It's been some time since I mentioned anything about Silyon*, my first conlang (created/constructed language). Since my last update on the project, I've only really added a few works to its lexicon. For the most part, it's in the past. There were some issues I couldn't figure out and/or things I didn't like.

I've started on creating a second language, still unnamed (I don't want to name it until I can pick a name that means something in the language). I'm still trying to figure out exactly what direction I want to take it. I've been tempted to create it more vocalic language (evidenced by carrying a Hawaiian dictionary around recently). This way I can create lots of vowels next to each other (as Pablo David Flores points out in his How to Construct a Language, "a word like Kilauea is not possible in many languages."

I still like the morphology of Iñupiaq (a northern Alaskan dialect of Inuit), which can be seen in the synthetic nature of my last language. This means my new language might be something similar to a combination of Hawaiian and Iñupiaq, although with a different root system (i.e., the actual "words" [roots] won't come from either, but will imitate them and their structure]. If I focus my efforts more on creating an Iñupiaq-like morphology, there's a very good chance my language will end up like Silyon. I'm not necessarily opposed to creating a "Reformed Silyon" language, because I would like to keep working on my first language.

I've also had thoughts about creating a more isolating language, simply to experiment with a different type of morphology. In this way, this new language would probably end up being more similar to Hawaiian, English, and Chinese (as far as grammar is concerned).

Basically, I'm still trying to decide what my "vision" is for this language. Once I can get that, it shouldn't be too difficult. I do have the phonetic inventory picked out, consisting of 11 consonants and 3 vowels (compared with 15 consonants, 7 vowels in Silyon; 8 consonants, 5+ vowels in Hawaiian; 21 consonants, 3+ vowels in Iñupiaq)**. In addition to the three vowels in this language, there is also a differentiation of vowel length. This means that "munga" and "muunga" could be considered two different words (or "latu" and "laatu"). I may abandon this idea, but it occurs in both Hawaiian and all Inuit dialects and generally seems interesting to me.

I did actually get some work on this language the other day. I've created a few words (won't post them yet- there still "experimental," just so I can play around with them). It's actually amazing at how I was able to get inspired at the new pub in Las Cruces. Yes- Las Cruces has a new pub: Brigid's Cross Irish Pub, located off of Picacho Hills Dr. It's actually pretty nice. I had my favorite, a white Russian. I even got to listen to a bit of Irish music: an Irish accordionist came in to play for the manager. I'm looking forward to their grand opening special the first Saturday in October.


*Note: Previously, I used the tag newlanguage or "new language," but have since renamed it to Silyon
**I use the terms 5+ and 3+ vowels because it depends on how you define a distinctive vowel and/or what a particular phoneme is.

Silyic: Jespan ütuŋa sæftü gesifa debranopofili. Bideabrumli kebolonili fünæŋorili moŋotili eanulo[fü] lafojekopofi sæftü.

English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

The above is article 1 of the Declaration of Human Rights in my language... roughly. I just finished translating it tonight, so it's a very rough draft. I'm pretty sure it's correct-ish. I'll spend the next couple of days actually making sure it is. There is one very awkward sentence in there just because of the way I use the word "and." It makes it very confusing to join two sentences together... in addition to using "and" to making a list (joining two words). Of course, even in English, "and" can be dangerous... Oh, and for those who don't read my language yet

As a "final" for my independent study for linguistics, I translated the Tower of Babel into my language (Silyon). I also was to create a short introduction/grammar guide to the language. I do have that, but will post that at another time when it's slightly more complete. Enjoy!

( Tower of Babel in my language )

Today, I spoke the possible first sentence of my language... except I haven't really "officially" put together grammar, word order, syntax--- you know, the stuff that makes language functional, so it's not officially my first sentence, just an idea... a possibility.

Rahng rohngahtook [rɑŋ roŋɑtuk]. It literally means "In the past, go I," but would translate into English as "I went."

Rahng [rɑŋ] = Past. There is no tense in my language, so time must be established at the beginning if it is not in the present.

Rohngah- [roŋɑ] = (to) go.

-took [tuq]= 1st person, singular {"I").

Like I said, this is very very very tenative stuff... but that's a sample of what my language could be like.

I actually had a dream about making my language. It was very odd. I only remember a few specific things, such as wanting to create a word (or affix) that would indicate a room is centrally-located or not. I also remember sleeping in some kind of lounge... because... uhh... I'm not sure. I think it had to do with my language, though. It's possible I was leading a group of people who were learning my language. There was also another person creating a language, but that seemed more like a "code" for English- where she was creating words to use in English grammar.


On a related note... ( I could form a micronation! )

My phonology section was due today as part of my independent study. So, with the deadine, I actually to decide.

