All Questions
628
questions
3
votes
1
answer
71
views
How do I make my language *look* weird?
We have some discussion of creating "weird" phonology already. But often, people will encounter conlangs by seeing them written. And many of those weirdnesses won't come across well in ...
- 4,746
7
votes
1
answer
108
views
How to Construct Phonotactics?
For use in worldbuilding, I am intending to construct some fictional names in a fictional language. I want the phonotactics in those names to be distinct from the more widely-known real-world ...
3
votes
2
answers
109
views
A conlang without adpositions (would this system work)?
Wondering if this sort of system would get rid of adpositions:
The cat is on the table.
the cat on-be the table.
She walked through the park.
she through-walked the park.
They sat under the tree.
...
- 1,828
6
votes
1
answer
78
views
Could a European language include dental clicks?
I’m developing a fictional European language and am considering incorporating a range of phonetic elements that are not typically found in European languages. One feature I’m curious about is the ...
- 161
4
votes
1
answer
40
views
Transformed vs. untransformed objects
I had an idea to spice up the core argument cases in one of my languages: what if there were separate object cases for an object that undergoes a change of state, vs. an object that does not?
By this ...
- 859
3
votes
1
answer
51
views
Are there specific name forms for Interlingua?
While it is not uncommon for Esperanto speakers to use Esperantised name forms like Ludoviko, the Interlingua community usually uses the native spelling of personal names. But I want to know, if there ...
- 11.3k
3
votes
1
answer
54
views
How to come up with novel words for exact concepts that result from specific fact combinations: word coining acts
Here is something I would like to be able to describe with a single word:
"You hold something in your hand (or that somethibng is perhaps in your pocket or attached to your body in done way), you ...
4
votes
2
answers
106
views
Evolving tense from a tenseless proto-language
I'm trying to come up with a verb system as confusing as Georgian, where expressing TAM involves the combination of many affixes whose individual meaning has been lost to time.
I want the daughter ...
- 859
3
votes
1
answer
60
views
With infix connectives, how to handle edge cases?
Suppose we have a language containing an infix connective for building some sort of sequence. For example, perhaps our terminals are natural numbers and commas, and we are considering fragments like &...
- 236
-2
votes
1
answer
54
views
Would the Numerical Tongue be adapted? [closed]
Last year on October I applied for a Guinness World Record where I proposed to write the Bible in numbers using a concept I refer to as the Universal Tongue. My proposal was declined because it didn't ...
5
votes
1
answer
147
views
How does the writing system 12480 work?
I've been trying to come up with a language for a science fiction book, and I came across 12480, which I think would make a good base for the language. The only problem is, I'd like a general idea of ...
- 123
5
votes
1
answer
70
views
What sorts of sounds can seals make?
I saw the video "How to Write Languages for Animals": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vahlnBkVUA, and I wanted to try my hand at creating one for seals using the following images:
Only I ...
- 123
2
votes
1
answer
80
views
How would you write this modified version of the ring inscription in the Black Speech?
One ring to rule you, one ring to find you
One ring to bring you, and in the darkness bind you
I love you
Gopinadh
2
votes
1
answer
55
views
Problems with this system for compound words?
I was thinking of having all "base" words in the budding conlang I'm working on start and end with a consonant (and be 1-4 syllables), with 1 vowel between each consonant. So like banakan or ...
- 1,828
5
votes
1
answer
75
views
Extending venitives/andatives
I'm in the middle of redesigning the verb paradigm for one of my languages, and I'm confronted with the dilemma of knowing that I want a prefix that looks like this, placed there for aesthetic reasons,...
- 859
4
votes
2
answers
83
views
Is there a good natural reason for a language to declare infinite cardinalities as "plural" and finite cardinalities as "paucal"?
Nowadays, mathematicians have a number of ways of dealing with infinities, prominently the notions of cardinalities and ordinal numbers. As such, I wondered whether we would incorporate such notions ...
- 823
8
votes
2
answers
114
views
Is merging singular and dual naturalistic?
So, In the conlang I'm working on currently, nouns decline for number - singular, dual or plural. My problem is, due to phonological changes, in many nouns, the forms for singular and dual have merged,...
- 1,228
4
votes
1
answer
57
views
Would cuiviëquendion be the proper translation of the awakening of the Elves?
