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<p>Posted by <b><!--poster-->Matt</b>
on <!--date-->17:01 7/1/02
<p>In reply to: (none)
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<p>
I really dont understand how to make vocabulary. Out of the 5 languages
I have made, I just randomly created 1600 words. When finished, I wasn't
satisfied like I should have been. I need some help, this is the only
thing that I cant understand the process or concept.... The Language
Construction Kit wasn't much help to me... Would Somebody Help me
please?
<p>Matt
<hr><i>Mark responds:
<p>I'd suggest you have to clarify why you feel dissatisfied. Do you
mean that you don't like the randomly created words aesthetically?
Or that you don't know which words to create and which to derive?
I'll briefly address both questions, but this is an art, not a science,
and you have to find the way that pleases yourself.
<p>1. The easiest way to create a lexicon is by computer. I haven't tried
this, but it wouldn't satisfy me, because the words wouldn't feel like
they were mine. I hand-create words as I need them. 'Attractive' words
are largely (in my opinion) a result of the language's phonological
constraints and the languages you're used to. For instance, the Persian
name Mahtob sounds rather harsh and unfeminine to me, but that's because
I don't speak Persian. In Farsi it means 'moon' and no doubt sounds nice.
<p>When making maps as a kid, I found myself making scores of names that
all sounded the same... they all had a CVCVC pattern. I try to add more
variety now: names like Eteîa Mitano, Cterano, Jinayzu, Kulapman,
Uytai, Sitfi, Nouaseuae, Palthuknen sound like they come from different
languages.
<p>2. As for derivation, my practice is to go out of my way to derive rather
than create words. I try to think who might have originally invented the
word and how the thing to be named would have looked to them. Of course,
it helps to have a very detailed world and history to do this; but even
if you have just one language, always see first if you can build up your
word out of existing words.
<p>It takes time to get an awareness of how words are formed. We grow up,
of course, thinking <b>in</b> words, not about them; it can be a little
unsettling to learn how arbitary they really are. Learning another language
can help, especially if you look for patterns. (A nice exercise: go to
zhongwen.com and figure out the meanings for the Chinese province names-- Sichuan,
Hunan, Fujian, etc. What patterns can you identify?)
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