Search found 2737 matches

by Salmoneus
Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:22 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Weird phrases from real languages
Replies: 323
Views: 197813

My least favourite German cluster: /nfstf/, as in "Zukunfstsphilogie"
by Salmoneus
Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:26 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: The Lesser-Used Sounds
Replies: 113
Views: 94267

No lateral trills...
by Salmoneus
Fri Jun 30, 2006 9:34 am
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Serial Verbs and Clause Chains
Replies: 23
Views: 19453

I don't think "Panting, the man ran down the beach" is an example of anything much like clause chaining, whether marginal or otherwise. The "panting" is a subordinate adverbial clause (save for the elision of a preposition like "while" or other standard adverbial clause trappings) - whereas clause ...
by Salmoneus
Tue May 16, 2006 8:45 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Weapons
Replies: 9
Views: 4085

I don't think plate armour WAS a reaction to firearms - I think it was earlier. What I've heard is that the increasing armouredness was a (futile) attempt to deal with longbows and crossbows and the like. Full articulate plate developed between the mid thirteenth and mid fifteenth century. Firearms ...
by Salmoneus
Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:21 am
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Triconsonantal Root Systems
Replies: 201
Views: 170199

Mercator: confusingly, "Ba'al" is/was both a title and a name. Its as though Christians called Jehovah 'the Lord', but called each angel "Lord of such-and-such" - and then the people connected with a particular angel called just called him '"the lord" when it was clear Jehovah wasn't meant. This, I'...
by Salmoneus
Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:46 pm
Forum: Almea
Topic: Verdurian Alphabets
Replies: 25
Views: 10643

Del, how the HELL can you put a diaresis into 'theatre'? It's a diphthong! the point of the diaresis is to show vowels that AREN'T diphthongs. But that IS a diphthong. Some dialects, it's just a long vowel! I mean, goo god. It's like saying "E?r" for 'ear'!!! Your spelling makes it look like /T@.{t@...
by Salmoneus
Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:22 pm
Forum: Almea
Topic: Verdurian Alphabets
Replies: 25
Views: 10643

The conditions when I would 'borrow' something (from a friend or p2p or whatever): 1) If it's too expensive for me to ever think about buying. Eg, I am NOT going to pay hundreds of pounds (or even tens of pounds) for software that I think I might happen to use at some point. Eg, I've got a copy of A...
by Salmoneus
Fri Feb 10, 2006 3:48 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Irish Lessons - Ranganna Gaeilge
Replies: 115
Views: 100726

Her dialect is a "father from dublin (grandfather from Belfast), mother from Kerry, but learnt Irish in school in Waterford, can't really "speak" irish any more but remembers words, phrases and pronunciation, and probably would remember how to speak it if she were listening to other speakers" dialec...
by Salmoneus
Fri Feb 10, 2006 1:42 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Irish Lessons - Ranganna Gaeilge
Replies: 115
Views: 100726

I have a question!

The acute mark. It appears to be called a 'fada'. However, I've fairly certain my mother pronounces it /fQD@/ (or something that to my english ears sounds like that - Q, not a, and D, not d. Now, a-->Q doesn't seem impossible but why on earth a D? HAve you heard anything like that?
by Salmoneus
Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:26 am
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Syntax - a multi-perspective introduction
Replies: 62
Views: 42071

But what about when they DO cross? Surely you can't claim that they actually used a different sentence just to avoid having evidence that conflicts with the arbitrary 'straight lines are good' theory of linguistics? Lines aren't present in people's speech. They're drawn by syntacticians. "You can't...
by Salmoneus
Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:51 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Syntax - a multi-perspective introduction
Replies: 62
Views: 42071

But what about when they DO cross? Surely you can't claim that they actually used a different sentence just to avoid having evidence that conflicts with the arbitrary 'straight lines are good' theory of linguistics?
by Salmoneus
Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:41 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Syntax - a multi-perspective introduction
Replies: 62
Views: 42071

If you can't cross lines, what do you do when the lines cross?
by Salmoneus
Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:57 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Metaphors We Live By
Replies: 35
Views: 30015