Would cuiviëquendion be the proper translation of the awakening of the Elves ? As far as I understand cuivië means awakening and quendion is the genetive adjective associated to Quendi which literally ...
- 141
2
votes
1
answer
64
views
Need help putting modality in my language bad (realis irrealis system)
For my conlang, which is just a proto language so far, I want a realis-irrealis grammatical mood system because other than the verbs, it's pretty analytical, so it would make sense to use more ...
4
votes
0
answers
68
views
Are there any free resources for creating a customized keyboard layout for a conlang?
Are there any free resources (third-party or otherwise) that would allow me to create a customized keyboard for my conlang?
While I have still not finished my conlang I am currently working on, I am ...
- 337
2
votes
0
answers
52
views
Attempt to define verb inflection that is phonologically featural
My native language is Korean, which has a featural script, namely Hangul. Though my conlang isn't going to adopt Hangul, I came up with one question of curiosity: "Can there be a featural grammar?...
- 823
3
votes
2
answers
99
views
Language and language storage system reflecting non-linear brain structure
Consider the following sentence.
"A sailor {went, ate, made, tailored} to see see see and {did, wanted, embedded-inspired} what they could do"
Now, suppose that instead of having a book I ...
3
votes
1
answer
69
views
What sounds could humanoids with no teeth produce?
Similar, no dupe: How should a consonant (IPA) chart look for lip-less, teeth-less, non-humans?Similar, no dupe: Which sounds could a lipless humanoid produce?
So recently, I decided to create a ...
- 337
2
votes
2
answers
81
views
How can my SOV conlang handle quotations?
In English, a way to express what someone is saying is usually done by putting what the character said in quotes, and place 'x said' either before or after the phrase:
Bob said, 'Bill took my fishing ...
user6707
0
votes
0
answers
31
views
Question about selma'o FA
Is the fi elidable in sentences such as the following:
fe tu’a lo karce fa mi djica [fi] lo nu litru?
2
votes
0
answers
24
views
How do I say "minimum age" in lojban?
Would "lo sarcyselna'a" be grammatically correct? Are there any specific rules on where to put sel and other cmavo rafsi in lujvo?
2
votes
1
answer
50
views
How do languages make lemmata from root words?
(Google tells me the plural of "lemma" could be "lemmas" or "lemmata", so i chose the latter. Please tell me if it's wrong.)
From reading online and offline sources, I've ...
- 93
1
vote
2
answers
74
views
Should non-sibilant fricatives be treated like plosives or fricatives?
I don't like ending my words with plosives, because my native language tends to not audibly pronounce them. I prefer to stick to fricatives and nasals for codas. However, I'm unsure where non-sibilant ...
user6046
5
votes
1
answer
96
views
Breaking out of the 'derive everything' trap?
Conlang guides often recommend you derive words wherever you can, only generating new roots when no form of compounding can work.
Problem is, as the 'natural meta language' demonstrates, most words ...
user6046
6
votes
1
answer
44
views
Is this lojban sentence grammatically correct?
Is "ta se klama" grammatically correct?
Could I say "That is gone to" in lojban, without adding a zo'e to my sentence?
Or would it have to be "That is gone to by something&...
0
votes
1
answer
49
views
For writing a grammar, benefit of linguistic vs "readable" terminology
I am writing a grammar for my conlang. I imagine finishing it and hiring a grad student or somebody to read it for comments, but otherwise, realistically, it probably has no other audience than myself ...
- 1,326
2
votes
1
answer
51
views
Can the suffixes of an agglutinative language include morphemes which are also part of the base verb/noun word forms?
One thing that makes it hard to imagine how agglutinative languages could work is how they can handle when the suffix is also included in the base verb/noun word forms.
So say we are translating "...
- 1,828
0
votes
2
answers
127
views
Are there things that commonly end sentences other than verbs?
I'm copy-pasting this from the linguistics board because someone recommended that and I'm not getting any replies there. I'm not expecting much given the luck I've been having on here, but w/e.
I've ...
user6046
3
votes
0
answers
65
views
Is it natural to declare laterals and rhotics as a fortis/lenis pair?
I've sought for justification for the phoneme inventory of my conlang, but finally, I think I found one, at least for consonants.
순음 Labial
설음 Coronal
반설음 "Semi-coronal"
치두음 Front Sibilant
...
