March 2003 Weblog

March 2003 Weblog	Advanced
This Month's Posts: Model Language Statistics · Convoluted Plural System · English/Quenya Dictionary · Langmaker.com Syndication · Lapine It Up · Feeling Ilish · Oðblgshezi (Calculator Words) · Galaxy Quest Next Month's Entries Model Language Statistics - 3/31/03 - 10:39 pm Last night I expanded the model language database to include all languages listed in the Babel Text database as well. This brings the total number of languages indexed to 461! Tonight I created a statistical analysis of these languages, including stats on lexicon size, web-site features, year of origin, and even a forecast for how many languages will be created from 2000-2009. Based on these numbers, it is clear the hobby of constructed languages is growing rapidly, and is the healthiest it has ever been. Convoluted Plural System - 3/31/03 - 9:02 pm Check out this language's nominative system for the most convoluted way I've ever seen of determining the plural of a noun. English/Quenya Dictionary - 3/30/03 - 8:58 pm Blice asks, "Hey, I really want to be able to speak Quenya. Do you know where I could buy an English/Quenya dictionary? Or maybe a typed dictionary on the computer? Or something to help me learn Quenya?" Well, the single best resource for all of Tolkien's languages is Ardalambion, by Helge Fauskanger. Especially check out the Quenya word list that he has compiled. Langmaker.com Syndication - 3/29/03 - 8:33 pm For a few months now I've been experimenting with syndicating Langmaker.com headlines, so that you can read them with a news aggregator. I got the final kinks out last night. If you are a LiveJournal user, you can add the Langmaker LJ Feed to your Friends list. If you use Radio Userland or any other news aggregator, you can access the Langmaker RSS feed. Lapine It Up - 3/29/03 - 8:21 pm Thanks to the following readers for correcting some errors in my presentation of Lapine from Watership Down. Philip Newton (Owsla not Owlsa), Warspite (for noting the omission of flay, "food", and for suggesting meanings for fa) and Wayne Farmer (for suggesting an etymology of ni-frith, "noon"). Feeling Ilish - 3/28/03 - 7:59 pm C4progress commented on my Ilish language, "Thanks for your Ilish reference: it has a number of features I found interesting. Like the use of the coordinate system for pronouns, though it occurred to me that I would use a polar (spherical) rather than a Cartesian grid coordinate system were I an eel (though maybe not an il); making it logarithmic is a nice touch, but also it might be nice to use a 4-coordinate system, incorporating time as the fourth dimension. Also, since it is based on shocks, the natural symbols to use would be * and !, maybe with some ', ", :, or the like. (I'm not criticizing, just tossing out ideas.) I was also glad to see your use of base 3, a much underappreciated base with great potential, in my opinion. But as I use it the basic digits are not 0, 1, 2, but -, 0, +, because what base 3 basically enables you to do is to direct you by saying like "look left (-), now look towards the right hand edge of that view (+), now focus in on the center of that frame (0)" and so on, dividing each successive field into thirds. Oðblgshezi (Calculator Words) - 3/28/03 - 12:00 am Oðblgshezi (pronounced /oth-blg-SHEH-zee/, with a syllabic /L/) is the name of a "language" consisting of English written with the digits of a calculator. You type in a number and then turn the calculator upside down to see the word. In order to make use of all ten digits, I persuaded the Anglo-Saxon letter eth (ð) to return from retirement to stand in for 'TH'. For instance: SHIBBOLETH (SHIBBOLEð) = = 937088145. See the 355 words of Oðblgshezi. Galaxy Quest - 3/26/03 - 12:00 am It's been over a year since I wrote a feature for the site. As someone who preferred the Galaxy Quest TV series to Star Trek, I thought it was time I profiled Tev'Meckian, which unfortunately hasn't received nearly the attention from the language-making community that Klingon has.

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