LINGUIST List 17.3082
Fri Oct 20 2006
FYI: Conlang Books Project
Editor for this issue: Amy Renaud
<renaudlinguistlist.org>
Directory
1. Sai
Emrys,
Conlang Books Project
Message 1: Conlang Books Project
Date: 20-Oct-2006
From: Sai Emrys <conlangssaizai.com>
Subject: Conlang Books Project
Hello, everyone.
The Conlang Books Project has recently started. Its goal is to produce twobooks about language creation.
The first is a linguistics textbook, beginning/intermediate level, to teachlinguistics implicitly (and explicitly) by guiding the reader through thecreation of a new language of their own. The target audience is: introlinguistics & general ed college students; creative writing students;general linguaphiles and linguists; professional novelists & gamedesigners; and of course conlangers.
The second is a book of advanced essays about language creation(conlanging), encompassing philosophy, technique, and artistry. The targetaudience is about the same, but assumes an existing knowledge of basiclinguistics (as taught, e.g., by the first book).
This is a call for contributors & authors.
If you are interested, please seehttp://groups-beta.google.com/group/conlang-books/web/links and read theOverview and Style Guide for a concise summary of our approach (as itdiffers significantly from the standard version); you can join thediscussion group from that page as well. Of course you are welcome tocontact me at the email below with any questions.
Some specific topics that we want to cover:
For the textbook: linguistic universals, sound systems, signed systems,writing systems, morphology, syntax, semantics, vocabulary generation,language change & acquisition / diachronic linguistics, pragmatics, somecognitive linguistics; etc.
For the essays: history of conlanging; Sapir-Whorf applicability /testability; fluency; popularization & spread of new languages; sociologyof conlanging; advanced sign language techniques; semantic primes; advanceddiachronics & language families creation; review of unusual linguisticfeatures ([split] ergativity, trigger systems, etc); advancedphonaesthetics & other linguistic aesthetics; differences between necessarylinguistic universals and universals-by-happenstance; nonlinear language;etc. These are not absolutes, and other suggestions for essay topics willcertainly be considered.
As a side note, you may also be interested in the Language CreationConference; more info on that can be found at http://conlangs.berkeley.eduor by contacting me.
Thanks, Sai CLBP & LCC coordinator conlangssaizai.com
Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
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