- 823
4
votes
2
answers
131
views
What made Tolkien's diachronics purposefully not naturalistic?
Somewhere else I heard that Tolkien's languages had some purposeful non naturalistic diachronics with stuff like elvish languages having the elves make some purposeful changes to them partially due to ...
- 43
4
votes
1
answer
70
views
Syllabic plosives
Fricatives and Sonorants can be in a nucleus of a syllable. Can plosives also act as a syllable? If so, do any of your conlangs have this feature?
- 41
3
votes
2
answers
183
views
I am constructing my own language and I need one more consonant [closed]
I am constructing my own language and I need one more consonant other than BCChDDz, FGHJK, LLyMNNy, PRSShT, and VYZZh.
C is Ts, Ch is as in China, Dz is Italian soft J/G, J is Dy/Dj/DZh
W is too ...
user6113
2
votes
1
answer
112
views
Translate into quenya
I want to translate those sentences in quenya :
One ring to show our love,
One ring to seal our love,
One ring to spread our light,
And forever to make us bright
This gives with latin letters the ...
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
303
views
How does this phoneme inventory look? [closed]
How does this phoneme inventory look and any roles for them? Like, how should these be used, what they look like, and how hard it may be for people to comprehend:
a - [a]
ā - [aː]
å - [ø]
ä - [ɛ/ɑ]
â -...
user6101
5
votes
1
answer
156
views
Is there a good reason not to reverse the letters 𐑓 and 𐑝 in Shavian?
In the Shavian alphabet, the letter 𐑓 makes an f sound and 𐑝 makes a "v" sound. It seems reasonable that these two letters should be reversed, since 𐑝 looks like an f. To stay consistent ...
- 151
7
votes
1
answer
221
views
A conlang with a 'compressed' writing system?
I'm making this since now I think an 'abjad' isn't what I actually had in mind. I was thinking of a system where the vowels don't have to be written, because they're always obvious. Essentially, my ...
user6046
6
votes
3
answers
235
views
Tips for making a conlang that uses an abjad?
I've been looking at Classical Hebrew a lot for inspiration on some features it has. Turns out, it wasn't what I expected (such as that its not actually a VSO language, it just looks like that due to ...
user6046
4
votes
3
answers
289
views
How did people learn how to make conlangs?
All I can find are guides on how to make auxlangs and artlangs. I don't want to make either, I want a personal language. I don't care if my language could pass for a real one. I don't care about ...
user6046
7
votes
3
answers
186
views
Can a language exist without transitive verbs?
I'm developing my first conlang (no name yet) for a story and came up with an interesting idea: all verbs are intransitive, and objects are added with prepositions.
So, a sentence like "I eat ...
- 93
4
votes
1
answer
180
views
How to prevent your conlang from explosively growing
I have made many conlangs in my life but they all wind up facing the same issues, and I am not sure how to prevent it.
I wind up with countless different forms of each word as modifiers stack up onto ...
- 181
4
votes
1
answer
81
views
Question on if I am doing Split-Ergativity right
I am making a split ergative language, and I am struggling a lot on it.
So, I am doing a Dyirbal-type pronominal split, where 1st and 2nd person are nominative-accusative and everything else is ...
- 181
0
votes
4
answers
319
views
How to learn to make a conlang?
No, I'm not asking for resources. I've consulted every resource I can find, but even after more than a decade of research, I still have no conlang to show for it. I started with the Language ...
user6046
2
votes
1
answer
88
views
What are L, S, and F phonemes?
On the Procgenesis language generator, you find these five Phoneme types: C,V,L,S,& F. I believe that C and V are Consonants and Vowels respectively, but nothing I look at can explain the rest. ...
- 123
3
votes
1
answer
67
views
Vowel Breaking Sound Change
I find breaking to be an interesting sound change which I haven't used much before, and I'm trying to figure out when it would most commonly occur. My understanding is that it would be prone to happen ...
- 91
1
vote
1
answer
60
views
Pros/cons for grasping/groking/using novel concepts, new made up words (sound sequences) or multi-word terms composed from simple words?
I am back to thinking about how one could best represent the plethora of concepts from the human perspective. Whether we should invent new words (which are basically arbitrary sound sequences, using ...
- 1,828