Category: Conlang Year
-
Day 240: August 27, 2024
Goal: Review your grammar document Note: Look for any areas that need updating, more information, or corrections. Tip: Compare older to newer information to make sure it’s all cohesive. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure It can be really easy to tweak your language as you work, changing a feature here or a structure there, and forget to…
-
Day 239: August 26, 2024
Goal: Expand your documentation on noun clauses Note: Include any new information from the past few days, including gerunds and reduced clauses. Tip: You may also need to document restrictions on finite noun clauses. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Expand any documentation you have on noun clauses and related forms to include any new information from the…
-
Day 238: August 25, 2024
Goal: Create example sentences with verbal forms in nominal roles Note: At this point, you should just need to translate the examples you’ve already mapped out. Tip: If you don’t need any more examples, create more words! Work focus: Create/Make/List Today’s goal is to actually create example sentences to demonstrate how your language treats clausal…
-
Day 237: August 24, 2024
Goal: Make a plan for any verbal units in nominal roles Note: Create templates for allowable reduced clause forms and gerunds, and create any new forms you need. Tip: You may instead focus on developing other strategies for your conlang in these situations. Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure Use your time today to plan out your strategies…
-
Day 236: August 23, 2024
Goal: Explore options for gerunds in nominal positions Note: Include reduced verb phrases in this exploration—focus on verb forms allowed in nominal positions. Tip: An example is “Baking (cupcakes) relaxes me.” Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Today’s goal is to explore ways verbs can function as nouns, including gerunds (e.g. “Baking relaxes me”), fuller gerund phrases (e.g.…
-
Day 235: August 23, 2024
Goal: Decide whether to allow noun clauses as subjects Note: Even if languages allow this structure, it might be dispreferred by speakers. Tip: An example is “That they gave North Pole the zip code HOH OHO is hilarious.” Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try If your language allows embedded finite clauses to function in nominal positions, consider if…
-
Day 234: August 21, 2024
Goal: Document the noun clause decisions you’ve made Note: It might be the case that you’re documenting how your language handles them in other ways. Tip: Make sure any new inflections or conjunctions are in your dictionary. Work focus: Solidify/Write/Share Today’s focus is documentation. You’ve been prompted to make a lot of decisions on noun…
-
Day 233: August 20, 2024
Goal: Create examples with “if/whether” Note: Focus on situations where “if/whether” would begin a noun clause. Tip: An example is “We don’t know if they are here.” Work focus: Create/Make/List Some languages have a different strategy for indicating a noun clause contains unknown or questioned information. For instance, the English “We don’t know if they…
-
Day 232: August 19, 2024
Goal: Create sentences with cognition verbs Note: Depending on your chosen strategy, these may incorporate embedded noun clauses. Tip: An example is “I believe she wore a purple hat.” Work focus: Create/Make/List Today’s focus builds on yesterday’s, focusing on cognition verbs rather than communication verbs, as in these examples: English handles these noun clauses the…
-
Day 231: August 18, 2024
Goal: Create sentences with communication verbs Note: Depending on your chosen strategy, these may incorporate embedded noun clauses. Tip: An example is “She said he is walking here.” Work focus: Create/Make/List A previous goal had been to figure out how your language handles situations where you might embed a noun clause (or complement clause). In…