Creating a realistic conlang involves incorporating historical languages and language contact effects.
Thorough research and consistent development are crucial for crafting a realistic and convincing conlang.
Deep dives
The development and completion of Alaskian language
Martin Pustumas discusses the development and completion of his conlang Alaskian. He explains that he has been interested in languages since childhood and started creating languages in middle school. He aimed for a realistic world, introducing a new language in an actual historical environment that is derived from historical languages and influenced by other real languages. He talks about the Semitic nature of Alaskian and its ties to the island of Cyprus. Martin also mentions the challenges of creating a language based on Semitic roots without being a native speaker. He highlights some interesting features of Alaskian, such as its conjugation for loan verbs from European languages and the influence of Greek on its tense system.
Research and inspiration in historical linguistics
Martin emphasizes the importance of reading extensively in historical linguistics, especially for conlangers interested in creating a posteriori languages. He encourages conlangers to explore and gather as much information as possible from various sources. He notes that there is a wealth of interesting material and context available to inspire and inform language creation.
The challenges of language contact and borrowing
The podcast discussion touches upon the challenges of creating a language with language contact effects. Martin talks about the difficulties he faced in accurately incorporating Greek influences into Alaskian and making it convincing. He looks at the impact of language contact on various aspects, including conjugations, verbs, and syntax. Martin also mentions that language contact can affect comprehensibility and pronunciation, making it challenging for speakers of related languages to understand Alaskian.
The importance of consistent research and development
Both Martin and the hosts emphasize the significance of thorough research when creating conlangs. Martin explains that his historical section of the grammar is the most exciting part for him, as it allows him to delve into phonological and morphological development as well as add more details over time. The hosts applaud Martin's dedication to crafting a language that feels realistic and underline the importance of consistent development in conlanging.
This week, we invite Martin Posthumous on to talk about his new conlang Alashian. Top of Show Greeting: South Eresian (reuse) Featured Conlang: Alashian Feedback: Email from Kerri: Hello. Thanks for doing the podcast. For some reason, I just comprehend things better aurally than read, so it’s been very useful to me! I’m not a... Read more »
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