tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post8138193850216488947..comments2024-03-29T03:45:01.236-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: The appearance of text and scriptJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-64280769286790667832009-02-05T22:38:00.000-08:002009-02-05T22:38:00.000-08:00That's the idea, Catreona. I'm planning on leaving...That's the idea, Catreona. I'm planning on leaving clues througout the story, showing that the arcati once had a much higher tech level.<BR/><BR/>For example, they mention a helix or double helix in relation to, well, relations. They know that biological inheritance involves a particular shape, but how do they know that? They don't have the technology to look at DNA.<BR/><BR/>Of course, what they do have is pretty impressive. Even if they can't write it down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-91118032454591444322009-02-05T14:53:00.000-08:002009-02-05T14:53:00.000-08:00Sounds reasonable, David. So they were thrown back...Sounds reasonable, David. So they were thrown back, in effect, to the conditions of a preliterate society.Catreonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15959115298646880631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-63468439406418951772009-02-05T04:18:00.000-08:002009-02-05T04:18:00.000-08:00Hmmm. I have not yet considered how or even if my ...Hmmm. I have not yet considered how or even if my marine species has any form of writing.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps that's why the guilds guard their secret knowledge - it was lost when the land flooded and all those books drowned :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-61717978480482453732009-02-04T14:06:00.000-08:002009-02-04T14:06:00.000-08:00Mike, how splendid!Fit this idea together with Byr...Mike, how splendid!<BR/><BR/>Fit this idea together with Byron's idea about all flying things, be they birds, bats or rocketships having similar root based names, and you begin to see a language taking shadowy shape. As with Byron's suggestion, I'll squirl yours away.<BR/><BR/>Also, though I am of Irish descent and though I have studied the Irish language, I didn't know about the letters. That is quite lovely. Think that's another tidbit to add to my squirl hoard.Catreonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15959115298646880631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-64850020336789448322009-02-04T13:16:00.000-08:002009-02-04T13:16:00.000-08:00To my anonymous poster:If you're interested in Chi...To my anonymous poster:<BR/><BR/>If you're interested in Chinese and Japanese script, I do have an earlier post on the topic (look under the label "writing systems"). The different pronunciations for the same character has to do with the fact that the Chinese script (which the Japanese borrowed) represents meanings rather than sounds. Because the Japanese borrowed words from the Chinese more than once over their shared history, you can have multiple pronunciations for the same character: <BR/>1. the Japanese native word for that object <BR/>2. the Japanese phonological interpretation for how a Chinese person said his word for that object when it was initially borrowed<BR/>3. the Japanese phonological interpretation for how a Chinese person said his word for that object two hundred years later when it was borrowed again <BR/><BR/>etc.<BR/><BR/>This is one reason why simplification of the writing system has historically been a contentious issue in Japan.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-59858797364994472832009-02-04T13:13:00.000-08:002009-02-04T13:13:00.000-08:00Mike,Japanese doesn't have different sets of numbe...Mike,<BR/><BR/>Japanese doesn't have different sets of numbers, exactly, but its numbers require a suffix which categorizes the noun. Humans are -ri, while swords are -furi, small four-legged animals are -hiki, long cylindrical things are -hon etc.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-74763200244130270332009-02-04T12:44:00.000-08:002009-02-04T12:44:00.000-08:00I'd like to hear your thoughts on pictograms (like...I'd like to hear your thoughts on pictograms (like in Japanese/ Chinese languages) in this context. I don't really have a specific question, except that frequently the name of the pictogram won't match the sound. Or it has multiple sounds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-68887969211506625862009-02-04T12:37:00.000-08:002009-02-04T12:37:00.000-08:00There is precedent. Irish Gaelic uses two sets of...There is precedent. Irish Gaelic uses two sets of numbers: one for counting people, one for counting things. <BR/><BR/>It also occurs to me that the Gaelic letters were called by "tree names." Each letter was called by a tree whose name began with that letter. Anciently: beit (burch), luis (rowan), nuin (ash)... (B, L, N, etc.). Modern Irish follows Roman alpha-beta order.TheOFloinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-7233441463079639672009-02-04T12:25:00.000-08:002009-02-04T12:25:00.000-08:00Thanks, Sunil!Mike,You got me again :-)! That was ...Thanks, Sunil!<BR/><BR/>Mike,<BR/><BR/>You got me again :-)! That was why I kind of hedged about the topic and said it could be done but might be distracting. I love your idea, though. The example in the forum discussion had very English-sounding names like "Grayson" and was concerned about giving a random name to the letters. With good reason. The two should match under some principle - and I think your idea is an interesting one!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-77242920636901403392009-02-04T11:13:00.000-08:002009-02-04T11:13:00.000-08:00your character's name is Aramia and the first lett...<I>your character's name is Aramia and the first letter is called grixbat</I><BR/><BR/>Quite clearly we have a language in which living things are named fluidly and abstractions and non-living things have angular names. I bet a horse is a "winnywu" and an automobile is a "klankaxaon."TheOFloinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-90329737107481855442009-02-04T11:04:00.000-08:002009-02-04T11:04:00.000-08:00I don't know how I stumbled across your blog but i...I don't know how I stumbled across your blog but it's like I've found a candy tree. I'm really enjoying your posts and just wanted to feed back. :)Sunilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06538990145545327500noreply@blogger.com