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: Write a section describing verb negation Note: If you have more than one strategy, be sure to provide examples. Tip: Present examples in positive/negative pairs. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Today’s focus is on documenting the choices you made about verb negation. You may have decided to incorporate more than one strategy (e.g. some verbs use…
Goal: Write section on tense/aspect distinctions Note: Even if you don’t mark T/A, show examples with possible translations. Tip: Explain your system so Future You will be able to use the features. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Today continues work on language documentation, focusing on describing how your language handles tense/aspect distinctions. Even if your language lacks…
Goal: Write an introduction to your verbs Note: Focus on any verb class distinctions and indexing markers that you have. Tip: Remember to use example sentences you’ve created. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Today’s goal is to write an introduction to your verb section in your language documentation. Focus first on describing any verb class distinctions you…
This week begins with a focus on documenting the verb inflections you’ve created so far, updating your dictionary entries to ensure all newly created words made it into your dictionary, and exploring options for differentiating active and passive voice.
Goal: Start documenting your verb inflections Note: If you haven’t already made charts, now is the time to begin! Tip: Focus on putting information you need together in one place. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Today begins a four-day focus on officially documenting all the inflections you’ve created for your verbs, beginning with creating any inflectional charts…
Goal: Create a negation strategy Note: You may need to create lexical sources and/or multiple strategies. Tip: Negate the sentences you recently created! Work focus: Create/Make/List Build on what you did yesterday, and actually create your negation strategies, whether that means creating new forms, grammaticalizing existing words, or creating a new column in a chart…
Goal: Explore options for negating verbs Note: Brainstorm potential lexical sources for a negator in your language. Tip: The negator can be an affix, particle, or auxiliary. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Today’s focus is on exploring options for negating verbs. You have a variety of options for negation strategies, such as creating an affix that attaches…
Goal: Create more example sentences Note: Make sure you are happy with how forms occur in clause structures. Tip: These should be basic declarative active positive clauses. Work focus: Create/Make/List Take your verbs out for a spin! Have some fun creating more clause structures in your language—these will be handy additions to your language’s grammar…
Goal: Map out the components of your verb structure Note: Include a variety of verb types, especially if they are marked differently. Tip: A chart or series of charts can be helpful! Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Sometimes, creating multiple elements that occur with a single head word can make it difficult to keep track of what…
Goal: Create examples to show non-finite verb forms Note: It’s okay if you haven’t decided how to use them in clauses yet. Tip: Recall these are the infinitive and active participle forms. Work focus: Create/Make/List Give examples to show your plan for the infinitive and active participle verb forms in your language. These may end…
