Elcari anatomy

NakedCelt · Post by **NakedCelt** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 1:09 am

The description of elcari anatomy neglects to mention a very striking feature visible in the illustration on the Elkarîl page. Put it this way: which hand is the smith holding her hammer in? Left or right?

Glenn · Post by **Glenn** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 1:36 am

Well, the human population (on Earth, anyhow) contains a certain percentage of left-handers vs. right-handers as well. I suppose it could be asked, however, whether the ratio is different among elcari.

p@,
Glenn

Post by **zompist** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 2:12 am

Ah, her forearm is just twisted.

More interesting is the new graphic I added to the top of the Elkar?l page. It should be possible to figure out what it is...

Iscun · Post by **Iscun** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 6:48 am

zompist wrote:Ah, her forearm is just twisted.

More interesting is the new graphic I added to the top of the Elkar?l page. It should be possible to figure out what it is...

hmm

Is it a giant?
That was a baseless guess.

I'm now looking all over the site for "green eyes."

[EDIT] Aha! Could it be an ilii?

Glenn · Post by **Glenn** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 9:22 am

Memo to self: pay closer attention; I didn't even look at the individual hands in the picture. (For what it's worth, I think Mark is right; the elcar maiden's thumb is at the top in grasping the handle, as would be the case for a human hand.)

I always figured that the new graphic represented an elcar; in fact, I thought it might be one of the original elcari (the Four Brothers and Four Sisters) referred to in the creation story in the Count of Years, but I didn't find anything in the text there at first glance to back me up.

p@,
Glenn

Post by **zompist** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 10:40 am

A hint: Look (briefly) at the other grammars.

Pthagnar · Post by **Pthagnar** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 10:53 am

It wouldn't be "Elkaril" in Elkaril orthography, would it, Zompist?

bb?th -u elkar -?l
speak-nom making-people -genitive plural

Right. At a guess, the head is the bit that means "people" and the brickwork at the bottom means "making". The sausage with a doughnut perched on it could be a lip, so that's the language bit. I'm not sure what the actual doughnutty thing is, though, the -?l?

Pthag of Sandelfon

Glenn · Post by **Glenn** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 11:01 am

zompist wrote:A hint: Look (briefly) at the other grammars.

Well, now, this is interesting...most of the other grammars (Verdurian, etc.) include the name of the language in native orthography next to its name in English. Could the graphic (or part of it, at least) represent "Elkaril", as written (so to speak) in Elkaril writing? Given Mark's hint, it's a likely explanation.

Alternatively, the face and the symbols below it might be the image the elcari of Khatelyen use to represent themselves, like the flag of Kebri on the Kebreni page, or even a symbolic map of the world from the elcari point of view (since several of the grammars include maps).

p@,
Glenn

[EDIT: Evidently Pthag and I are thinking alike here.]

Post by **zompist** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 12:37 pm

Glenn Kempf wrote:Well, now, this is interesting...most of the other grammars (Verdurian, etc.) include the name of the language in native orthography next to its name in English.

Yes, that's the essential clue. I'll be putting up material on the writing system in a few days.

NakedCelt · Post by **NakedCelt** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 10:40 pm

Ah, her forearm is just twisted.

No  look at it again. The hammer hand is on the end of her left arm. The fingers point toward the left of the picture, the palm faces the viewer, and the thumb is at the top. No amount of twisting will make a left hand do that.

Xephyr · Post by **Xephyr** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 11:07 pm

The image reminds me strongly of an Olmec head.

Omigosh! NakedCelt's right! His/her (I can't tell) thumb is where the 'pinky' should be.

btw, zomp, did ya get my memo about the Kebreni mistake?

Post by **zompist** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 10:43 am

OK, after some time posing in front of a mirror, I decided that Celt is right. It should be fixed now.

Rory · Post by **Rory** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 6:29 pm

zompist wrote:I'll be putting up material on the writing system in a few days.

Yay! I've been awaiting this day for... three weeks?

Drydic · Post by **Drydic** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:18 pm

Rory wrote:
zompist wrote:I'll be putting up material on the writing system in a few days.

Yay! I've been awaiting this day for... three weeks?

Some of us have been waiting a good deal longer than that...

Xephyr · Post by **Xephyr** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:39 pm

They have their own writing system? Interesting......

My waiting period begins now.

Dudicon · Post by **Dudicon** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 11:42 am

Drydic_guy wrote:
Rory wrote:
zompist wrote:I'll be putting up material on the writing system in a few days.

Yay! I've been awaiting this day for... three weeks?
Some of us have been waiting a good deal longer than that...

Oh yeah, months and months. Ever since I read that "materials on Elkar?l orthography are not ready" I've been anxious to know when they would be ready. And now that we've got our first glimpse and seen how unusual it looks, I'm even more excited at the prospect.

Warmaster · Post by **Warmaster** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 12:27 pm

8th october 2002 the grammar was put up. i've been waiting since then as well.

Post by **zompist** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 1:02 pm

Warmaster wrote:8th october 2002 the grammar was put up. i've been waiting since then as well.

Just October? Man, I thought it was earlier in the year. Well heck, maybe I should wait another two months.

Dudicon · Post by **Dudicon** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 1:06 pm

zompist wrote:
Warmaster wrote:8th october 2002 the grammar was put up. i've been waiting since then as well.
Just October? Man, I thought it was earlier in the year. Well heck, maybe I should wait another two months.

Heh...

Warmaster · Post by **Warmaster** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 5:33 pm

zompist wrote: Just October? Man, I thought it was earlier in the year. Well heck, maybe I should wait another two months.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drydic · Post by **Drydic** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 5:34 pm

zompist wrote:
Warmaster wrote:8th october 2002 the grammar was put up. i've been waiting since then as well.
Just October? Man, I thought it was earlier in the year. Well heck, maybe I should wait another two months.

Perhaps not....

We might go postal, and I've got Orcish warriors stashed along Cermak street. They were there for the insect Apocalypse, but I might need to send them out a little early.

So Haleza Grise · Post by **So Haleza Grise** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 6:56 pm

The good part, though, is that the stuff is always worth the wait

.

Speaking of illustrations in grammars (bit of tangent, I know, but forgive me;) Where did the lush green valley in Ismahi come from? You don't have to be too specific if you don't want to; just what continent will be enough to sate my curiosity

.