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Keeping track of derived terms?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:32 am
by LinguistCat
When deriving a conlang from a real life language, how do you keep track of compounds?

It's one thing if it's a compound that dates back to when the conlang "split off" or before, or if one or more of the elements could only be borrowed after a certain point (for example, my language borrows a lot from Japanese so any compounds involving パン would date to after contact between Japan and Portugal). But there are also compounds made from old roots for new concepts where each root might date back to Old Japanese, but the actual compound might only date a few hundred years back.

Currently I'm using color coding. While not perfect, I give each stage of the language a color; words coming directly from Old Japanese are written in red, then when I apply sound changes in the next stage, the new forms are orange, then the next is yellow, then green, etc. If a word is borrowed at a certain stage, or a compound is made at that point, then it's colored for that stage at the beginning of its entry. I'm just wondering what other strategies people have used.

Re: Keeping track of derived terms?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:24 am
by hwhatting
I just have a column "Lang form" in my Tautisca Excel file where I note down in which language stage a word was formed.

Re: Keeping track of derived terms?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:32 pm
by Soap
thanks ..... thanks this sounds like a good idea for me ....



I think that every once in awhile I stumble across a word in my dictionary that seems wrong because the derivation of that word was formed at an early stage when the sound rules we're different and therefore is actually correct after all .....

Foe example, *blila* in pabappa is from /pīs yiya/, which looks like it should give *blesela* or something like that. But it was formed when the L was ž,and then had vowel syncope. It took me a few minutes to figure this out so I just wrote (sic) so it won't happen again....... but a more detailed explanation would help me .