Category: Artificial Languages

The following poster for tram safety in Melbourne includes a suite of languages. I had nothing to do with the entry on the second column, third row. … which is Klingon: qIm. Answered 2016-05-12 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/How-is-attention-said-in-different-languages/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]

Curiosity piqued by books about language, which mentioned it in passing. Starting with the three-paragraph article on Esperanto in World Book Encyclopedia. Then finding a couple of textbooks in my local public library, at the age of 13. The same reason I went on to learn Lojban and Klingon, I have to say. Updated 2016-05-09 […]

I really don’t like this kind of question. As many on Quora and outside Quora have said, optimal design is not how a language prevails; language typology is not about better and worse but different; and the defensive Esperanto assertion that Esperanto has an internal cohesion is quite true. *sigh* That said, if there is […]

The most clearcut regional distinction between Esperanto speakers that I’m aware of is in the accentuation of compound numerals, such as dudekkvin “twenty-five”. In some countries they are accented as dúdek kvin; in some as dudékkvin. I read somewhere an early Esperantist saying, after a conference in Finland, “the Finns have taught us how to […]

‘Cause he’s a reductionist shmuck. Longer answer: What Jens Stengaard Larsen’s answer said. To the Noam (tar his bones!), linguistics is an arm of neuropsychology, and anything that doesn’t reflect the (big sarcastic scare quotes) natural development of language is not of scientific interest. Lots of evil narrowminded blinkered linguists share the naturalist bias against […]

Look at Interglossa. Minimal number of verbs (a dozen?), which basically only encode thematic structures (feel, act, react, become…); and lots of verb modifiers, which capture the actual verb semantics. A thing of beauty, which has not really been followed up. Answered 2016-02-08 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/Has-anyone-got-any-ideas-for-a-simple-grammar-design/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]

What others said. Yes, but make sure there is an internal logic to your rule, and that you’re applying it consistently and meaningfully. Klingon has an internally consistent story with its zero copula constructions: the pronouns in copula constructions (“he — teacher”, ghojwI’ ghaH) have been reanalysed as verbs, and take verb aspect endings (“he […]

Lojban is begotten from Loglan; Lojban is a schism of Loglan, and seems to have taken most of the Loglanists with it. Loglan also begat Guaspi, although I don’t think that it got much of a following (and its inventor  is also a Lojbanist). That’s the Loglan family of logical artificial languages that I know […]

Will they improve my thinking, logic, though process or my communication skills or understanding? All language learning does, and so do artificial languages. I’d argue that you get to some of the interesting aspects of language learning—such as different approaches to semantics—quicker than you would learning natural languages. OTOH, there are some aspects of natural […]

I don’t know the answer, but I will point out something the OP is aware of, but others may not. Like many artificial languages, Volapük underwent significant reform in 1931. I don’t know to what extent Volapük Nulik and Volapük Rigik are mutually intelligible, but if they aren’t, that’s just yet another instance of artificial […]