Search found 2250 matches
- 05 Jun 2019 15:36
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2019]
- Replies: 7086
- Views: 1338201
Re: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
A question about Japanese, since this has been bothering me ever since I posted a suggestion for sound changes in LinguistCat's "Cat Japanese" conlang thread using an example of this (possibly incorrect?) construction. In constructions like X的なY , when is the な after the 的 necessary, and ...
- 19 Oct 2018 00:51
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
- Replies: 892
- Views: 282341
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
:jpn: 顔 kao face :eng: cow Like most, if not all, Japanee/English pairings in this topic, this is based on an (incorrect) English diphthongization of Japanese vowels. 顔 Kao should be pronounced [kä.o̞]. In a similar vein, there is an online business supplies/other things store we use frequently at ...
- 19 Oct 2018 00:22
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: Script preference
- Replies: 18
- Views: 13108
Re: Script preference
That would likely be the case. If all personal endings were distinct, like Spanish, they would probably be indicated, but with only the s, it's a fully predictable inflection (as long as the plurality of the subject is indicated. And because of the importance of plurality in English, I suspect that ...
- 18 Oct 2018 03:45
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: Script preference
- Replies: 18
- Views: 13108
Re: Script preference
Hanzi alone may not work well for synthetic languages, but they can work on synthetic languages with a set of additional purely-phonemic symbols. Two examples are Japanese and pre-1950 Korean. Outside of Chinese, there are synthetic languages using a logographic writing system, such as Sumerian(cun...
- 18 Oct 2018 01:59
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: A Curious Kind of English
- Replies: 7
- Views: 7562
Re: A Curious Kind of English
So why shouldnt there be people out there spelling the way they like? Especially in a time where the spelling wasnt as universal as it is now. Even if there are some words with 2 or more variant spellings nowadays, too. Well, the OP was not questioning whether or not the author of the text should b...
- 21 Aug 2018 02:38
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2019]
- Replies: 7086
- Views: 1338201
Re: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Or you could more directly say something like "I'm worried that you may already have this, but..."
- 20 Aug 2018 09:02
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2019]
- Replies: 7086
- Views: 1338201
Re: (L&N) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
There is no translation of hope that is used in the way it is in English, and to attempt to translate it directly would be forcing English patterns of speech on Japanese. You could say something like "I apologize if you already have this." Though to be honest, it seems like an odd sentimen...
- 08 Aug 2018 03:10
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2020]
- Replies: 11605
- Views: 2079939
Re: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Yes, exactly. The Japanese verb is also used for things being located somewhere. 私は、車があります。 Watashi wa, kuruma ga arimasu. 1-TOP car NOM exist However, as k1234567890y mentioned, this can also be said using the hold verb: 私は、車を持っています。 Watashi wa, kuruma o motte imasu. 1-TOP car ACC hold-ADV be.
- 07 Aug 2018 00:42
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2020]
- Replies: 11605
- Views: 2079939
Re: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
In languages like Japanese and Manchu, you traditionally say something like "there is a car at Nachtuil" instead of "Nachtuil has a car" to indicate the meaning "Nachtuil has a car"...although Japanese seems to be developing a verb for "to have". You can look...
- 07 Aug 2018 00:33
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: europidjin? euroblabla? europex?
- Replies: 109
- Views: 66319
- 05 Aug 2018 13:43
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: English Orthography Reform
- Replies: 402
- Views: 198749
Re: How deranged is the English spelling system?
By the definition of dictionaries like Merriam-Webster, "control by one power over a dependent area or people", the japanese occupation of half Asia and Pacific was colonialism too. But usually when people talk about colonialism in the west, they mean occupying a country which doesnt have...
- 04 Aug 2018 04:47
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: Caber Logograms
- Replies: 164
- Views: 49344
Re: Caber Logograms
Yeah, the more characters you design, the easier it gets, because you have more components to work with.
- 03 Aug 2018 10:58
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: English Orthography Reform
- Replies: 402
- Views: 198749
Re: How deranged is the English spelling system?
Ask Korea if it's a matter of definition. Ask China. Ask Indonesia. Ask Vietnam. Ask Cambodia. Ask Thailand. Ask Myanmar. Ask Laos. Ask Malaysia. Ask Philippines. Ask Manchukuo...wait, don't ask them.
- 02 Aug 2018 11:55
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: Caber Logograms
- Replies: 164
- Views: 49344
Re: Caber Logograms
How's Caber doing, these days? Any updates? New glyphs?
- 02 Aug 2018 10:21
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: Today I learned ...
- Replies: 122
- Views: 102761
Re: Today I learned ...
They're nearly the same thing, i.e. a preexisting word that gets turned into an acronym later on. The difference between these two is that the Ford acronym describes Ford itself, while the AEGIS acronym does not actually describe Zeus's shield. Not sure which counts as an actual backronym. Then ther...
- 02 Aug 2018 08:45
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: europidjin? euroblabla? europex?
- Replies: 109
- Views: 66319
Re: europidjin? euroblabla? europex?
Ah, if you already wrote it there I can just take a look. Seems like this would fit better in that thread anyway.
- 02 Aug 2018 06:55
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: europidjin? euroblabla? europex?
- Replies: 109
- Views: 66319
Re: europidjin? euroblabla? europex?
I'm sure it's been discussed endlessly, but a major sticking point that I mentioned but you failed to reply to is that any move toward a phonetic spelling necessarily begins to remove English's relative region-neutrality. Should caught and cot be merged? Should sword and sawed be merged? How do you ...
- 31 Jul 2018 02:24
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: europidjin? euroblabla? europex?
- Replies: 109
- Views: 66319
Re: europidjin? euroblabla? europex?
If someone suggested that we spell 'that' for the demonstrative, 'thatt' for the relative pronoun and 'dhat' for the conjunction, you'd probably say, "Are you crazy? Everybody understands those 'thats', this certainly doesnt need a change!" Right, we agree that increasing homonyms seems u...
- 27 Jul 2018 06:37
- Forum: Conlangs
- Topic: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here [2010-2020]
- Replies: 11605
- Views: 2079939
Re: (Conlangs) Q&A Thread - Quick questions go here
Hello, I'm currently brainstorming on the grammar of a new conlang I'm working on. This conlang is Nom-Acc with a marker on the subject, but I was thinking the following: What if the subject marker would also tell you the tense? F.e. "He[1SG, +PAST] walk". My question is: would this make ...
- 25 Jul 2018 01:51
- Forum: Linguistics & Natlangs
- Topic: Surprising cognates
- Replies: 158
- Views: 110086
Re: Surprising cognates
They are not false cognates; according to sangi39's post, they are indeed cognates, from Proto-Celtic *karros . They're surprising cognates in the sense that the direction of borrowing is the opposite of what would be expected, i.e. it was borrowed from Celtic to English rather than English to Welsh...