Shad: The Conlang Made Of Names

Substantial postings about constructed languages and constructed worlds in general. Good place to mention your own or evaluate someone else's. Put quick questions in C&C Quickies instead.
Post Reply
User avatar
Zontas
Lebom
Lebom
Posts: 189
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Menulis, Miestas, Pragaras

Shad: The Conlang Made Of Names

Post by Zontas »

Shad

Hi folks, this Zontas as your captain speaking and we're now taking a left turn and doing a language whose vocabulary is only made up of English common names. I came up with the idea when I got the bug a while, and am just realizing how great it would be to materialize now. Granted, as a result of this limitation the phonology is exactly the same as your idiolect and it is incredibly uninflected. Anyways, the core lexicon is chosen out relatively popular names from about 1950-2011 in their most common forms, unless it will result in two different roots (Jake vs. Jacob), which then will be approximated to different functions (see below).

Surnames are included provided they're not obscure, and incredibly corrupted variants (John vs. Zane) will be considered different roots. Alternate spellings of words are treated no more than that. For the record, most names get their function by means of sound-symbolism. If a name that's incredibly common doesn't appear- it's because I had to use a homophone and if an obscure one appears- it's due to lack of etymological knowledge.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Non-Particle Words

All NP words are divided into five qualities:

1- concrete (dealing with matter- most common masculine form/ archaic form),
2- space (dealing with locations, times, and events- male diminuative/ archaic form),
3- adjectival (describing a descriptive quality- feminine diminuative/ archaic form),
4- verbal (surname),
5- abstract (abstract nouns- most common feminine form/ archaic form).

As hinted, NP words take archaic names or become a mish-mash of similar names if no roots are available.

All nouns are roots and can combine with other nouns to form neologisms. Also, all loanwords are calques or just uses of another language in everyday speech. Proper nouns gain an <'> before them.

Each and every word follows no rules for capitalization.

Here's Brian ("vibration") for example of a fully masculine and feminine name,

1- Brian- Vibration/ Shake, Shaking Thing
2- Byron- Earthquake
3- Bree- Shaky/ Unsteady
4- Bryson- Shake/ Vibrate
5- Brianna- Unsteadiness

Ted ("pupil") as an example of a mostly masculine name,

1- Ted- Pupil
2- Theo- Lesson
3- Thor- Disciplined, Orthodox
4- Theodore- Discipline
5- Thurl- Orthodoxness

and finally Sofie ("gold") as an example of a primarily feminine name.

1- Sofie- Gold (element), Bright Yellow Thing
2- Sofia- Bright Yellowing, Gilding
3- Sonia- Bright Yellow, Gilded
4- Stone- Bright Yellowify, Golden
5- Sonja- Bright Yellowness, Goldness

There are no articles, as nouns are automatically definite. The word Smith "one" functions as an indefinite article.

Numbers (all last names, Janko Gorenc)

0- Mac X (X is pronounced like the letter's name, word also means "nothing")
1- Smith (Also definite article)
2- Jones
3- Davies
4- Baxter
5- Wong
6- Garcia
7- White
8- Hall
9- Young
0- Brown (used to form higher numbers, by itself means "zero (figure")

Since I can't describe exactly the way numbers above nine or below zero are formed (outside of the fact when two of the same combination appear "Young-Brown Young-Brown aka Young-Brown Lou(-Smith)", the amount shifts by one ten exponent up), I'll give examples to establish the rhythm:

Smith-Brown-Young (19)
Young-Brown (90)
Young-Brown Lou(-Smith) (990)
Young-Brown Lou-Jones (9990) (i.e. Young-Brown repeated twice)
Mac-Young-Brown Lou-Jones (-9990)
Mac-Young-Brown Lou-White (-999)
Hall-Brown Lou-Young (8.888.888.880)
Hall-Brown-Young Lou-Baxter (888.889)
Jones-Brown Lou-Baxter Hall-Brown-Baxter (2.013)

Yes, the decimal point is the comma- while the period marks thousands.

Further Grammar

All nouns lack any grammatical category, as number, gender, case, etc. are expressed by manipulating clitics, particles, and syntax.

For example, Mac/Mc- automatically cancels a noun (negative particle), while Van- refers to something different (non-), De- refers to something lessened or lesser and Map/Ap- always denotes something entirely opposite. They mean the interjections No., Sort of., and Not really., respectively (Map/Ap lacks an interjectional form).

E.G.

McTheo- Not the lesson...
VanTheo- The non-lesson...
DeTheo- Not really a lesson.
ApTheo- An unlesson.

Also, syntax is strictly ISVDOL.

Whereas

I=Instrument
S=Subject
V=Verb
D=Direct Object
O=Indirect Object
L= Location

So, an example sentence would be: "Sofie 'John Theodore 'Moe Sofie Byron." or "John taught Moe about gold with gold in the earthquake."

How is it? Any constructive criticisms so far?
Hey there.

I Bump Wu
Niš
Niš
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 6:36 pm
Location: AppalaCHia (where the problem is pillheads not rascism)

Re: Shad: The Conlang Made Of Names

Post by I Bump Wu »

i made a boo boo and i suggested it should be isolating then i reread and felt like an ijit :? the gold roots threw me off cause ive never heard some of those names.

Post Reply