Conlangery #91: Srínawésin

No Responses to “Conlangery #91: Srínawésin”

1. 

   Pete Bleackley

   It sounds like dragons scent-mark their territory, and that they consider their scent part of their identity. Therefore it’s Kindred class. Leaving it in the wrong place is probably asking for trouble.

   July 16th, 2013
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     admin

     That seems quite logical for explaining why urine and feces are in Class I. It just struck me as odd because I’d think the natural tendency for ANY species would be to avoid its own feces for sanitary reasons (urine less so, since at least human urine is usually sterile).

     The scent tracking struck me as a bit odd, too, since, to my understanding, birds of prey (about the best analog we have to dragons in that they fly and are predators) generally track their prey by sight. But then, it’s implied that there may be flightless dragons as well.

     July 16th, 2013
2. 

   Panglott

   Actually, I quite like the assertion that the incorporated form of a noun is basic. So much of a language is not rules per se, but the norms of usage that often fossilize into rules. Languages that feature heavy noun incorporation often do so as a norm, and AIUI some are (under the influence of English) are losing this feature, so that noun incorporation features much less prominently. And this is an area where English learners are going to bring their baggage with them and decline to use the incorporated form, and the feature will drop from the language. Saying “the incorporated form is the basic form” is not a naturalistic rule, but perhaps a good way to encourage Anglophone learners to get in the habit of using the form productively.

   July 30th, 2013

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