Hmm. Maybe I ought briefly to state my own opinion on the matter: I don't think that metaphors have indicative denotation. However, nor do I believe that they are expressions of emotion. I think that a 'view of the world', a 'model' or whatever actually has two types of data in it, which are not red...
by Salmoneus
Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:43 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Metaphors We Live By
Replies: 35
Views: 30015

Well Spack, I'm aware by now that everyone reads a different Wittgenstein, but your's is totally new to me! The one I read spends most of his time directly attacking the position that meaning is something beyond language, that we have a meaning in our minds when we say something that our interlocuto...
by Salmoneus
Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:13 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Intro to Basic Concepts of COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS
Replies: 87
Views: 89413

Kirk: but the first 'disagreement' there isn't linguistic, but a matter of biological trivia. Well, I'm sure it's significant to biologists and neurologists and brain surgeons and what have you, but I don't see what it has to do with linguistics. My lexicon could be processed by the same part of my ...
by Salmoneus
Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:48 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Intro to Basic Concepts of COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS
Replies: 87
Views: 89413

Are you sure you aren't saying 'Chomskian theory' where you really mean 'Chomsky's theory'? Can a Chomskian really not say 'hey, we missed a bit - we need a new rule!' and then add a new rule, without compromise the essential framework of Chomsky?
by Salmoneus
Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:26 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Metaphors We Live By
Replies: 35
Views: 30015

Not entirely on topic, but you know what's recently been fascinating me about metaphor? Truth. Most claims - "all dogs are blue" - can be argued with. I can show a person certain evidence (eg a non-blue dog) he can accept that evidence as being true, and, if he is rational, he can then admit that hi...
by Salmoneus
Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:14 pm
Forum: Almea
Topic: Those who deny elcarin solidarity and are ugly too.
Replies: 12
Views: 4661

Re: Those who deny elcarin solidarity and are ugly too.

What are their leaders like? Are they despotic kings (like the Pharoah) whom everybody trembles before like an evil god? Incidentally, I find this a rather odd description of Pharaonic rule. If the murtani leaders are at all parallel to Pharaohs, that would make them hereditary royalty ruling with ...
by Salmoneus
Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:59 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Ktuvok language
Replies: 5
Views: 2845

Little contact would probaly help preserve the language rather than destroy it. As far as I know, linguistic, like most othe social, change is a function of communication density. For one thing, low density makes it difficult to transfer innovations. For another, it increases the chance of an innova...
by Salmoneus
Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:35 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: The Official ZBB Quote Thread
Replies: 2878
Views: 719965

you know, i just realised who khang reminds me of so much: T-Rex. Only less verbose and widely-read.
by Salmoneus
Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:25 pm
Forum: Almea
Topic: Your Favorite Almea Language
Replies: 65
Views: 28303

I've not really studied any of them. I liked all the syntax in the Axunasin description, though.
by Salmoneus
Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:34 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Castle of the 17th Evil Wizard. A question for Zompist.
Replies: 16
Views: 6555

linguofreak wrote: And giving a joke a backstory makes it funnier.
I have to whole-heartedly agree there. Anyone who's read Douglas Adams' or Terry Pratchett's brilliant elaboration of already good offhand one-liners will know what I mean.
by Salmoneus
Fri Jul 08, 2005 10:28 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: Negative feedback on Almea?
Replies: 35
Views: 13851

I don't like the loanwords from european languages. Also, the other races, wic strike me mainly as too startrekky/d&dish. particularly the wole evil empire of the ktuvok thing. But, each to their own.
by Salmoneus
Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:48 pm
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: No latin names of month...
Replies: 62
Views: 65553

Re: No latin names of month...

linguoboy wrote:the like, but I've never seen them used in modern texts.

You should add the ancient Germanic month names as well. There's a very complete treatment of them here.
Wow! Dazi gets her very own month?
by Salmoneus
Fri May 13, 2005 6:47 am
Forum: L&L Museum
Topic: Weird phrases from real languages
Replies: 323
Views: 197813

garrett wrote:I always that that this french form of the verb "louer" was crazy: loueait.

It has five different vowels in a row; this would never fly in english!
Clearly you've never come across the perfectly legitimate (though most likely never actually used before) English word 'portmanteauoid'!