Lexember 2014

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cedh
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Lexember 2014

Post by cedh »

There are several word creation games on this forum already, but other parts of the conlanging world are busy as well... and now, December has come, and with it the 3rd iteration of Lexember!

In case you haven't heard about this yet: It's a game with the purpose of expanding the lexicon of one's conlang, with an added social dimension. The rules are simple: For the duration of one month, every participant will create and publish one word per day, ideally with some short notes about etymology, semantics, or usage, possibly augmented by a glossed example sentence. Of course, you are encouraged to comment on other participants' words, or to let yourself be inspired by them.

Here's a more elaborate description of the game, adapted from Christophe Grandsire-Koevoets' blog:
Spoiler:
  • For the entire month of December, every day, once a day, create and publish a new word for one of your conlangs. The publication should contain the word, its definition, and whatever etymological and usage notes you feel like sharing. Examples are welcome but optional. :)
  • The created words should be everyday words relevant for the environment where the conlang is spoken (e.g. its conculture, if it has one). The idea is to identify semantic gaps in your conlang vocabulary, and fill them. So no jargon or technical terms, unless they are also used in daily life by your conlang speakers.
  • The created words should truly be new, i.e. new stems, new derivations and/or new compounds. Just adding a new meaning to an existing word doesn’t count... ;)
  • Using other people’s Lexember creations for inspiration is not only allowed, it’s encouraged! As is commenting on other people’s words. This should be a social event :). Don’t hesitate to link to the post that inspired your own creation when you publish it!
  • While the goal is to create and publish one word per day, we all know that December is home to various other social occasions, so it’s understandable if you are unable to publish your creations everyday. You can always make a catch-up post with two or more Lexember words at once...
  • Have fun! This should feel like a game, not a chore! :)
If you want to join the game, simply post your Lexember contributions in this thread. You can also use various social media instead or in addition: There will be #Lexember hashtags on Twitter, Tumblr, and Google+.

A happy Lexember to everyone!
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cedh
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by cedh »

My own word for Lexember 1st in Ronc Tyu:

fùn (v.) 'it's good (that...)'

This is syntactically an impersonal verb (which only ever appears without an overt subject), but semantically it acts more like an adverb describing the speaker's attitude towards the content of the following clause. It's etymologically related to the verb mbùn ‘be good; do well’, but the exact method of derivation is synchronically opaque.

Fùn tenc htsí lánc yu sei tou.
it_is_good SUB now time of words begin
“It's good that Lexember (lit. the time of words) is starting now.”
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by alynnidalar »

I'm posting it everywhere else on the internet, so here's my words for today. I probably won't do a word for all of my current WIPs every day, but I figured I'd start off strong.

The Sanmra capital (in which they speak Tirina) is very near the shores of Lake Superior, so I figure they should have a word for lake trout. Let's go with nameko [nɛ'meko], borrowed from Ojibwe namegos (lake trout).

(on a side note, I am so glad I moved the Sanmra capital to Michigan rather than Washington... it's so much easier to find resources on Algonquian languages than it is to find Salishan and Penutian ones.)

Old Azen is still very much in the early stages, so let's go with a pretty basic word: lake. As with much of Old Azen terminology, I'll borrow it from a Turkic language to get kṓl. (cf Turkish and Azeri göl, Turkmen and Uzbek köl, Bashkir күл (kül), etc. Note that what I transcribe as <ṓ> is [ø:] in the IPA.)

For extra fun, let's borrow it forward into Modern Azen to get kel, which I imagine would still mean "lake". (Ooh! Apparently kel was my fiftieth word in Modern Azen. Neat.)

I have no clue what I'm even doing with the Dalar Sign Language, so I'll just roll with it. Let's do a word for tree. In my slightly modified version of the SLIPA, it's [sh<A!u(t~a~t)>]; in my transcription scheme, it's tAv. It's basically the BSL sign for tree, just with a closed fist rather than an open hand, and minus the "non-dominant" hand (because DSL is almost entirely one-handed).

(because you guys probably don't have as easy access to my CWS articles as you would on the CWS boards... my modified version of the SLIPA, which is a method for transcribing sign language created by David Peterson, and my transcription system for DSL.)
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by kanejam »

Neat for the consignlang! Don't see enough of those (I guess that's a pun).

I should do this as I'm always weakest in lexicon. I will try to do it for all four projects I have but for now I will just give a word in my Averagelang:

kraxta - 'first', which is a suppletive ordinal of the cardinal mlo 'one'. All the rest are formed regularly from the cardinals with a suffix. There is also a distributive formed by full reduplication: mlomlo 'in ones, one each'.

