Grammar & Proving a Point

In my last post I pointed out the close minded attitude of some people regarding CONLANGing. I still think the person is an idiot for not keeping an open mind and to prove her wrong I've been working like a beaver.

Grammar however continues to be my most difficult task. Being someone not taught a lot of grammar at school I find it difficult to interpret my own language's grammar, English of course, let alone create my own. My ever patient mother is getting used to my random phone calls saying "Mum, explain "is" to me." I've almost got "is" but tenses continue to be a point of debate between us for although she isn't interested in doing this we both love debating language and I fail to see the point to the 12 tenses English has, having only 3 and contemplating a fourth.

Structure is another issue. English grammar is infinitely complex and the more I study it the more impressed I feel not only at those learning it as a second language, for whom I feel intensely sorry, but for the millions who learn it's complexities without even realising it. It makes me realise how incredibly sophisticated the human brain actually is.

I will, of course, keep going. I am enjoying this project WAY too much to stop now and as my linguistic university classes continue I get more and more ideas about my own language. My Anthropology and politics classes too help me to understand human behaviour and culture, adding to the colour and expression.

That is what I believe people fail to take into account. Language isn't just abut a bunch of words. It's about expression of common things. Abstract things like Love and Death and pain and the sense of something bigger. Perhaps one day we'll evolve beyond the need for words but for now I'll try to take all these things into account and it will help me make my language better by the day.

Now it's late so I'll finish by my first sentence of Selmari on this blog: Jimero alesami*. Or sleep well. :)

*Literally "peacefully sleep" but effectively it means "sleep well".

Created Languages

I had a linguistics tutorial today. My tutor, a PHD student, told me that constructed languages always fail.

Man am I pissed off. Even if it's true, and I REALLY don't believe it is, how could she be SO closed minded? If we all thought like that we never would have crawled out of the ocean! Just because it hasn't been done, doesn't mean it can't be! I'll bet the Wright Brothers (the plane guys) didn't have her attitude.

And has she even heard of CONLANGing?

I was complaining to my Mum, who is incredibly patient at my jabberings of this project, and she asked me why I began this in the first place. Now I'll admit she was right. I began this project as a hobby. However it's more than that now. Of course I want people to speak it. I want to speak it. Nothing would make me happier and prouder than walking down the street and hearing someone speak MY language.

At the moment however I'll settle for people not dismissing this stuff as a waste of time. Even if it's never spoken by anyone I've learned more about language in the last year than I had in the previous 10! It's not a waste of time and I DEFINITELY don't think it's impossible to create a language that can be spoken. It may not be mine, although I really hope it is, but I reckon someday it will work!

Take that tutor!!