Originally Posted by
Akubra
Hi groovey, sorry for taking a long time to respond... again. I haven't been able to do much over the weekend - only today I continued my tectonics map - hope to post it tomorrow.
Anyway, let's get to your question about languages. I wasn't too precise about what I mean by "the feel of the language". I didn't mean anything grammatical or such, all I meant was the general look/sound of it. Suppose you don't know a certain language and you see it written or spoken for the first time. Sometimes it makes you think of a language you are more familiar with, doesn't it? That's what I mean. I like the idea if it could have some aspects that make me think of Polynesian with lots of i's, o's and a's (such as the names for some plates I'm using: Otaia, Kiomawi), and also some aspects of Aboriginal languages (think words like Burrunguy, Nanguluwur, etc). I'm not sure if that is possible, because they are more or less each other's opposite: lots of vowels vs. lots of consonants. Anyway, for the moment I have only been thinking about it superficially.
I don't speak any of those languages, although I have lived in New Zealand for a couple of years (where one of the official languages is Maori). I have also travelled extensively in outback Australia, so Aboriginal names are not extremely "alien" to me. But that's where my "knowledge" (but I cannot really call it that) ends.
Yes, I do realize that it's a huge task. But a very interesting one. I think you can draw parrallels with creating a conworld. If you want to make your world realistic, you have to take into account tectonics, climate and what not, like we do. We're learning a lot during this process. That aspect of creating a conlang is similar. If ever I start one, I want to be serious about it and I'm certain I will learn a lot about many new linguistic topics I don't yet know about. And I think that's very, very interesting.
Cheers - Akubra