zompist bboard

The Black Death was one of the most significant occurances in European history, with massive social and political ramifications - the rash of 'Peasants' Wars', for example, and the abolition of serfdom in many countries (including England). But that was unusual. How many other epidemics do we hear a...

In fact, many of the things produced by sexual selection are positively deleterious for the species' survival. The cassic example is the massive set of antlers that some ungulates are equipped with, particularly Megaloceros. It was at one time thought that the huge size of its antlers was the reason...

I thought that Kebri was too different to be France, but I could be wrong. EDIT: Oh, and I'm with the Radicals, needless to say. Incidentally, has Zomp written much about the political theory of Verduria? Political justice especially. Is there anything equivalent to the conflict between Whig/Tory Li...

I thought instantly of Whig-Tory-Radical, actually. I assumed that that's where it was from, but I'm probably wrong. I guess I also assumed it because Verduria gives very much to me the sense of late 18th/early 19th century Britain to me. But without the France. [Although I guess that the attitude t...

QI said that "Kangeroo" meant "I don't know" in one language, and even named it. They also said that in another australian language it meant "horse" - the reason being that they hadn't seen horses before, and nor had they encountered the word "kangeroo", so they assumed that that's what the european...

THE THREE DARK JUDGES OF THE SOUL: NON-OTTER

I must be being particularly stupid at the moment. Isn't "were" already past-tense? Did you mean to say that there isn't a separate PRESENT subjunctive?

[technically i suppose one could use "if this be", but IMD its just "If this were", even for the present tense]

Say...anyone know a language where "weird" is a verb? p@, Glenn A year late, but: English. 1. trans. To preordain by the decree of fate; esp. in pass. to be destined or divinely appointed to, into, or unto (with inf. or n.). 2. To assign to (a person) as his fate; to apportion as one's destiny or l...

I think that in some way's she is right. After all, having hard and fast rules does not prohibit a mystical or numinous approach to magic - as long as its consistent. If you, as the narrator, don't know what it can and can't do, and when it does or doesn't do something, then it just turns into a plo...

Is the switch fron definite to indefinite article significant?

Or maybe the sound change is promulgated by a popular few. If those few disappear or become unpopular, the sound change may stop, or even reverse. An extreme example would be a revolution. A sound change starts when people imitate the court speech, and gets partway into the language. But then there'...

nah... west is "adu^n". Or possibly "nu'men". Everyone knows that!

I can think of two ways to avoid this problem: 1.) Have some "axiomatic" noun roots on which to build - noun roots that just are, and don't mean anything other than what they mean. 2.) Build from nouns defined intransitively, or transitively with respect to other verbs, not nouns. "It-squawks-loudly...

Also because their armour wasn't very good.

I've never heard someone describe something as /Ek"st{nt/ (or the like) before. My instinct says that adjectives are more likely to be stressed on the first syllable, though its almost certainly mislead.

@kstEnt and Ekst@nt, for me.

I certainly use "extant", though I don't think I've actually used it to mean the opposite of extinct. I just use it for "existing", but without the connotations of pre-existence that "existing" has.

But then, I also always assumed that the ktuvoks were Sahuagin - nasty ugly underwater things, closely related to the sea elves, but also their hated archenemies. Which shows how bad my assumptions are.

I was assumed the Icelani had been Wild Elves.

Squee! Squee? [/i] What does that mean? Do you say this often? Well, I type it occasionally. I hardly ever say it. It's one of those words that seem to eke out an existence solely on the web. As I understand it, it's a nerdish exclamation of joy. I have no idea where it came from, but I'd like to t...

I'd say that its best to use the fewest number of intelligent races you canallow yourself to get away with. Non-human races cause all sorts of problems, and its difficult to answer them without stereotyping yourself - how do they react with humans, how does their biology effect their society? All to...

Why aren't rhinos domesticateable? Or if they are, why didn't rhino-mounted bantu shock troops overthrow the roman empire?

Though having said that, why exactly would have rhinos overthrown the Empire? After all, elephants tried and failed. Why would rhinos have been better?

I don't say that longer service makes you a better candidate, just that it makes you more likely to win. You may not gain any ability, but over long service you gain up networks of friends, allies and debtors. As a recent member contending for a big role, you face a lot of opponants who have spent a...

Only four years from entering the house to being PM? I know its a different world n'all, but that seems like an astonishing rapid career by earth standards. I don't know about America, but on this side of the pond such a rise would take a lot longer. TB, for instance, entered the Commons in 1983. He...

Verbs with two objects. In germanic languages, the second object (indirect object) is usually marked by dative case. In English, the two objects are simply placed adjecently. Eg I call it yellow. I gave him the aardvark. I fed the omniverous mushroom a spatula. This conlang has far more ditransitive...

I guess in a tripartite system they'll be three types of passive. But only one would probably be used, as there's little sense putting an intransitive into the ergative or such like. But i could be wrong. One of the conlangs I'm working on makes major use of ditransitives, which will have interestin...