( Phonological Phun! )

I was looking through the consonants section at Wikipedia, particularly the Trills when I found this: Bronx Cheer (aka- the raspberry [Yes, just like in Spaceballs when Dark Helmet says, "Nobody gives me the raspberry!"]). Imagine how much fun that'd be in my language! It'd practically fit in. I'm thinking I'll be using [r] (coronal trill- basically a trilled "r") and [ʙ] (bilabial trill- trilled "r" with the "b" sound) already... so another trill would fit right in. Then again, how many people would want fart noises in their language? Bwahaha. Am I in that evil of a mood today? You will find out soon. My phonology stuff is due tomorrow for my independent study. I will reveal then what my phonology is.

Originally, for my language, I was going to have the first syllable be stressed (no real reason- I just thought I should have some stress rule... so why not the first? I did after I decided that rule that the Scandinavian languages do this, too). I might change that to the second syllable. Why? The word "mojito." That's a very fun word to say. Mojito (said like "moe-he-toe"). I've been saying that with the second syllable stressed. It sounds very nice that way. If I decide to use "mojito" as a word in my language (phonology pending), I would lose out on the fun-ness of the word (if I keep my first syllable stressed rule). MOjito. moJITo. Okay, fine. It's just a very fun word to say. Maybe I'll have some bizarre exception rule just so I can use the second syllable stress for it. I'll figure something out.

Oh, and my phonology still is pending. I guess I shouldn't make words or stress rules until I know what sounds exist in my language. Right. Gotta stay focused.

Poll #669734 Cot-Caught
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14

Do you pronounce "Cot" and "Caught":

Do you pronounce "Don" and "Dawn":

( Why did I ask that? )

Poll #665216 Silyic Language
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

Will you learn my language? (or at least try)

This actually might be helpful in creating my language. I'm interested in knowing if anyone else would be interested in learning my language... or at least about it. I might change the way my language is set up if others would be speaking it, but probably not too much (yeah, I'm going to be picky and say that this is "my" language).

Edit: Drats. I forgot one category in my poll: "You're making a language?" Oh well. I have class in a few minutes. I don't really have time to re-create a new poll.

It's been said to make a career out of something you can't live without, something you're obsessed with. For me, this changes quite frequently. I'll become very caught up in one thing for a few months, and then move on after that to something else. Right now, my obsession is my language. I don't really care about anything else. None of my other classes matter... [errr.. except for aerial photography interpretation and my computer literacy class (I need those to graduate)].

I have my language set up as an independent study. It's weird. My professor seems to be overestimating the amount of work (or perhaps I'm underestimating it... or both). In her last e-mail, she said she thought this was enough work for two semesters... or even dissertation-type stuff. I know languages are very complex things- and inventing one takes a lot of time (and patience), but I know it can be done in a semester (I've actually seen it as a course at a university in California)... and unless I'm designing my goal with some specific standard- making it to be extremely logical, for example, I don't see it as a dissertation.

Anyway... for a general update on my language- I've been thinking I'm going to add levels of animacy. That is, I might have something in my language to determine whether a noun is inanimate (never alive), animate (currently alive), possily even a category for things that are dead- once living, but not any more. Hmm... I could get really complicated and make a difference between being "alive" and having a spirit. Okay, I'm not really sure what I'll do... but I am thinking about that. I'm also thinking about ways to introduce politeness (basically how to address superiors, how to ask questions- will it be direct or indirect- and so forth).d

I once told one of my... err... friends (for lack of a better term, I guess) about making my own language. He seems to criticize everything I do- this was no different. He wanted to know why I would create a language, commenting about how many languages there are in the world- why should I add more?

Aside from the obvious, "Why do anything? Why does a man climb a mountain?" response, I have figured out that language is a powerful tool. It possibly reflects how the world is viewed- for example, if objects are viewed as animate or inanimate, if they have spirits or not, alive or dead/not alive, and other views of consciousness. It reflects if something is viewed as "good" or "bad" through conotations and use. Realizing this, creating my own language has a sort of spiritual aspect to it- I'm molding my words to the way I think. Sure, languages that currently exist might be able to communicate my thoughts or beliefs, but maybe not in the way I want them expressed.

I guess that's one of the rasons I want to create a language. Other than that, it just seems like a neat thing to do. Language is a complex thing and I'd like to have a better understanding of it. Making my own language is a great way to learn what all goes into language. It can be time consuming (especially since I'm trying to do some research involving various aspects of language) and gives me something to do. More importantly, it's something to think about. It requires a lot of thought and planning. It's something that, once created, I'll really be able to call my own. My language.

Okay, so I gave up my fast and spiritual quest for today. I tried meditating, but it didn't seem to work. I kept wanting to go to sleep. So, at 1 today, I ate lunch. Oh well. So much for that.

Aside from that, I've been watching the Twilight Zone marathon and picking pecans in my backyard- well, was, until it became very windy. I'm also trying to figure out a writing system for my language. I know I came up with one, but I don't know if I'm happy with it. I'm looking through a few books I checked out from the library that compare languages in the world.

