Search found 2737 matches

by Salmoneus
Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:25 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

a) The Ngauro were the first 'civilisation'. I could see them being conquered by nomads, but being conquered (and outbred) by their uncivilised but still agricultural neighbours seems less likely It's common enough in terrestrial history: the Sumerians, the Harappans, even the Egyptians were eventu...
by Salmoneus
Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:09 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

Less metaphorically, it seems to me that there would likely be some form of successor(s) to Ndak Ta in the valley itself, before the classical period, and probably destroyed by the Daiadak and the Faralo. There is-- Axôltseubeu or Lašumu, whose language was developed by ghur. As for the pre-Ndak pe...
by Salmoneus
Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:18 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

What's confusing me at the moment is what happens BEFORE Adata. There's a great big river valley, a giant river valley, and it seems as though nothing happens in it. We've said that Ndak Ta is Babylonian or Assyrian, while Huyfarah etc are Roman - so what's happened to all the Medes and Persians, th...
by Salmoneus
Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:27 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

re the Empire, I had three thoughts in mind: a) people often reanalyse their past in terms of their present. Bronze-age Antagg could well reinterpret historical oppression by nomadic tribes as a period under the control of a bronze-age empire. b) there may well have been an empire to the west at som...
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:55 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

It needn't even be so coincidental as that. While the Koyek liturgies may have become extinct, that needn't mean that the religion disappeared. How about: a) A religion spreads over the region b) A codified, monastic form of the religion is recorded in Koyek scriptures. c) Meanwhile, a 'popular' for...
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:29 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

FYI, I'm now considering having an ethnic group calling themselves "Lu Antagg" living in the Bwimbai valley at around the time that Ndak Ta is spoken. They're closely related to the Ndak, but have themselves migrated from the south-west, from the north bank of the Aiwa, probably under pressure from ...
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 13, 2007 2:51 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

Darn, should have seen that. Sorry, was looking in the wrong place (had been thinking Gauron Emwel sort of area) Dew: the climate idea is somewhat interesting to me, given the higher latitudes I'm headed toward. If there're any major cold spells worth noting down in the Eige valley, it could be dram...
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 13, 2007 2:05 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

Do we know anything about Tlaliolz (a suspected sister of Ndak Ta, yes?)? Also, any Meshi vocabulary would be helpful. It would probably make sense to derive my first language from a sister of Ndak Ta, actually, although it would mean a bit more work I suppose. But it make the family tree a bit bush...
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:48 pm
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

You're right, it's not too likely. But unlikely things can happen. After all, back when the Mongols and the Turks were living in eastern asia, you'ld never have thought there'd have been Turks ending up in Tunisia, or Mongols by the black sea. With regard to the extent of the Ndak Ta empire, there m...
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:44 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

Update: I believe my Cunning Plan is for: Stage One: a Ndak Ta daughter spoken on the upper reaches of the Bwimbai, which I believe to be the same as the Ziphe. Stage Two: Then, that culture declines, and a daughter culture, probably barbarians, arises in the mountains around the headwaters of that ...
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:13 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

One route to expansion would be if the small population were diasporated, and found some social niche in the wider population as an outsider group. Eg Jews, Gypsies, Hausa etc. I'm partial to this idea. However, IMO there need to be more than 500 members of such a community so as not to have them g...
by Salmoneus
Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:55 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Seahorses, I Love 'Em (& other Links of Interest)
Replies: 2235
Views: 496236

They wear it cocked at a rakish angle.

[Seriously though, you could tell anyway. Bowler's mostly just sit on the head, so there's normally plenty of hair visible.]
by Salmoneus
Sun Nov 11, 2007 10:15 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Seahorses, I Love 'Em (& other Links of Interest)
Replies: 2235
Views: 496236

What the hell is any of that meant to mean? It starts off bizarely, mixing together slang terms from half a dozen dialects and registers and time periods. Then it just goes weird and incomprehensible. I'm guessing that's 'rhyming slang' that some American's thought up to put in brouchures. [is that ...
by Salmoneus
Sat Nov 10, 2007 6:59 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