Hopefully I'll be able to come back and add words for Ketzumin, ARN and my Oscan descendent.

Edit: Here are some others:

Ketzumin: múttú 'give', a transitive verb:

isn'á tza keminilas úlítzúzmu múttúmálámán'áli
is-n'á tza keminil-as úlítzúzmu múttú-má-lámán'á-li
1SG-ERG to bird-PL seaweed give-PROB-be.able-1/2SG
'I can probably give some seaweed to the birds.'

ARN: x̠ʲoʃik inanimate noun 'column, support, tree trunk'. It has an irreqular construct state: i-qʲoʃik. It is pluralised like most of the inanimate nouns, by loss of initial palatalisation: x̠oʃik (cnstr: a-qoʃik). No example sentence for this one.

Oscan descendent: âpu 'water', a feminine noun, based on Michiel de Vaans interpretation of AAPÚ found on Oscan water basins. It looks suspiciously like Latin AQUA, (with qu > p) but the initial long vowel bars this hypothesis.
Last edited by kanejam on 02 Dec 2014 12:01, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Egerius »

My first Lexember entry. [:)]
Romanz Buonavallese gains an essential word in four different flavors: vir(r)omanu/-a ~ ver(r)omanu/-a, descending from Latin VIR RÓMÁNVS (literally 'Roman man'). I just don't know whether an /r/ might be dropped in fast speech or not.
[info] The earthly Latin HOMÓ shifts its meaning to 'demigod' for some reason in Rodentèrra, which is connected to their pre-monotheistic religion (but I probably won't make it well enough to make Whovians convert. [;)] ).
Also, I use the acute/apex accent to mark long vowels, as some Romans did (among them: Claudia Severa).


I certainly won't make an entry every day, but hopefully once a week.
Languages of Rodentèrra: Buonavallese, Saselvan Argemontese; Wīlandisċ Taulkeisch; More on the road.
Conlang embryo of TELES: Proto-Avesto-Umbric ~> Proto-Umbric
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PeteBleackley
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by PeteBleackley »

First Khangaþyagon word

khorosi: a legendary winged dog or wolf.
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Arveyres »

Borrowing from the Modern Azen language (kṓl) into the Ithle language, the consonant stem c-l means "water". Derivatives of this stem include: cél meaning "lake", and cál meaning "ice".
:fra: 6 // :eng: 5 // :ita: :ron: :roh: :con: 3 // :deu: :ind: :pol: 2-1
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by DesEsseintes »

I can't believe it's Lexember again! Time flies...

Last year was a pretty lame Lexember for me as I was trying to come up with roots for Meyyın.

This year, I'm going to try to concentrate on Hííenununóóoþa since it's right at the stage where this kind of thing needs to happen.

Here are two basic words for Dec 1:

eeþín - man
sǫ́nųn - woman
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by qwed117 »

srōtal-a lake or small body of water
henanla-to break apart
+ ALOT MORE (mainly nouns)
[:D] I feel proud of myself [:D]
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 2014

Post by shimobaatar »

Hopefully I can stick with Lexember for the entire month this year.


Project Jade:

bãıŕȝɔx /bã˥rˤɔk͡x˧/ (n.) sea scorpion


Example:

q̄ḥüı yet bãıŕȝɔx ḩẽḅ
inside river sea_scorpion reside
the sea scorpion lives in the river
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by MrKrov »

Related to my scratchpad:
"Tabóko-" adj. Thin; skinny
Derived from a noun "tabó" meaning "rope; string; (or the like)" by use of a general adjective formant suffix -ko-.
Last edited by MrKrov on 02 Dec 2014 07:28, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by fivecountwings »

I haven't looked at this lang since September. Hopefully Lexember will help me get back into Proto-hàna and maybe (just maybe!) get past the phonology of a conlang...

Proto-Hàna:

Ttyu /tʲu/

stand, be still
ạ ẹ ị ọ ụ ʉ̣ ɨ ɨ̣
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by MrKrov »

Early add to today's scratchpad entry:

"Piriko-" adj. scary; frightful
Derived from a noun "piri" meaning "monster; fiend; ghost; apparition" by use of a general adjective formant suffix -ko-.
The noun itself was recycled from an abandoned project where it was originally a nominalization of "pir" v. be bad.
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by PeteBleackley »

2nd Khangaþyagon word

saugah: a legendary sea monster

Some say that the saugah dwells in the depths of the ocean and feeds on whales, which it devours with a single bite. It rises to the surface only in the fiercest storms, and if any man sees it, his ship is sure to be lost.

