G. Kashkanun Anderson
SOC-13
Discussion thread for Vilani Language. If you would like to add a comment, click the Post Reply button.
Vilani Language
- Thread starter G. Kashkanun Anderson
- Start date
In the latest version of the Vilani grammar, I took a drastic step in simplifying conjugations. I moved the irrealis prefixes back into Old High Vilani, and stated that the use of modal proclitics or enclitics were enough to establish the irrealis. In fact, I think I even added the "GA" proclitic for that purpose.
However, my Vilani Handbook draws much of its grammar from Old High Vilani, and therefore is not up to date.
But then, it's worth discussing over whether my drastic step was in fact a good idea or not.
However, my Vilani Handbook draws much of its grammar from Old High Vilani, and therefore is not up to date.
But then, it's worth discussing over whether my drastic step was in fact a good idea or not.
The original grammar essays for Vilani had a number of colorful notes about little grammatical things that were in Old High Vilani but are now unused and/or are considered archaic. So, when the opportunity arose to simplify the grammar, I decided the old stuff was still golden, and deserved a home. What better home than with the dozen or so footnotes hinting about an Old High Vilani (et al)?
Here's a basic run-down on the elements of Vilani I had pushed back into OHV (or farther):
The relatively new dative-benefactive prefixes officially replaced the old /ka-/ prefix.. but in informal writing /ka-/ appears to be useful, since we can usually determine the sense of the sentence from context. The main benefit of replacing /ka-/ with a larger inventory, in my mind, was to remove the applicational suffixes from the verb, which simplifies things. By tagging this old style of writing as a classical form, then we can still use it when we want something so look archaic. Or whatever.
The reduction of irrealis also meant that the four irrealis copular verbs were no longer needed -- in the modern grammar. They're still useful for obfuscation when you want to be Classical about what you're saying.
The Personal and Demonstrative pronouns were rearranged a bit and, hopefully, simplified (although I can't be sure of that). That said, there are still correlations between the old version and the new. In a fit of linguistic fervor, I also added P&D pronouns for Kaalan. No idea why.
Of course, removing irrealis gave the grammar plenty of elbow room for the subject/object verbal prefix list. And I could then provide the old list in OHV, and also provide the list for Archaic Vilani as well (what fun!).
Here's a basic run-down on the elements of Vilani I had pushed back into OHV (or farther):
The relatively new dative-benefactive prefixes officially replaced the old /ka-/ prefix.. but in informal writing /ka-/ appears to be useful, since we can usually determine the sense of the sentence from context. The main benefit of replacing /ka-/ with a larger inventory, in my mind, was to remove the applicational suffixes from the verb, which simplifies things. By tagging this old style of writing as a classical form, then we can still use it when we want something so look archaic. Or whatever.
The reduction of irrealis also meant that the four irrealis copular verbs were no longer needed -- in the modern grammar. They're still useful for obfuscation when you want to be Classical about what you're saying.
The Personal and Demonstrative pronouns were rearranged a bit and, hopefully, simplified (although I can't be sure of that). That said, there are still correlations between the old version and the new. In a fit of linguistic fervor, I also added P&D pronouns for Kaalan. No idea why.
Of course, removing irrealis gave the grammar plenty of elbow room for the subject/object verbal prefix list. And I could then provide the old list in OHV, and also provide the list for Archaic Vilani as well (what fun!).
This is a call for constructive criticism on the current Vilani language draft, version 4.5.
If you've got a conlang pet peeve and you want to exercise it, consider this your invitation. I'll attach the draft here and you can go to town.
If you're stumped for ideas, here are some suggestions of sections to pick apart:
Beyond that, the content... well it's an attempt at a grammar, so it goes technical, and I don't have a degree in this, if you know what I mean.
If you've got a conlang pet peeve and you want to exercise it, consider this your invitation. I'll attach the draft here and you can go to town.
If you're stumped for ideas, here are some suggestions of sections to pick apart:
- An Executive Summary including what the book says and why it is useful. That's my action item No. 1.
- A Preface that is a more comprehensive introduction. This is probably the current "INTRODUCTION".
- The embedded font. I see that Vilani Standard is protected, so perhaps I should paste in screenshots where needed.
- The Verb. Sections could be better ordered -- for instance, perhaps they don't follow the ORDER of affixes?
Beyond that, the content... well it's an attempt at a grammar, so it goes technical, and I don't have a degree in this, if you know what I mean.
DRAFT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is a grammatical sketch of the Vilani language. Its rules show how to write the Vilani language in a standardized way. This includes syntax, semantics, and a Vilani-English glossary with around 5,000 unique terms. Theoretically, a person could read and speak Vilani based on these rules.
From the Argushiigi Admegulasha Bilanidin to the Ziru Sirka, the Vilani language permeates the Third Imperium. Vilani is the literary language of the oldest megacorporations. Before that, it was the common tongue of the Ziru Sirka -- the First Imperium.
In short, given its ubiquity in Charted Space, it is helpful to have a reference to Vilani words, clues to their etymology, and rules on how they all fit together as a language.
This is a grammatical sketch of the Vilani language. Its rules show how to write the Vilani language in a standardized way. This includes syntax, semantics, and a Vilani-English glossary with around 5,000 unique terms. Theoretically, a person could read and speak Vilani based on these rules.
From the Argushiigi Admegulasha Bilanidin to the Ziru Sirka, the Vilani language permeates the Third Imperium. Vilani is the literary language of the oldest megacorporations. Before that, it was the common tongue of the Ziru Sirka -- the First Imperium.
In short, given its ubiquity in Charted Space, it is helpful to have a reference to Vilani words, clues to their etymology, and rules on how they all fit together as a language.
