk »

1st Lexember
coðelostað "caution"


coðelostað /koˌðe.lɔˈstaθ/ [kʊˌðɛ.lʊˈstah]
- caution, wariness, vigilance, watchfulness, the state of begin alert to potential dangers or mistakes;
- anxiety, alarm, pessimism, an unpleasant condition of mental unease or concern about the uncertain future

Etymology: nominal derivative of coðelous "cautious, wary; attentive, aware" first attested in the fifteenth century. This adjective is itself a derivative of noun coðel "caution" (now obsolete, but compare French choile "lie, deceit" and various learned forms across Romance), from synonymous cautēla in Latin. Extension to more negative emotional states is seen from the eighteenth century.

Sy coðelostað er ençant a nos tardir.
/si koˌðe.loˈstaθ ɛr ɛnˈtsant a nɔz tarˈdɪr/
[si kʊˌðɛ.lʊˈstað‿ɛːʀ‿ɪnˈdzant a nɔz tɐːˈdɪː]
3s.gen caution cop.ipf start-p.prs at 1p slow-inf
His caution was starting to slow us down.
terram impūram incolāmus
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by DesEsseintes »

1 Lexember - Éewıyu’ush

ıyı’l- (num.) - three
Always followed by a classifier ending; the default classifier for inanimate objects being -(n)ıı
ıyí’lıı - three

we- (v.) - to be (located), to have
-nısh (suffix) - if, when

Iyí’lıı wenısh… - If there’s three of them/those things…
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Re: Lexember 2022

Post by KarakTea »

1st Lexember: Shadzire

zowžáb [zɵwˈʒáb] - n. triangle (geometric shape)

example eventually [:P]

zowžábom [zɵwˈʒáb.ɵm] - adj. triangular, triangle-shaped
-> noun-derived adjective
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