Ithkuil: Difference between revisions

| nativename = îţkuil

| pronunciation = iθkuːɪl

| familycolor = conlang

| fam1 = philosophical language

| created = 1978

| scripts = * [[Logogram|logographic]]

| clcr = qit

| image = [[File:Ithkuil-name.jpg|frameless]]

'''Ithkuil''', [iːθˈkuːɪl], is an experimental [[constructed language]] created by American linguist John Quijada,<ref name="foer-2012">Joshua Foer, [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/12/24/121224fa_fact_foer "John Quijada and Ithkuil, the Language He Invented"], ''The New Yorker'', December 24, 2012.</ref> designed to express deeper levels of human cognition briefly yet overtly and clearly, particularly with regard to human categorization. Presented as a cross between an [[a priori language|a priori]] [[philosophical language|philosophical]] and a [[logical language|logical]] language striving to minimize the ambiguities and semantic vagueness found in natural human languages,<ref name="intro">[http://www.ithkuil.net/00_intro.html ''A Philosophical Design for a Hypothetical Language''– Introduction]</ref> Ithkuil is notable for its grammatical complexity and extensive phoneme inventory, the latter being simplified in the final version of the language. The name "Ithkuil" is an anglicized form of ''Îţkûil'', which in the original form roughly means "hypothetical representation of a language".<ref name="intro" /> Quijada states he did not create Ithkuil to be [[international auxiliary language|auxiliary]] or used in everyday conversations, but rather to serve as a language for more elaborate and profound fields where more insightful thoughts are expected, such as philosophy, arts, science and politics.<ref name="faqs">[http://ithkuil.net/faqs.html Ithkuil FAQs]</ref>

Three versions of the language have been publicized: the initial version in 2004, a simplified version called Ilaksh in 2007, and the version in 2011, with additional updates on the morphophonology and lexicon. As of 2019, a new (yet to be named) language is being developed by Quijada based on Ithkuil.

For his influences, Quijada cites the obscure "morpho-phonology of [[w:Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]] verb complexes, the [[w:Grammatical mood|moods]] of verbs of certain [[w:Indigenous languages of the Americas|American Indian languages]], the [[w:Grammatical aspect|aspectual]] system of [[w:Niger–Kordofanian languages|Niger–Kordofanian languages]], the [[w:Ergative case|nominal]] [[w:Noun case|case systems]] of [[w:Basque language|Basque]] and [[w:Northeast Caucasian languages|Dagestanian languages]], the [[w:enclitic|enclitic]] system of the [[w:Wakashan languages|Wakashan languages]], the positional orientation systems of [[w:Tzeltal language|Tzeltal]] and [[w:Guugu Yimithirr language|Guugu Yimithirr]], the [[w:Semitic root|Semitic triliteral root]] morphology, and the hearsay and possessive categories of [[w:Suzette Elgin|Suzette Elgin]]'s [[Láadan]] language". The writing system's logical design borrows principles from [[w:Ge'ez script|Ethiopic]] and [[w:Brahmi script|Brahmi]] scripts, but employs a unique morpho-phonemic principle.<ref name="intro" /> The script used throughout the Ithkuil grammar bears superficial resemblance to [[w:Hebrew script|Hebrew]] square script and the various [[w:Klingon script|Klingon]] fonts, and Ilaksh has also used a "cartouche script" and a cursive format. Because Ithkuil is designed for users to be precise in their speech, it is quite difficult to express humorous concepts in Ithkuil.<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/bob-mankoff/a-l Ça üšlá. ''The New Yorker'', access-date=2018-08-10]</ref>

The initial publication of Ithkuil in 2004 had an extensive phonology of 65 consonants and 17 vowels. Since the mention of Ithkuil in the Russian magazine ''Computerra'',<ref name="kozl" /> several speakers of Russian contacted Quijada and expressed enthusiasm to learn Ithkuil for its application to [[w:psychonetics|psychonetics]], with several complaining about its difficulty in pronunciation. Quijada remade Ithkuil's morphophonology with 30 consonants and 10 vowels (and the addition of [[w:Tone (linguistics)|tones]]) and published the revision on 10 June 2007 as Ilaksh.<ref name="intro" /> The language featured other amendments to grammar, including some additional Levels and a change of Cases. It was redesigned to be easier to speak and included an additional writing system.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605210044/http://ithkuil.net/ilaksh/images/script_diagram.gif Ilaksh script diagram (indicates what the various parts of an Ilaksh logogram indicate) (no longer available on site, link shows archive.org's cache)]</ref><ref>[http://ithkuil.net/11_script.htm#Sec11o6 Ilaksh formal / ornamental script example, an updated version of the older script diagram]</ref> The initial sequential "informal" system suitable for handwriting or compact typesetting, and a "formal" [[w:logographic|logographic]] system with artistic possibilities resembling [[w:Maya script|Maya script]]s.

Owing to complaints about the difficult patterns in the language morphology from the community Reddit forum, on 30 October 2017, Quijada published a tentative outline for a new version of the language, which has yet to be named, addressing learners' desires for a more [[w:Agglutination|agglutinative]] [[w:morphophonology|morphophonology]], including a restructured Formative outline, and extended use of Adjuncts for flexible expression of the grammar to further create [[w:phonaesthetics|phonoaesthetics]]. Despite the complexity of the language, intended only as an experiment without concern for the constraints of human learnability, he has published several updates for a new language predicated off of the original grammar.

<!--== Past versions ==

The phonological system of the original Ithkuil consisted of 65 consonants; the ones above, in adittion to the lateral aspirated and central ejective palatal affricates ''q̌'' /cʎ̥˔ʰ/, ''çʼ'' /c͡çʼ/ and the velar affricates ''xʼ'' /k͡xʼ/, ''x̧ʼ'' /q͡χʼ/. /m n̪ ŋ l ɫ ɻ/ could be syllabic. ''h'' was [ɸ] when preceded by a vowel and followed by another consonant. [cʎ̥˔ʰ] was in free variation with [cʎ̥˔ʼ], the latter being more common at the beginning of a word (both spelt ''q̌''). All consonants except ''y'' and ''w'' could be geminated; when geminated, ''h'' was a bidental fricative (h̪͆) and ''r'' was an alveolar trill (/r/).

:The ''configuration'' of the term was ''composite''. Roughly corresponding to the plurality concept in Indo-European languages, it also implies the objects in question (words, ''kuîl'') to be diverse, while forming a "coherent emergent entity" (rather than just a collection or an array of different words), thus meaning "a vocabulary" or "lexicon".

:The ''affiliation'' of the set of objects in question was ''coalescent''. This indicates that the individual members of the set act together toward a higher purpose by coordinating their complementary functions. Thus, "a vocabulary/lexicon" becomes "a language".

* Syllabic stress on the penultimate syllable (''-u-'')

However, strong forms of the hypothesis, which postulate that language ''determines'' thought and not only influences it, have been disproven within mainstream linguistics.<ref>Ahearn, Laura. ''Living language: an introduction to linguistic anthropology'', Wiley Blackwell, Oxford. ISBN 9781405124416. Page 69.</ref> Moreover, in line with this, Quijada has stated he does not believe a speaker would think necessarily any faster, because even though Ithkuil is terse, a single word requires a lot more thought before it can be spoken than it would in a natural language.<ref name=FAQ>[http://www.ithkuil.net/faqs.html FAQ]</ref>

==Other resources==

[[Category:Philosophical languages]]

[[Category:Ithkuil]]

[[Category:A priori]]

[[Category:Smiley Award winners]]