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==Creating a descendant of a modern language chapter== | ==Creating a descendant of a modern language chapter== | ||
My contribewshins [[User:Ceige|Ceige]] ([[User talk:Ceige|talk]]) 11:16, 3 February 2014 (CET) | |||
===Step Vån: Becoming the Farseer=== | |||
''Or the prophet, depending on your belief system. Or the Jedi, depending on your SciFi allegiances.'' | |||
Creating a descendant of a modern language almost always involves predicting the future to whatever degree. Sometimes, this is less pronounced, especially if your goal is to imagine English if Japan took over the United States of America, in which case, while you can still play the prophet, there's less of a need since you're knee-deep in fantasy as is. | |||
Another factor is time. How far in the future is your descendent? Is it English spoken in 100 years in New Zealand (New Zullunish, presumably), or is it English spoken in the year 4320, after assimilating Chilean Spanish and Palestinian Arabic into it, on the planet El-Kzæm? The further ahead in the future, the more liberal your changes can be, but you'll still have to pay attention to what you're doing to make things neat - it's just a slightly different focus though, with more creative freedom, as you can now say, for example, that -në is the English genitive ending, and make up a long and twisted tale explaining this. | |||
When your language is only 230 years different from its ancestor, though, it becomes harder to explain how English adopted the Russian -skaya adjective ending as a perfect verb marker. | |||
===Step Tøui: Peering into the Crystal Ball=== | |||
''... and which brand of protective goggles will give you the best run for your money.'' | |||
Now that you're thinking like a fortune teller, a wizard, or an ethically-challenging supercomputer given more control of human life than is safe, it's time to thing about your focus. | |||
* Younger languages generally require more thought about phonology, vocabulary and style, and ''then'' the results on grammar | |||
* Older languages generally require a goal to work towards - e.g. make a change to the language, and ''then'' explain it and see if it fits | |||
...''however'', that said, you can use either method for either language. There's no strict rules, they're purely recommmendations to help make things more efficient. For example, making an older language using the guide for younger languages could take you on a very long journey where you might lose your place. You might want that, actually. With younger languages, you might have a specific goal, and find it easier to explain changes away after you've made them - but this might get unrealistic fast (for example, South Australian English /fa:st/ isn't going to turn into /hi:çþ/ overnight without a ''very'' good explanation). | |||
===Step Frey: Interpreting the Visions=== | |||
''"In 5 years time, I see you as a generous fisherman - oh, wait, I meant I see you getting eaten by a shark and having house looted, mah bad!"'' | |||
==Chapter on sibling-makery, e.g., Harākti== | ==Chapter on sibling-makery, e.g., Harākti== | ||
[[Category:Guides]] | [[Category:Guides]] | ||