Search found 24 matches
- Thu Apr 27, 2017 7:22 pm
- Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
- Topic: Is the worldwide popularity of (grape) wine a coincidence?
- Replies: 44
- Views: 11790
Re: Is the worldwide popularity of (grape) wine a coincidenc
As far as beer vs cider, I think part of the trouble is that you can't grow good apples from seed. Grafting is a recent invention, relative to domestic barley.
- Mon Apr 03, 2017 4:08 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Will non-English languages make it into space?
- Replies: 30
- Views: 6864
Re: Will non-English languages make it into space?
For what it's worth, I'm told astronauts on the ISS speak English and Russian simultaneously, speaking Russian if they're more fluent in English and vice versa, plus a few phrases from either language that everyone uses regardless. I wouldn't be surprised to see this develop into a proper pidgin eve...
- Fri Dec 16, 2016 8:54 pm
- Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
- Topic: Free/Construct Noun States with unmarked plural
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2814
Re: Free/Construct Noun States with unmarked plural
I don't think this is abnormal or awkward at all. Lots of languages have ambiguities like this, even without resolving them e.g. in articles. And there's no hard and fast distinction between analytic and inflecting languages - almost all languages use a bit of both strategies, these are just tendenc...
- Wed Apr 22, 2015 6:13 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: The Innovative Usage Thread
- Replies: 2452
- Views: 417050
Re: The Innovative Usage Thread
It occurred to me just now that with singular they becoming more acceptable in prose, it's probably only a matter of time before we start seeing new explicit plurals parallel to "y'all", "yous", "you guys", etc. but I don't recall hearing any. Anybody have some to report? I know a fair number of pe...
- Fri Nov 28, 2014 9:20 pm
- Forum: None of the above
- Topic: The Official ZBB Quote Thread
- Replies: 2878
- Views: 640915
Re: The Official ZBB Quote Thread
Hydroeccentricity wrote:So Catdoom, are your hyena-people going to be ruled by thick-cocked matriarchs?
- Tue Nov 25, 2014 4:55 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: "Behind" versus "In back of"
- Replies: 10
- Views: 3901
Re: "Behind" versus "In back of"
What little I can find suggests it's either generally Southern US English or specifically African-American Vernacular English. Hm, I wonder why it stands out as "crappy" or "cringe"-worthy to a crowd that usually rejects simple prescriptivism.
- Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:04 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: The last vowel in "difficult"
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3703
Re: The last vowel in "difficult"
I have /U/ in careful speech, reducing to [}] or syllabic [l].
- Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:37 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: English words with four CONSONANTS!!! in the coda
- Replies: 18
- Views: 4666
Re: English words with four syllables in the coda
Sixths - though that usually comes out as /sikTs/ rather than /siksTs/ for me.
- Thu Nov 13, 2014 2:45 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: The Innovative Usage Thread
- Replies: 2452
- Views: 417050
Re: The Innovative Usage Thread
I once had a math teacher whose singular for 'axes' /aksi:z/ was 'axe', like /aksi:/.
- Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:11 pm
- Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
- Topic: Phonoaesthetics
- Replies: 66
- Views: 21726
Re: Phonoaesthetics
I hear something that sounds like a [ŋj] for French /ɲ/ fairly regularly around here. But that might be my anglo ear.cntrational wrote:Latin /gn/ was pronounced [ŋn], even word-initially, but no Romance language has changed it to [ŋ]. Would be a good addition to a romlang.
- Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:42 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Loss of vowel harmony?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 3446
Re: Loss of vowel harmony?
For the record, Trebor, linguoboy's image was of Chris Christie making a ridiculous expression, and Catdoom's was of John F Kennedy staring into the distance looking dazed.
- Tue Aug 12, 2014 7:08 pm
- Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
- Topic: Seeking help in building my conlang
- Replies: 36
- Views: 8572
Re: Seeking help in building my conlang
I think I was getting ahead of myself with the diphthongs. Or maybe they should be diphthongs. I had thought them as vowels that would be written separately, but in determining syllables were considered one vowel. Though this is a strange idea I may throw out. A basic word would be C-V-C-V or C-V e...