Others say that this is merely a sailors' tale
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Lao Kou »

(bereft of theme beyond "everyday" and just going for it)

Géarthnuns:

1st - shapuns [ʃaˈpũs] n. dustpan

Söb lé cha shapunsat, öre chak pölansach chü zhléíöksüs ktaiweftölöküs ba thöçérun auz.
[søb ˈle tʃa ʃaˈpũsat, øˈɾɛ tʃak pøˈlãsatʃ tʃy ʒleˈjøksys ˌktajʋɛftøˈløkys ba ˌθøɕeˈɾun ˌɔz]
3SG-NOM AUX.PAST DEF dustpan-ACC, in.order DEF.PL shard-ACC.PL DEF vase-GEN break.PRESPRF.PASS.PTPL-GEN PTCL gather fetch
He went and got the dustpan to sweep up the shards of the broken vase.

2nd - hevezgönebs [ˌhɛvɛzgøˈnɛbs] n. injustice

Makhlama la chö hevezgönebsöt tsodínsav hautel sho, makhlama la söböt cha helkedínsav ba thpautöz ba jebeth hedaikh.
[maxˈlama ˌla tʃø ˌhɛvɛzgøˈnɛbsøt tsoˈdĩsav hɔˈtɛl ʃo, maxˈlama ˌla ˈsøbøt tʃa ˌhɛlkɛˈdĩsav ba ˈθpɔtøz ba ˈdʒɛbɛθ hɛˈdajx]
1PL-NOM AUX.PRES DEF injustice-ACC wherever-LOC see-SPEC PTCL, 1PL-NOM AUX.PRES 3SG-ACC DEF there-LOC PTCL eradicate PTCL try should-CONCL
We should try to eradicate injustice wherever we see it.
Last edited by Lao Kou on 03 Dec 2014 09:35, edited 1 time in total.
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名可名,非常名
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DesEsseintes
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by DesEsseintes »

Dec 2

bosxóónı n lake
tǫų́ų́ v to stay still
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Corphishy »

Since I didn't post yesterday, I'll make up for it with two words for today.

FIRST:
*se [se] v1. to be. Yes, believe it or not I don't have a word for 'to be' yet [:P] . Although, this form will only be used to conjugate 'be' in the non-past tense, as *kōh 'to become' will handle past tense. This, of course, is all just in the "lower dialects" of Proto-Gūrru that will become its daughter Lang, which is nameless atm.

SECOND:
*spōk [spo:k] n3. mother
Aszev wrote:A good conlang doesn't come from pursuing uniqueness. Uniqueness is usually an effect from creating a good conlang.
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DesEsseintes
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by DesEsseintes »

*spōk [spo:k] n3. mother

Fantastic. [:D]
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Nannalu »

I didn't do yesterday so I'll do yesterday as well. I may pick a theme every day, I'll see.

1st DEC
perka [perka] n. monster, evil spirit

2nd DEC
óumu [o:u̯mu] n. lake, lagoon
maigý [maɪ̯gy:] n. water
kolanna [kolan:a] n. bog, peat, marsh
óumutín [o:u̯muti:n] n. puddle
Mets | Ttɯŋjṹol
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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by alynnidalar »

Tirina:
The other day, I saw somebody had a word for smartphone in their conlang. (It may have been somebody here, come to think of it...) I was seized with jealousy and immediately decided I needed a word for it too. paw-, pawı- are found in words associated with computers (and thought in general) and enpilsu is slang for "telephone", so I've come up with pawenpilsu, which could be literally translated as "thinking phone" or "computer phone".

But for kicks, let's throw in a slang term sımadfon borrowed directly from English. Not sure which one is going to be more common yet, maybe it's going to be one of those things where pawenpilsu is considered more "proper" and the rebellious teenagers use sımadfon.

Actually, while we're at it, how about enpilwasuwa almesol for a technical/formal term, meaning "capable/able telephone".

Old Azen:
Of course they didn't have smartphones 5000+ years ago, so I'll have to do something different for Old Azen. How about something nice and simple... "iron"? My sources vary on what exactly it was in the Proto-Turkic days, but temyr seems like a reasonable term for Old Azen to end up with. Borrowing that forward to Modern Azen gives us dēmi (still meaning "iron").

Dalar Sign Language
And finally, Dalar Sign Language. Let's do "telephone", in spirit of Tirina's word of the day. I'm not even going to pretend to be inventive here, it's the same sign everyone makes for a telephone, regardless of whether or not you speak a sign language.

In SLIPA, it would be roughly [H!tl(ear!t(th)<Y>)]. That is, you make the Y handshape (like the Hawaiian shaka sign) and touch the thumb to your ear while you tilt your head that direction. And I dunno, maybe you make a talk-y mouth motion too. In my transcription scheme, it's Yɟt.
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