zompist bboard

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If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way. - Mark Twain

In reality, our greatest blessings come to us by way of madness, which indeed is a divine gift. - Socrates

Then shouldn't the dual be griti, kriti, kriti, krithi, krithi and the plural gritu, kritu, kritu, krithu, krithu? Is krit irregular?

Yes, it's fixed now.

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vec

So does Dhekhnami have a more conventional three-person pronoun system?

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Duxirti petivevoumu tinaya to tiei šuniš muruvax ulivatimi naya to šizeni.

Yes-- sound change ruined the five-rank system, so something else was needed to distinguish reference.

So I've read the grammar this morning; overall, it's well-done, but the little errors caught me off guard.

There are two such that I've found in one reading: In the section labeled "Direction", you write "showing the direction prefix in red", yet the text is in blue. In Numbers, you write "Other two-digit numbers follow the formula zh , thus", which implies more was to go there.

I'm impressed. Just damn impressed otherwise. I'm still feeling as though the rank structure needs more description. Just a taste, and I feel a little confused. Maybe providing just glosses of how a conversation would run to show it work better?

I appreciate that the culture and mentality bleeds through so well. I would expect that the Munkâsh were a hard-working, very cynical and sarcastic group of individuals. And I'm also glad to see that the ktuvoks aren't in any way redeemed by this; they cannot be romanticized, nor can they justified in their actions. A cold, scientific façade helps dehumanize the situation, but that's the closest we can get to comprehending their treatment of human: We are as cattle to them, and that is just how they treat us.

I will say this, because I want to read a little more indepth on the grammar: I think this would be far better were it written like a native grammar, such as the Cadhinorian grammar, if only because I know it would be rather humorous.

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The link for 'Ktuvok empire' goes to 'aleopedia', not to almeopedia.

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كان يا ما كان / يا صمت العشية / قمري هاجر في الصبح بعيدا / في العيون العسلية

tà yi póbo tsùtsùr ciivà dè!

When is Dhekhnami coming? What about Obenzayet?

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The Conlanger Formerly Known As Aiďos

It is noted in the grammar that if two people meet, and are uncertain of their rank, then the one who firsts start talking uses the B rank, and the other uses the D rank.

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"Ez amnar o amnar e cauč."
- Daneydzaus

I would. The natural course is humility simply for reasons of self-preservation: if you start out too humble you can correct yourself once you know the facts, but if you start out too presumptious and then find out you're outmatched, you've seriously pissed-off somebody more powerful than you.

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Blog:

But the river tripped on her by and by, lapping
as though her heart was brook: Why, why, why! Weh, O weh
I'se so silly to be flowing but I no canna stay!

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"Ez amnar o amnar e cauč."
- Daneydzaus

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MadBrain is a genius.

Zompist, I was wondering if you could answer one of the questions in the original post, since I find it really fascinating. Is the rank system native to Munkhashi, and extent in some form or another in the related langs, or is it something that the ktuvoks created to control their subjects? Or partially both? For example, the other Eynleyni langs (or Proto-Eynleyni) had some kind of additional rank system, but it wasn't as fundamentally integrated into the language as in Munkhashi, the ktuvoks enlarged it, etc.

If the rank system is not an indigenous Eynleyni feature in either way, I have to ask who implemented it? The ktuvoks don't really seem like entities which would spend much time on conlanging, philology, etc. Maybe one of their human subjects created/modified the system? Or maybe one of those unsuccessful ktuvoks mentioned in the almeopedia article on ktuvok empires, a "nerdy" one with nothing else to do with their time?

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لا يرقىء الله عيني من بكى حجراً
ولا شفى وجد من يصبو إلى وتدِ
("May God never dry the tears of those who cry over stones, nor ease the love-pangs of those who yearn for tent-pegs.") - Abu Nawas

Yes! Just noticed the page was up.

Rather interesting language, even if a bit dark in some respects. As far as terrestrial politics go, I could easily imagine the Dhekhnami instinctively treating the Spaniards more deferentially than the Italians, and the Icelanders most deferentially of all, and getting the wrong idea on the origin of "High German" vs. "Low German".

I also think Tolkien would be quite fascinated by this language, as it would probably look to him like a seamless blend of Sindarin and Black Speech

I understand that Dhekhnami lost one of the ranks... Almeopedia seems to be down, so which is it?

One thing I found rather odd was the lack of "f" (or "ph"), while "th", "dh", "kh" are present. It is my impression that "f" is by far the most common of the voiceless fricatives, borne out by the fact we have a single letter for it, that we still use.

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Duxirti petivevoumu tinaya to tiei šuniš muruvax ulivatimi naya to šizeni.