|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/markrose/ |
Upload File : |
<HTML> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text-html; charset=utf-8"> <HEAD><TITLE>The Language Construction Kit</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000"> <!-- lquote “ rquote ” rsquote ’ dash — --> <table width=100%> <tr><td> <IMG Align=Top SRC="LCK-Logo.gif"> <td width=30%> <p><A HREF="default.html"><img src="homeg.gif" align=right border=0 alt="Home"></A> </table> <p><img src="es.png"> <a href="https://idiomas-imaginarios.github.io/zompist/eskit.html">Caja de herramientas para construir idiomas (en español; traducido por Renato Montes)</a> <br><img src="br.png"> <a href="ptkit.html"> O Kit de Construção de Línguas (em português; traduzido por Gustavo Pereira)</a> <br><img src="it.png"> <a href="ikit.html"> Il Kit di Costruzione di Linguaggi (in italiano; tradotto per Daniele "MadMage" Calisi)</a> <br><img src="de.png"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161018115849/http://sanstitre.nfshost.com/sbk/">Der Sprachbaukasten (auf Deutsch; übersetzt von Carsten Becker)</a> <hr> <table width="100%"><tr> <td> <a href="lckbook.html"><img src="LCK-Ad.gif" width="75" height="75" align="left" border="0"></a> </td><td> <p>The LCK is also available in a <a href="lckbook.html">print edition</a>, four times the length, published by Yonagu Books on Amazon. <p>When you're done with that, you’ll want <b> <a href="lck2.html"><i>Advanced Language Construction</i></a></b>! Does the LCK seem pretty basic to you, and you want to delve into morphosyntax, logographic languages, predicate logic, and more? Get the sequel today! <p>Next is <b><a href="lexipedia.html"><i>The Conlanger’s Lexipedia</i></a></b>: everything you know to create words that aren’t a simple copy of English. Creating the lexicon is the part of conlanging that takes the most time and requires the most real-world knowledge; you need this book to help. <p>My latest book is <b><a href="syntax.html"><i>The Syntax Construction Kit</i></a></b>: all about modern Syntax, from Chomsky and many others. A deep dive into how language works, with an excursus into computer generation of languages. <p> </td> <td style="width:165px"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Language-Construction-Kit-Mark-Rosenfelder/dp/098447000X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268637297&sr=1-1"><img src="BuyButton.gif" border=0 width="164" height="42" align="right"></a> </td></tr> </table> <hr> <FONT SIZE=4> <P><i>This set of webpages (what’s a set of webpages? a webchapter?) is intended for anyone who wants to create artificial languages— for a fantasy or an alien world, as a hobby, as an interlanguage. It presents linguistically sound methods for creating naturalistic languages— which can be reversed to create non-naturalistic languages. It suggests further reading for those who want to know more, and shortcuts for those who want to know less. <br>—Mark Rosenfelder</I> <p><CENTER><IMG width=313 height=151 SRC="dhitelan.gif"></CENTER> <P>The above is a sample of an artificial language of my own, Verdurian. If you’re curious, it reads <b>Ďitelán mu cum pén veaďen er mësan so Sannam</b>, meaning “Go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord.” The accented <b>Ď</b> sounds like the <I>th</i> in <I>then</i>; the vowels should be pronounced more or less as in Spanish. <a href="http://www.zompist.com/sounds/Dhitelan1.mp3">Here’s a recording</a> of Joseph Fatula reading it. <P><i>How about a </i>suite<i> of webpages? Does that sound better? <br>Chico: OK, you’re the Swede of Webpages, an’ I’ll be the Mexican of Usenet.</i> <HR> <P>Before I could write this little inscription I had to: <UL> <LI>Decide on the sounds of the language <LI>Create the lexicon <LI>Create the grammar <LI>Design an alphabet <LI>Decide how the alphabet is modified for cursive handwriting <LI>Translate the desired text </ul> <P><A NAME="dichotomy">You may have two reactions to this:</A> <OL> <LI><A HREF="kitcool.html">“Cool! <b>I</b> want to do that!”</A> <LI><A HREF="kitgeek.html">“What a geek you must be. Get a life!”</A> </OL> The order of the steps above is significant. Working backwards (e.g. creating a text and then devising a grammar to match) will lead to an inconsistent if not incoherent work. A bad example is Hergé’s Syldavian; since he basically made it up in pieces, as he needed it, it’s impossible to create a consistent phonology or morphology for it, based on the scraps of the language provided in the Tintin books. (This didn’t prevent me from coming up with my best attempt at a <a href="syldavian.html">Syldavian grammar</a>.) <HR> <h2>Let’s get going!</h2> The rest of the kit is organized into three files: <table> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="kitlong.html"><img src="kitlong-thumb.gif" border=0></a></td> <td> </td> <td> <a href="kitlong.html"><b>The basics</b></a>: <a href="kitlong.html#models">models,</a> <a href="kitlong.html#sounds">sounds,</a> <a href="kitlong.html#alphabets">writing systems,</a> and <a href="kitlong.html#lexicon">word building</a>. </td></tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="kitgram.html"><img src="kitgram-thumb.gif" border=0></a></td> <td> </td> <td> <a href="kitgram.html"><b>The grammar</b></a>: Morphology and syntax, plus a glimpse at <a href="">style</a> and <a href="">language families</a>. </td></tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="kitwrite.html"><img src="kit-aluatas.gif" border=0></a></td> <td> </td> <td> <a href="kitwrite.html"><b>Writing it down</b></a>: Tips on going from a blank page to a full reference grammar. </td></tr> </table> <br>If you’d like to read <b>the whole thing as an e-book</b>, it’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Language-Construction-Kitlet-ebook/dp/B007AQVUI8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329594995&sr=1-1">available on Amazon</a> for a paltry 99¢. <hr> <a href="lckbook.html"><img src="LCK-Ad.gif" width="120" height="120" align="right" border="0"></a> <h2>Where do I go from here?</h2> <p>There’s a list of <a href="resources/index.html"><b>web resources</b></a> here. <p>And for plenty more information, <a href="lckbook.html">check out the print version!</a> <p>Once you’re ready to create entire worlds, check out the <a href="pck.html">Planet Construction Kit</a>. <hr> <center> The Language Construction Kit is © 1996, 2012 by Mark Rosenfelder. </center> <p><center><A HREF="default.html"><img src="homeg.gif" border=0 alt="Home"></A><center> </BODY> </HTML>