Regarding my website, I think I will change the layout. I think enough people were having problems to make the style more problematic than the convenience it provides. I might still use TiddlyWiki for a "Wiki on a Stick" as some kind of virtual notebook I keep on a USB flash drive. Since I'm looking for a new style, it occurs to me that maybe I should develop some kind of purpose for my site. At the moment, the big thing I want to put up is my information about my language - which I still might use as a TiddlyWiki so I can search entries in the dictionary fast.

Hmm... </ramble>

s0rr0w and I watched the first four episodes of Wonderfalls today having a virtual marathon together. I also made a few Wonderfalls icons (well, one I made a while ago... but now can actually upload with the increased userpics that was given to free accounts).

Today I also have been thinking about two things:

( Thoughts on my website and language )

Oh, and I found this site that has more (and better) pictures of X3 characters.

Approximate conversation with lilmexicangrll:

Me: Did I tell you I'm creating my own language?
Friend: I remember you said you wanted to something like that in high school.
Me: I did?
Friend: It was apart of your plan for world domination.
Me: I wanted to make a language in high school?

I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, so I thought now would be a good time to give an update on my progress of my language. I've been using TiddlyWiki quite successfully to create a searchable dictionary. I don't have enough of it set up to put online yet, but it is coming along quite nicely. I'm also using TiddlyWiki to create a new look for StrangeGravity. That's coming along more rapidly since I already have a lot of the content written (and it's in English).

I'm still thinking my language will use a similar time structure to that of ASL- time will be established in the beginning of a sentence/conversation as an adjective (would it be an adjective?). Aside from that, there will be no tense. Everything will be written/spoken as if it were the present. The only thing indicating time will be a few words thrown in. An example sentence might be something like, "Past Saturday, I go to the store" or "Next week, I am taking exams."

Not everything is going as smoothly as I'd like. Because I'm still leaning towards having a synthetic language (mostly), I have to figure out a painless way that affixes with consonants at the beginning or end can match up with stems that have consonants at the beginning or end (ie, I have to make sure everything can actually be pronounced). If two consonants can't go together, I have to create some solution- delete one, add a syllable, change the consonant, etc. Iñupiaq has an interesting method of dealing with this- consonants of the same type (fricative, nasal, etc.) can be next to each other... other consonants are then changed to the same type or are deleted.

Lastly, it shows that I'm a determined hobbit in creating this language. I had a dream about it. I was thinking about working on my language in my sleep. A few nights ago, I had a dream (or two) that had a polar bear [actually something significant for me--- could it be my spirit guide? (if I even believe in spirit guides)]... now I'm dreaming of working on my language.

I think I've figured out some advantages and disadvantages of using an isolated (analytical) word structure compared to a synthetic word structure.

( In detail )

Summary: Isolating languages might provide an advantage for the written language, whereas the synthetic language might provide an example for a spoken language. I don't think I'd say either one is "better," and the advantages are probably very minimal because, quite frankly, every language has its problems. Languages are complex things (in order to communicate an infinite amount of complex ideas).

I think my language will borrow something from American Sign Language (ASL). At the moment, I'm thinking it might be fun to have the time (ie, past, present, future) at the beginning of a sentence.

In English, the past is represented with -ed. I walked to the store. The future is basically represented with "will." I will walk to the store.

My language: (past word) I walk store. (future word) I walk store. Of course, I'll actually have a real word for the past and a real word for the future, but that's what I'm thinking. I guess the English equivlent would be: Already I walk store. Will I walk store. [note: not questions.]

This idea of time might actually push my language more towards having an isolated word structure, where a sentence is made/changed by adding in more words (as opposed to suffixes and prefixes).

Once I get my language developed enough (which won't be for quite a while... unless I get really bored in one of my classes), I think I'm going to set up an online dictionary/grammar site, a la wiki (Check out the Wikipedia for an example of the style). This would enable me to create a site that's easily modified [easy to add in new definitions]. It also is great because I can have "discussions" on each page so anyone using my wiki would be able to put in input. In fact, other people could even edit the site (possibly- if I grant access) so they could create new words. Yes, that does kind of take away from my language... but I'm thinking words could be added as combination words, such as a word for "breath mint." I would still be the final authority in what goes into the language. [Yikes, that sounds a bit egotistical and selfish.] I might even try to put my current site, Strange Gravity (which hasn't been updated since May), in this style.

( Progress update on my language )

I've been working on creating a font for my alphabet. This has enabled me to actually show you a good image of what my language should look like, as opposed to the scanned images of my small handwriting.

( You can actually see the letters this time! )

Above each letter, in orange, is the approximate English pronounciation. Some of the letters don't sound like anything at all in English, so they're left blank. Note the "r" is trilled [include in the "br" sound]. This is all still very tenative stuff, especially if I notice some sounds become too much of a hassle, don't fit in, etc. I also have 3 extra characters in my language... mostly because I think I'll be adding or changing some things around. Right now, I'm thinking I'll even create my own punctuation (so far, I've only created the period [.] symbol).