Conlanging can be overwhelming for even the most experienced conlangers—especially in the beginning stages of a new project when swirling swarms of ideas create a flurry of possibilities. I break the process down into daily prompts for a yearlong experience. One year, one conlang. Join me in making this a Conlang Year!
Goal: Write an introduction to number Note: Your inflections may overlap and need to be discussed in one section. Tip: Include example nouns with different phonological forms. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Today’s goal is to write an introduction to how your language treats number for its nouns. Remember, if you don’t have number in your language,…
Goal: Write an introduction to noun class (if any) Note: A chart can go a long way in showcasing your system. Tip: Include examples as you describe the system! Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share It’s time to formalize all your nominal inflection decisions and update your language’s documentation. I’ve broken this up into a four-day process to…
Goal: Update your template with forms you created Note: Fill in the reserved slots with actual forms. Tip: You may need to create several templates. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Now that you have created forms for nominal inflections, the goal for today is to update your noun phrase template with the inflectional forms you’ve created and…
Goal: Create function markers or more nouns Note: Function markers may be affixes, clitics, or adpositions. Tip: As ever, be sure your choices reflect the larger system. Work focus: Create/Make/List As with the past few days, you will either be focusing on simply creating more words to expand the vocabulary of your language or focusing…
Goal: Create definiteness markers or more nouns Note: Some languages have multiple forms that shift for class, number, and/or function. Tip: You may not have any strategies specifically for definiteness. Work focus: Create/Make/List If you decided to forego definiteness marking in your language, then you can spend your time making more nouns. As you continue…
Day 50, February 19 Goal: Create definiteness markers or more nouns Note: Some languages have multiple forms that shift for class, number, and/or function. Tip: You may not have any strategies specifically for definiteness. Work focus: Create/Make/List Day 51, February 20 Goal: Create function markers or more nouns Note: Function markers may be affixes, clitics,…
Goal: Create number markers or more words Note: Create proto-forms and their grammaticalized forms if you are marking number. Tip: Basic words like “many” and “one” can indicate number where necessary. Work focus: Create/Make/List If you decided not to have any number inflections in your language, then you can spend the day creating more nouns.…
Goal: Create class markers or new nouns Note: Grammaticalized markers typically reduce in form. Tip: The reduction can be more dramatic than regular sound changes. Work focus: Create/Make/List If you are not going to have any noun classes in your language, then spend today creating more nouns to add to your lexicon. (If you don’t…
Goal: Organize your notes and make a templatic structure Note: Use the template to show the basic structure of noun phrases. Tip: Lexical sources and headedness affect these structures. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure You’ve now made decisions about whether your nouns will occur with inflections that indicate class, number, definiteness, and/or function. You’ve also decided what…
Goal: Explore options for marking nominal functions Note: Options include word order, adpositions, and/or case markers. Tip: Case-marking is also referred to as “flagging.” Work focus: Brainstorm/Learn/Try Today is the last prompt asking you to explore options before the upcoming series of prompts that ask you to actually start creating forms and putting your plans…
