Tag: conlang

  • Day 52: February 21, 2024

    Day 52: February 21, 2024

    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…

  • Day 51: February 20, 2024

    Day 51: February 20, 2024

    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…

  • Day 50: February 19, 2024

    Day 50: February 19, 2024

    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…

  • Week 8: A Preview

    Week 8: A Preview

    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,…

  • Day 49: February 18, 2024

    Day 49: February 18, 2024

    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.…

  • Day 48: February 17, 2024

    Day 48: February 17, 2024

    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…

  • Day 47: February 16, 2024

    Day 47: February 16, 2024

    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…

  • Day 46: February 15, 2024

    Day 46: February 15, 2024

    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…

  • Day 45: February 14, 2024

    Day 45: February 14, 2024

    Goal: Explore options for marking definiteness Note: Grammatical information can be indicated in other ways. Tip: Select options that cohere with your vision for the language. Work focus: Brainstorm/Learn/Try Some languages have special inflections or grammatical words to indicate definiteness for a noun. In such systems, there might be a form to indicate the noun…

  • Day 44: February 13, 2024

    Day 44: February 13, 2024

    Goal: Explore options for noun number Note: If you want to mark number, brainstorm possible lexical sources. Tip: Remember that inflections do not need to be attached to the noun base. Work focus: Brainstorm/Learn/Try Another common noun inflection is number, which means marking a noun to indicate if it is singular, plural, etc. Some languages…