Oh man! I didn't realize there'd be so many replies. I haven't been on the forums in years. Now that the villagers have sounds, I think their language would have an abundance of nasals. Come to think of it, that should have been obvious even before the sounds were added. Also, I conceived this long before trading and iron golems were implemented, so now that their society is a little more fleshed out, a language would be at least a little easier to make.
I'm still having trouble finding a good system for documenting the language, though. I wish there were a computer program that could output words based on a phonology and phonetactic constraints.
Oh man! I didn't realize there'd be so many replies. I haven't been on the forums in years. Now that the villagers have sounds, I think their language would have an abundance of nasals. Come to think of it, that should have been obvious even before the sounds were added. Also, I conceived this long before trading and iron golems were implemented, so now that their society is a little more fleshed out, a language would be at least a little easier to make.
I'm still having trouble finding a good system for documenting the language, though. I wish there were a computer program that could output words based on a phonology and phonetactic constraints.
Hey, you're not dead! I, um, took over this thread for a while when you were gone, I hope you don't mind. I stopped when I realised I (1) hadn't enough time on my hands and (2) though I find linguistics and etymology fascinating, I only had one book on the subject and wasn't qualified.
If I were you, I'd restart this from the ground up, and have clear goals for everyone affiliated to reach before starting with the next piece of the language. As you said, the language should be made up of nasals, a large number of vowels and no stops. As for the program, give us the constraints and we'll try to make words to fit.
So can someone update me on what's been going on here? I'm curious to see how this little idea has been developed by other people. I have some new ideas if we want to start from scratch.
-VO syntax
-ergative alignment (no case marking, though). A sentence with an intransitive verb has the subject at the end.
-maybe have deictic information indicated by infixes inserted after the first consonant cluster of a noun. These infixes would indicate the person of the referent as well as spatial information (roughly equivalent to English "this, "that", and "yon") etc.
-Verbs have no finite/infinitive distinction. Compound verbs just stack two verbs together whose tense and voice match
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
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10/13/2012
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Minecraft:
rsmith23
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I'm making a langpack for minecraftian right now so you can play with this language. It also makes it easier for people to learn the language, because they can see the block and the word for it. Also, some new words.
Ttetae = dye as well as color (n.)
Ttetae = to (apply) color/dye (v.)
(Po/Poh)skilahk = (brown/red) mushroom (derived from omski lahk, or mycelium crop, plus the colour prefixes.) (n.)
Moskilahk = mooshroom (derived from moske skilahk, or mushroom cow) (n.)
Tepes = silverfish (derived from the prefix te-, meaning white, and the English word pest)
Ekkapes = endermite (derived from ekka, meaning the end, and the English word pest)
Nalor = raw (derived from menor, meaning cooked, and nal, a modification of nil, a word for no or none)
Alekni = to want/desire (derived from nelki, the word for (to) enjoy
So can someone update me on what's been going on here? I'm curious to see how this little idea has been developed by other people. I have some new ideas if we want to start from scratch.
-VO syntax
-ergative alignment (no case marking, though). A sentence with an intransitive verb has the subject at the end.
-maybe have deictic information indicated by infixes inserted after the first consonant cluster of a noun. These infixes would indicate the person of the referent as well as spatial information (roughly equivalent to English "this, "that", and "yon") etc.
-Verbs have no finite/infinitive distinction. Compound verbs just stack two verbs together whose tense and voice match
Any other ideas?
I would like to start anew, with you at the helm, though if you go back a couple of pages you may see a post of mine in which the entire grammar and lexicon is put together in a spoiler.
From this post I can see at a glance that you are far more knowledgeable in the subject of linguistics than I am. I do have a few ideas, though. Pardon my layman-speak.
- nouns have a changeable monosyllabic prefix (inspired by the suffix of the Latin nouns) indicating the possessive, the causative (and maybe polite forms of these?) though the normal subject and object aren't marked and are indicated by their placement in the sentence.
- Extra information ("which", "who", "that") (I forget the terminology) is included after the sentence itself. Example: Jon eats the bread. Subject1: sad Object1: dry
Sounds very interesting. One thing I would like to see is written letters that stand for the words. If there is written text, I don't know if the villagers would use English letters, so perhaps make different written letters or hieroglyphs for written texts.
Personally, I would love it if this somehow made it into Vanilla as a selectable language. Just imagine going onto a server and seeing people actually speaking Minecraftian. It wouldn't just be a fun thing to have around, but would actually allow the players from all different cultures and linguistic backgrounds to communicate in a way that they can understand.
