[conlang_learners] Welcome, and some proposals for what conlang to learn

[Brett Williams]

2009/6/12 Jim Henry <jimhenry1973 at gmail.com>:
> Some well-developed conlangs we might consider include:
>
> * Sally Caves' Teonaht
>
> * Sylvia Sotomayor's Kēlen
>
> * Tony Harris's Alurhsa
>
> * Jim Hopkins's Itlani
>
> * Bill Price's Vabungula


You seem to have already posted my short list!  (Well, I'm not
actually that familiar with Itlani, but I've heard good things about
it.)  I'm interested of course by the depth of an Alurhsa or the
strangeness of a Kēlen, but there's also something to be said for the
humble simplicity and earnestness of a Vabungula.


> It would also be possible to use this project to take a moribund but
> fairly well developed conlang and (with its creator's permission, if
> they're still alive and contactable) revive it, adding to its lexicon
> and further specifying its grammar as necessary.


I had a thought, though I'm not sure if it's a good one, that we could
choose to revive the Lingua Ignota.


We perhaps ought to give a little thought to what criteria, other than
pure personal preference, are most appropriate to apply here.  I've
been thinking of it in terms of the history of conlanging as a
movement and as an art form.  Like I imagine looking back to now with
the distance of a few years, and saying about today's conlanging
community, "Up until then, it was rare for a conlang to suddenly be
spoken by a large group of people, but then the conlang_learners list
was formed.  They decided the first language they would study together
would be ________________."  What makes sense there?


I feel a sure sign of success would be if we could develop a
continuing, fluent population of speakers for the chosen language,
however small.  I would like to see us accomplish that especially in
this first attempt, to leave a living example showing the
effectiveness of this new style of collaboration, an example that will
encourage us to continue.  I don't think we have to choose something
simplistic in order to accomplish that goal, though-- I personally am
committed to a serious study of the language we choose, and I think
there are others here who feel the same way.  More important I would
think is that the language be a suitable medium for a real
conversation that we want to have, that it be useful to us.  A
language that's a toy or unripe, we'll play with but then just put
away.


<3,
Brett
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bret-ram
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