Category: Organize/Plan/Structure

Goal: Organize and clean up your dictionary Note: Include all the inflected forms you need for nouns. Tip: Consistent formatting is really helpful. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Yesterday’s focus was on selecting which inflections should be included in the dictionary entries (e.g. as part of the head word). Today’s goal is to actually make that happen!…

Goal: Select any nominal inflections to provide in the dictionary Note: Common inflections provided include number and case. Tip: If it’s unpredictable, list it! Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure So far, your dictionary entries are likely headed by the base form of the noun. If you created any inflections that affect that base form when used in…

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: 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: Select word order and syntactic alignment Note: Create clause templates using current vocabulary. Tip: Focus on the general structures. Specifics will come later! Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure The first part of today’s prompt is to select the word order and syntactic alignment you want to use for your conlang. Once you do that, create some…

Goal: Choose diphthongs (if any) Note: As you make your decision, consider if you will allow V-V sequences in forms. Tip: A form like tai can be one syllable or two, depending on your selections. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, a diphthong requires movement during production but are perceived as a…

Goal: Choose monophthongs Note: The five-vowel system is a classic option for a good reason. Tip: Select vowels from opposing areas for maximal distinctions. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure For the past three days, you have worked on selecting a starting inventory of consonant sounds for your language. Today’s focus shifts to the vowel sounds in your…

Goal: Decide if you want a voicing distinction Note: Focus on the stops and fricatives as you make this decision. Tip: If you only want select voicing distinctions within a row of sounds, give them to the alveolars. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure On the IPA consonant chart, sounds are distinguished by their voicing quality. Voiced consonants…

Goal: Choose “series” of consonants to incorporate Note: The series you’re choosing from are the columns and rows of the IPA consonant chart. Tip: Familiarize yourself with all the sounds first, and remember that these consonants are a starting point. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Today is the first step of working on the language itself—on the…

Goal: Set an intention for sharing your language Note: Focus on your intended audience (e.g. family, friends, a linguistics professor, young adult readers across the country) and medium (e.g. written text, video recordings, lyrics in songs) for sharing your work with others. Tip: If this is a personal project, your intended audience may be limited…