And as to the proposed written language, why not just appropriate the SGA language that's already seen throughout Minecraft? Adjust the letters to fit the various phonetics of Minecraftian, and you have an already-established visual context.
I think that it should have a name other than just Minecraftian, though. If it is to be the language of the Villagers in-game, why not name it Testifican, or something along those lines?
I'm still having trouble finding a good system for documenting the language, though. I wish there were a computer program that could output words based on a phonology and phonetactic constraints.
Hey, you're not dead! I, um, took over this thread for a while when you were gone, I hope you don't mind. I stopped when I realised I (1) hadn't enough time on my hands and (2) though I find linguistics and etymology fascinating, I only had one book on the subject and wasn't qualified.
If I were you, I'd restart this from the ground up, and have clear goals for everyone affiliated to reach before starting with the next piece of the language. As you said, the language should be made up of nasals, a large number of vowels and no stops. As for the program, give us the constraints and we'll try to make words to fit.
If you are planning to make a suggestion, please read this.
If you want to know more, you can read this.
For those who complain about post-Beta generation, you might want to see this.
also you should check out Link Removed
Vas ain era paith met dim Anrheim tir dunmea.
"We are a way for the Cosmos to know itself".
I prefer to have my language sound Viking or Old English like.
-VO syntax
-ergative alignment (no case marking, though). A sentence with an intransitive verb has the subject at the end.
-maybe have deictic information indicated by infixes inserted after the first consonant cluster of a noun. These infixes would indicate the person of the referent as well as spatial information (roughly equivalent to English "this, "that", and "yon") etc.
-Verbs have no finite/infinitive distinction. Compound verbs just stack two verbs together whose tense and voice match
Any other ideas?
Please check out my YouTube channel. I promise it won't waste your time.
http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCypbICDigu1brZTwwmgSjWA
Ttetae = dye as well as color (n.)
Ttetae = to (apply) color/dye (v.)
(Po/Poh)skilahk = (brown/red) mushroom (derived from omski lahk, or mycelium crop, plus the colour prefixes.) (n.)
Moskilahk = mooshroom (derived from moske skilahk, or mushroom cow) (n.)
Tepes = silverfish (derived from the prefix te-, meaning white, and the English word pest)
Ekkapes = endermite (derived from ekka, meaning the end, and the English word pest)
Nalor = raw (derived from menor, meaning cooked, and nal, a modification of nil, a word for no or none)
Alekni = to want/desire (derived from nelki, the word for (to) enjoy
Please check out my YouTube channel. I promise it won't waste your time.
http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCypbICDigu1brZTwwmgSjWA
I would like to start anew, with you at the helm, though if you go back a couple of pages you may see a post of mine in which the entire grammar and lexicon is put together in a spoiler.
From this post I can see at a glance that you are far more knowledgeable in the subject of linguistics than I am. I do have a few ideas, though. Pardon my layman-speak.
- nouns have a changeable monosyllabic prefix (inspired by the suffix of the Latin nouns) indicating the possessive, the causative (and maybe polite forms of these?) though the normal subject and object aren't marked and are indicated by their placement in the sentence.
- Extra information ("which", "who", "that") (I forget the terminology) is included after the sentence itself. Example: Jon eats the bread. Subject1: sad Object1: dry
minecraftianlang.weebly.com
Please check out my YouTube channel. I promise it won't waste your time.
http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCypbICDigu1brZTwwmgSjWA
Setartah = Cool, hip
Kappisk = Kappische
Ep should be changed to Epp so it sounds like Eb, which is closer to jeb_. Also, is there a sound for a soft g or j?
Please check out my YouTube channel. I promise it won't waste your time.
http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCypbICDigu1brZTwwmgSjWA
Ttinnerppone = Dinnerbone
Epilset = EvilSeph
we should try and develop the culture more. I can make a new thread if you'd like so we're not discussing it here.
Please check out my YouTube channel. I promise it won't waste your time.
http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCypbICDigu1brZTwwmgSjWA
And as to the proposed written language, why not just appropriate the SGA language that's already seen throughout Minecraft? Adjust the letters to fit the various phonetics of Minecraftian, and you have an already-established visual context.
I think that it should have a name other than just Minecraftian, though. If it is to be the language of the Villagers in-game, why not name it Testifican, or something along those lines?