- Tue Jul 15, 2014 3:43 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Formation of Labials and Nasals
- Replies: 20
- Views: 4988
Re: Formation of Labials and Nasals
What I'd take from this, Clearsand, is that if you're happy to have your proto-lang be unrealistic, go for no rounded vowels and know that your back vowels will very likely round spontaneously and early once your sound change processes "start". Then derive your labial consonants from there.
- Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:49 pm
- Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
- Topic: Sound Change Quickie Thread
- Replies: 2827
- Views: 618483
Re: Sound Change Quickie Thread
I'm newer to conlanging, so I hope i don't say something completely implausible, but anyway is it plausible for [ts] and [dz] to be allophones of velar consonants before front vowels? Thanks in advance! That seems entirely probable. Diachronically, this would likely look like [k g] > [c ɟ] > [tʃ dʒ...
- Tue Jun 24, 2014 11:26 am
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Swedish färst
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3098
Re: Swedish färst
Isn't it "little" - "less" - "least" vs. "few" - "fewer" - "fewest" in English? Do you use "least" for both, like Swedish "minst"? "Fewer" and "fewest" are distinctly out of common use but well-understood, being conflated with "less" and "least". I use the latter almost exclusively, even in formal ...
- Sun Jun 22, 2014 2:52 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Looking for sound changes
- Replies: 38
- Views: 8040
Re: Looking for sound changes
As you're quite likely aware, many dialects of English in North America have /d/ /t/ > [ɾ] / V_V . I could see a similar change becoming contrastive.
- Wed Jun 18, 2014 8:30 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: The Innovative Usage Thread
- Replies: 2452
- Views: 417050
Re: The Innovative Usage Thread
Heard "software" used as a count-noun at a work meeting just now. This reminds me: I was speaking with someone who works at Costco and they idly and regularly used 'headcount' as a count noun meaning 'employee' but with the plural identical to the singular. So, 'we have 3 new headcount starting tod...
- Mon May 19, 2014 4:45 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Language Learning Experiment (Volunteers Needed!)
- Replies: 20
- Views: 4540
Re: Language Learning Experiment (Volunteers Needed!)
I'm in, if you're still taking volunteers.
- Tue Mar 11, 2014 9:10 pm
- Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
- Topic: YŠKK YT-VṚḴẔKM (Yaškik Yat-Vṛḵaẕīkam) scratchpad
- Replies: 118
- Views: 29035
Re: YŠKK YT-VṚḴẔKM (Yaškik Yat-Vṛḵaẕīkam) scratchpad
This makes my life harder... "When I was a kid, I would be home by nightfall. Now, I'm a teenager, I must be home by midnight. When I'm an adult, I can be at home whenever I desire." In the past tense, using the verb form for conditional mood. In present tense, I use normal obligation verb form. In...
- Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:28 pm
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: French dental fricatives
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1498
Re: French dental fricatives
fwiw in Québec French they're unmistakeably [d] and [t].
- Mon May 24, 2010 3:25 pm
- Forum: L&L Museum
- Topic: "Where Are Your Keys?" Language Game -- Thoughts?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 9347
- Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:54 pm
- Forum: Conlangery & Conworlds
- Topic: Flags
- Replies: 396
- Views: 82409
- Sat Apr 24, 2010 12:01 am
- Forum: Languages & Linguistics
- Topic: Automatic Language Identification
- Replies: 26
- Views: 8737
tü karhléü le labéldd sidaq-vés no kolon-mék le; muq le lasöbidd hapreq-vés no ciwépreun némslé-saz le; wasel le zéddidd lhodoq-vés no mal; ne le hosné sidaq-vés no le misyeun cézimné-saz Mordor-saz no do-saz miqissye le. ne karhléü-vés sikoldaqä kobolö; ne karhléü-vés psédye; ne karhléü-vés le pér...
- Tue Mar 23, 2010 7:29 pm
- Forum: None of the above
- Topic: LCK Book
- Replies: 282
- Views: 55465