Conlanging can be overwhelming for even the most experienced conlangers—especially in the beginning stages of a new project when swirling swarms of ideas create a flurry of possibilities. I break the process down into daily prompts for a yearlong experience. One year, one conlang. Join me in making this a Conlang Year!
Goal: Grammatically structure the text to fit your language Note: Restructure the sentences so constituents roughly match your word order. Tip: This is just the first pass. Highlight areas you want to focus on later. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Restructure the text you selected so that it roughly matches the expected word order of your language.…
Goal: Select an appropriate short text to translate Note: Start with an existing text to take your language out for a “text drive.” Tip: You can take inspiration from past conlang relays! Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try It’s time to take your language out for a “text drive”! Find a short text you want to translate into…
Goal: Review and update your dictionary Note: Add any new words you’ve created as you worked on quotatives. Tip: If select verbs occur in quotatives, you can indicate them in their entries. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Today’s goal is to review and update your dictionary as necessary to add any new words you’ve created as you…
Goal: Expand your section on quotatives Note: Short excerpts or snippets of conversation can demonstrate expanded features. Tip: Try to incorporate a variety of examples to highlight multiple features. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Given the work you’ve done in the past few days, review your section on quotatives and update and/or expand it as necessary to…
Goal: Create more complex examples of quotation Note: This might mean adding details to the quotative and/or expanding the quotation. Tip: Consider if every clause needs to be tagged or if a single tag can support a long quote. Work focus: Create/Make/List Today’s goal is to expand what you’ve done with quotatives thus far and…
Goal: Plan how you will weave together dialogue and narration Note: Many stories move between narrative and reported speech. Tip: Think about the best way to connect these elements seamlessly. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Telling stories (whether they are spoken or written) often involves movement from background prose and narration into instances of dialogue and then…
Goal: Make a plan for expanding quotative constructions Note: Consider how you will add adverbial elements or noun modification. Tip: “Heavy” quotatives may behave differently than “light” ones. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Today’s goal is to figure out ways your language might allow for additional modification in quotative constructions, such as adverbial elements (e.g. adposition phrases,…
Goal: Consider what verbs are allowed in quotative constructions Note: Some languages allow more flexible quoting verb options. Tip: Quoting verb variety can be genre-dependent. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Today’s goal is to consider whether you want to allow more flexible quoting verb options within your quotative constructions. In some languages, very few verbs participate in…
Goal: Write a section on quotative strategies Note: Include the examples you created to demonstrate quotative features. Tip: If your language distinguishes types of reported speech, highlight those distinctions. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Today’s goal is to document your work on quotative strategies and (in)direct speech. In your grammar, include the examples you created with descriptions…
Goal: Create example sentences with direct & indirect speech Note: Use these examples to demonstrate how your language handles both. Tip: Pairs of examples can help demonstrate distinctions. Work focus: Create/Make/List Today’s goal is to create example sentences with direct and indirect speech to demonstrate how your language handles these situations. It’s helpful to include…
