i have two cool ideas for conlangs and i started neither of them☠️
(for my russian readers, перевод через гугл сразу под постом)
so today im explaining you the first idea, the older one. this #apriory #conlang is based on matrices (spoiler, the seconed idea is based on trees). first, you have 4 places in your mouth (back, like "k"; middle, like "l"; front, or teeth, like "s" and "n"; and lips, like "p"). next, you have 4 ways of interacting with them (nasal, like "n"; tap, like "t"; approximation, like "s" (or "j" i meah "y", й, in the back's case), friction, like "th")
so, the matrix of consonants is:
g k j h
l r c x
n t s z
m p v f
which sounds:
ng k y gh
l r ch sh
n t (t)s th
m p w f
ts - th is my weakest place but i cant come up with anything better :(
then we have standard five vowels (a e i o u), which results in 80 syllables total
ideally, each place, way of interaction and vowel all contribute to the final meaning of a syllable. four categories for the place, four categories for the way, five - for the vowel, and they sum into meaning. like if the back would mean "human", tap - "action" and o - "group" (theoretically), then "ko" would be something like "contact" (idk). then, with the similar syllable, like "to", when teeth-place mean "feeling", that would be smth like "rough". (i dont actually know how it would be better to assign categories, probably need more research in philosophy, psychology and linguistics. for the places, i propose: back-human - middle-nature - teeth-feelinss - lips-abstract)
so now we have a syllable! do we communicate with syllables? no! we communicate with three categories: meanings; role in the text; our attitude or filling words, like "like", "idk", "ну", "типа"
for meanings, we combine three forward (consonant-vowel, or CV) syllables, like koselu. first, "ko" is the most important, it gives you an idea of about what are we talking. second narrows it to a smaller group of things. and the third identifies the very thing we're talking about. and no, we do not construct them as we speak, thats not #ithkuil - the creators create words once, write them into the dictionary, and learner only has to see it there, learn what it means, and it's structure should help in memorising very much. similar (in meaning) things sound similar. different things sound different. there is (should be) logic in how the word is built. ordering words alphabetically (the alphabet order is [g k j h l r c x n t s z m p v f a e i o u]) also categorizes them in meaning, spheres, so searching the word by meaning is almost as easy as searching it by sound!
there are 80 syllables, and 80**3=512000 possible meanings, which should be enough to create words for any possible topic in humanity, and there will be free ones for future
now, lets talk about grammar. for it, we use backward (VC - vowel consonant, like "on") syllables. we can have as many as we want, and we can even build sentences in different paradigms. for example, Theme and Information (T-cat I-black = the cat is black), Subject Verb Object (S-cat V-eating O-fish - the cat eats a fish), Object and Descriptor (O-cat D-black - the cat is black), combine them (subject-object-theme cat descriptor-info black object-object-theme fish descriptor-theme wet object-verb-info eating descriptor-info fast = the cat is black and quickly eats that one fish which is wet, you know)
there are 80 grammar syllables, and they are also 4-4-5 cross, but place interaction and vowel mean different things, not [human - nature - feeling - abstract], but grammar related stuff. should study different (all possible, in fact) languages to figure out how to distribute these grammar syllables
and, the concept from #lojban (but used in all sorts of languages in fact, in all sorts of waysp, attitudinals - VCV structure, 400 possibilities. ideally they combine meanings of a grammar and content syllables, but here we have only one consonant, and im not really sure should it be unique, or have a meaning like in content word, then we have two vowels - first means same as in grammar words, second means same as in content words. one attitudinal may replace a whole sentence, like "i agree with that" we replace with "ok"
there should be a list of predefined attitudinals to use, like with content words, but the list is much shorter and constant (5*16*5 = 400 entries)
aalsoo.. a very cool way to write the language may be created. like content words - pictures, combined from three parts (first syllable in the middle, the object of picture. second - some details, and third - some tint to it, or outline but part of picture), grammar - arrors and/or/combined borders (outlines) between and/or/combined around these picture, and attitudinal - an outline around the whole sentence (or empty space if alone)
so thats it - my first little conlang idea, tell my where im wrong, or what you like about it or if you want to see that conlang actually created or if you even can help that happen
#conlanging #esperanto #tokipona #language #languages #linguistics