One route to expansion would be if the small population were diasporated, and found some social niche in the wider population as an outsider group. Eg Jews, Gypsies, Hausa etc.
by Salmoneus
Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:26 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: the Old Granny thread
Replies: 624
Views: 211415

Yes. Also, herbs tend to be fresh or dried, while spices are ground. Herbs tend to be mild-tasting and blend in and are never hot, while spices have striking tastes that are quite different from normal food, and are often hot. In fact, I think we're more likely just to say 'spicey' rather than 'hot'...
by Salmoneus
Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:28 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: the Old Granny thread
Replies: 624
Views: 211415

How is using ordinary English 'pedantry'. If you refered to such things as spices, at least around here, nobody would understand you. It would be like refering to oranges as 'vegetables', or cabbages as 'fruit'. [As it happens, I don't have a herb-and-spice-rack. I have a spice rack, and I have a sh...
by Salmoneus
Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:10 am
Forum: None of the above
Topic: the Old Granny thread
Replies: 624
Views: 211415

Mrs. Dash I'm letting "Italian spices" go for the minute, but what the fuck? Mrs. Dash? It's one of those spice mixes marketed as an all-purpose seasoning for people on low-salt diets. Or rather, a brand name for a series of them. They can be quite good, really, provided you use them with salt and ...
by Salmoneus
Wed Oct 31, 2007 6:20 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: the Old Granny thread
Replies: 624
Views: 211415

*cowers like a vampire before a cross*

[there's a thing about Dracula on TV, you see]

whyyyyyy must everything have tomaaaaatoes in it? whyyyy?


On the subject of mushrooms, though, fried mushrooms, green pesto, pasta and an aubergine cut up small and roasted. Tastes nice.
by Salmoneus
Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:30 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

Speaking of which, is there anywhere a sort of ThisProjectForIdiots that could give an overview of geography and history?
by Salmoneus
Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:17 am
Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
Topic: Conlang relay [relocated] (aka "The Cursed Relay")
Replies: 2538
Views: 968307

By coincidence, I just thought I would re-enter this, after a break of howevermany months/years, and I see Radius has just mentioned me! If I didn't apologise at the time, then I'm very sorry for disappearing back then. I was getting behind on my language, and then had to take an unintended vacation...
by Salmoneus
Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:16 pm
Forum: Almea
Topic: Where are the Almean nutball religions?
Replies: 34
Views: 13542

Zompist: ahh, thanks. I can go along with nihilist rhetoric being a tool for alienation. Eddy: Nietzsche, of course, once off-handedly refered to 'Christians and other nihilists'. One of his better qualities as a writer, I've always thought, is the way that he can throw buckets of freezing water in ...
by Salmoneus
Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:50 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Where are the Almean nutball religions?
Replies: 34
Views: 13542

I don't understand - how does a nihilist cult assemble an army of terrorists? Since for a nihilist there is no reason to be a terrorist, nor to assemble terrorists, and there is, moreover, no reason for such a terrorist to choose one target over another (or even over themselves, or their allies), h...
by Salmoneus
Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:40 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Where are the Almean nutball religions?
Replies: 34
Views: 13542

I thought the general definition of nihilism in that context referred to people intent on destroying the status quo for its own sake, sort of like the common perception of anarchy. I recall such people existing in 19th century Russia (maybe in one of Dostoevsky's books as well). Nihilism was indeed...
by Salmoneus
Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:06 pm
Forum: Almea
Topic: Where are the Almean nutball religions?
Replies: 34
Views: 13542

I don't understand - how does a nihilist cult assemble an army of terrorists? Since for a nihilist there is no reason to be a terrorist, nor to assemble terrorists, and there is, moreover, no reason for such a terrorist to choose one target over another (or even over themselves, or their allies), ho...
by Salmoneus
Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:18 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Where are the Almean nutball religions?
Replies: 34
Views: 13542

But the point is that it's not that the roman religion said 'burn all infidels!' - it's that the Emperor said 'hey, these people don't like me, let's burn them before they revolt'. I think historically Islam has been broadly tolerant of other religions as well. Islamic states did, of course, not tre...