Glenn wrote: ↑25 Jan 2024 12:49
I am following this language with interest; it first caught my eye due to the tripartite plural system, and I have been doing my best to keep up with the developments since. I have only the most superficial knowledge of Lakhota (and next to none of the other Siouan languages), but I am finding it quite intriguing. Keep up the good work!
Wow, I am flattered. I always see these great languages come through, and I wanted to make something like them. Now, I finally have.
As for the linguo-aesthetics, the language is not solely Siouan. It takes the phono-aesthetics from Lakota, the notion of /f ɬ/ from the Muskogean block (until I found Ofo), the diphthongs from Taos, and its very synthetic nature from Iroquois.
Funny enough, Iroquois was its first template, basically without labials. (It kinda came out of nowhere, really, but way better fleshed out than other projects.) I was reluctant to add labials, as I hate syllables like /bVp/, etc. However, I got over it by making all CC initial, codifying the circumstance of the existence of the aforementioned labial-filled syllables. Sometimes, I gotta trick myself out of certain constricting aesthetics. This blew up when I told myself that its my language; I will be naturalistic but in my way. Also, my word template is modeled after my own name style; I have /'CCVnCVn CVn CVn'CV/, so a clear bias toward nasality on vowels. As the phonology came to its current homeostasis, Sioux words fit the bill. I do have /dw/ (from /tw/) which isn't very Siouan, but is instead an homage to Iroquois, like in
ŁWE <
lɹʍ> "wood/trunk of a tree."
Point is, you needn't be familiar with Sioux to appreciate it.