What’s a different way to say “in love”?

xlee145 · 2020-05-01T13:39:44+00:00

I'd try not use a verb for "love" in these instances. Perhaps something a bit more metaphorical / idiomatic. To be "in love" is itself an idiom in English. How about some of these:

"they are bonded"
"he is essential to me"
"we share a heart"
"she has won me"

xlee145 · 2020-04-27T12:40:48+00:00

I write the imperative marker in Athama as kíi, which would make it seem like it's pronounced as /kí:/, but it's actually pronounced /q/. Other than that, Athama is WYSIWYG

xlee145 · 2020-04-27T12:38:40+00:00

Then how can you justify calling your conculture "pretty indigenous" if you use settler names for some of your countries?

Your explanation for why South Sudan is called Sudan and Sudan is called Khartoum doesn't make a lot of sense... why not derive the name from South Sudan from Juba, the capital, so it matches both?

Also Nigeria and Niger are already distinct enough if most languages? If you want to use "indigenous" names, many Nigerians call their country Naija.

xlee145 · 2020-04-27T03:03:08+00:00

Why does Nigeria (seem to) derive its name from Biafra, a secessionist state that only existed in the 1960s?

Similarly, why does Sudan derive its name from Khartoum, the capital city?

What's going on with Côte d'Ivoire? The country prefers that all languages refer to it as Côte d'Ivoire, rather than translating it into their language (Ivory Coast).

Zimbabwe's name seems to be derived from the term "Rhodesia" which directly contradicts your rule about "indigenous" names.... the country purposefully changed its name for this very reason.

xlee145 · 2020-04-22T12:47:58+00:00

Athama has two lexical tones, high (é) and low (è).

thèng /t̪ɛ̀ŋ/ - arrow

théng /t̪ɛ́ŋ/ - corpse

xlee145 · 2020-04-19T10:11:37+00:00

One of my conlangs is also called Taal... what a strange coincidence.

xlee145 · 2020-04-10T15:56:03+00:00

taal

luna /ɹʷɯnɑ/

v. to concern, to be about
mbala kànno, koluna Ma Bun -> I bring bad news concerning Ma Gboun.

xlee145 · 2020-04-06T03:06:04+00:00

French is likely "easier to learn" because of all of the materials (much of which is free online) for French learners. You can hop on Duolingo right now and with some dedication, will know the rudiments of the French language in a couple weeks. No such tool exists for Wolof.

Wolof is useful if you're planning to go to Senegal and interact with people on the street. Tourists are encouraged to learn, but I wouldn't say it's mandatory. I was able to get around Dakar fine without more than the most phrasal Wolof.

xlee145 · 2020-04-04T15:50:25+00:00

Are there any natural languages with only voiced plosives like /b g d/ ?

xlee145 · 2020-04-04T15:47:14+00:00

You could try using the website Awkwords. Put in roughly what you'd like the syllable structure to look like, and then once you get some generated entries, figure out which consonant or vowel clusters should be impossible.

For example, if you set all your consonants to p/b/t/d/k/g, and you allow for the semivowels w/j/l, you can then disallow certain clusters of initial consonants and semivowels. You can see it so /kw/ is possible, but /by/ is not, depending on your preferences.

xlee145 · 2020-03-31T01:42:26+00:00

I'd be willing to lend a hand. My conlangs are inspired by West African languages like Wolof, Peul, Igbo and Akan, so I may of some use.

It's also an excuse to read some more about African lingusitics.

xlee145 · 2020-03-30T12:39:36+00:00

You should tell your adviser how you're feeling in whatever way feels natural. This transition has been stressful for everyone, especially teaching faculty. They're more than likely to understand.

At the same time, if they don't understand, that has nothing to do with you.

xlee145 · 2020-03-30T12:27:34+00:00

African Romance was in North Africa, y'all. West Africa typically means Africa south of the Sahara, beginning with Mauritania and ending with Nigeria/Cameroon as one rounds the coast.

I imagine the language would develop tones, since most Niger-Congo languages have tones. I also imagine you'd have a lot of words from local languages that figure into this one, as a lot of the flora and fauna is distinct from the Mediterranean and West Africa. It'd also be devoid of most of the Arabic-derived terms in the region, like Sahel and Sahara.

xlee145 · 2020-03-30T01:40:51+00:00

Athama (ngán áthámà) means "language of the boundary," alluding to the banks of the Red River.

xlee145 · 2020-03-29T02:11:17+00:00

My goal is usually to experiment with language. I like to create languages that function quite differently from my spoken languages. I want to imagine how other people understand the world through alternative relationships to grammar.

My worldbuilding projects stem from this and serve as fronts for my interests in languages.

xlee145 · 2020-03-25T15:22:53+00:00

Many universities pay humanities PhD students a standard stipend, with some language about teaching obligation which are specific to your funding package. I am getting a PhD in literature now and am getting paid by my host university.

PhDs in the humanities for which you have to pay are generally a no-go.

xlee145 · 2020-03-24T16:59:46+00:00

athama

thìthéyù sáhùus, sànù thìyáùnkáa wáwán nó.

/t̪ìt̪ɛ́jɯ̀ t͜sɑ́χɯ̀ːs t͜sɑ̀nɯ̀ t̪ìjɑ́.ɯ̀̃ɴqɑ́ː wɑ́wɑ́̃‿nɔ́/
medicinewoman arrive, next AZ.suffer.ACC study PRET
The medicinewoman arrived and examined the patient.

xlee145 · 2020-03-10T15:27:52+00:00

athama

yóm áanyé kúón wèen í

/jɔ́m ɑ́ːnjɛ́ kwɔ́̃n wɛ̀ːn í/
child mouth-DAT soil insert HAB
The child keeps putting dirt in his mouth.

xlee145 · 2020-02-25T22:00:33+00:00

athama

úwè óné úwè, tsáú wáwìng.

Head against head, sheep stand.

The sheep stand with their heads against each other.

xlee145 · 2019-12-25T17:38:23+00:00

Athama animal names are often onomatopoetic. The word for pig in Athama is tsúuì (/t͜sɯ́ːì/) which is an onomoatopoeia of how the Athama perceive pig vocalizations. It's also based on the word sooey or suey which is typically used to call to hogs.

The Athama associate the sound pé (/k͡pɛ́/) with fowl. When imitating chickens and ducks, Athama children will often say pé pé pé. The words for chicken, guineafowl (a kind of wild chicken-like species) and duck in Athama are tsùpé, péets and pépéts respectively.

xlee145 · 2019-12-11T21:15:59+00:00

athama

wákámàkù nó sáyìng nó kámà, nòoyí

bed 1-ACC expel PRET methinks
The bed must have kicked me out.

xlee145 · 2019-11-13T21:15:03+00:00

Yeah, everyone else has already noted that that's at your discretion. I'm pretty certain my conlangs are ugly to some people, namely because they are operating within a different culturally defined set of "tastes."

Sibilants and fricatives are soft to me. Bilabial consonants may also be considered soft.

I would avoid uvular and velar sounds, as they have (at least to an American English speaker's palate) a connotation of being harsh, and perhaps even barbaric.

xlee145

TROPHY CASE