It’s still a work in progress. I’ve got the phonology, most of the basic stock vocabulary, a number system, a list of rules… but it’s far from complete. I made some simple sentences and recorded myself saying them, and it sounds a bit like Latin with slight flourishes of English, German, Nordic languages, Greek, Russian, Celtic, Japanese… In writing, it looks sort of like a Welsh Latin. Once I build more vocab and finalise the fiddly grammatical stuff, I can share a bit and explain it.

I have a weird head haha.

I’ve had a long period of writer’s block, regarding songwriting. So I decided to invent a language, with a backstory of the peoples who spoke it. It’s a real challenge but exciting to see a language form right in front of you! And since I’ve been focusing so hard on the language, I’ve been writing some really fresh sounding music, and enjoying the songwriting process again. I guess I just needed to stop fussing over the music so much.

Decided to use base 4 for my conlang. I struggle with math and numbers, and it was an ordeal making several base 10 systems that were, to be honest, cheap knock-offs of existing base 10 systems. So I tried to assign names to each number, and my stupid brain kept dragging me to base 10 and I’d destroy an hours’ work. Over and over again. Eventually the pattern jumped out at me and I finally grasped it. I’m mad at myself how long, and how much effort, it took me to understand something so simple. Grr.

It’s vague now because the modern world has become too precise, too complicated. So my language “evolved” to discuss things in a more Zen kind of way. The old language (as I imagine it) was very gutteral and full of sounds most modern day people couldn’t pronounce. It evolved to a more modern day sound inventory to assimilate with the modern, technocratic population. It became private because the non-Atlandeans wouldn’t approve. Esperanto speakers were executed by the Soviets AND the Nazis, for example. It’s a way of keeping hold of their “Zen” lost world, and they don’t want it interfered with. So it’s not a terribly straightforward process to translate any of it unless you know it fairly well.

Assume you need to back up every statement you make.

Ooh, that’s a good one!

Actually, this has all been very helpful. As we say in my language: spaqi! (thanks!).

Well it avoids any technical/hairsplitty nuance. It’s intentionally vague, in a way that’s actually very expressive. The base vocab is unique to the language (“evolved” that way), and the more nitpicky the words get, the more they resemble pidgin English/German/French/Spanish/Italian. Then it seemlessly fades into English/whatever for technical jargon. It’s a sort of “intimate” language, meant for close personal relationships rather than to speak to millions of people.

I had a sort of fantasy idea for the backstory, but I don’t know if it’s stupid or not. I had the idea of the original Atlantis population survived in some way, a few people maybe. They have bred among themselves and other populations, lived among us in obscurity, hiding in plain sight, for many many years. So this language is their sort of creole, developed as they had to assimilate and learn other languages. The language has become anglified for broad communication (through necessity), but the intimate aspects are still true to their original language.

I’m not good at this stuff. Is that something of a starting point?

Edit: it’s also very melodic, and not gutteral. It doesn’t have the sounds th, j, r, sh, ks kh (like ch in loch), z, or ae as in cAt). So it sounds kinda like English, Latin, Esperanto, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, Nordic, Irish, Russian, Japanese, Turkish… without really sounding like any of them.

Does typing make you lose breath? If so, you might be doing it wrong.

Hope it works out well for you!

Yes I’m trying to do that but I don’t know where to start. My strengths are linguistics and music, not storytelling. It’s a skill I have to find a way to develop. Maybe it just takes time.

My brain is melted from working on the patois I’m making. It’s coming along nicely, but it’s amazingly hard to make it all fit together.

The long branch is the long arm of altruism, the short branch is the short arm of altruism.

That sounds absolutely mental in the most wholesome way haha.

I trained most of them to aim their tail feathers away before they do, but yes, sometimes it just gushes out when it gushes out. They’re wild birds, it’s part of the package. But I do put a towel on my lap, so that makes things easier. Also no scratches on the legs if the birds decide to fight each other on my lap. They do that especially in spring, when the hormones are fluctuating.

I call all of them goobers, so “Mr Goober” is called Derfred. It is the goofiest bird I have ever seen. I suspect it might’ve hit a window or car or something at some stage and stayed a bit silly. Derfred even bites and climbs on other birds, just playing. But the other birds aren’t always prepared to put up with it haha. Poor thing. But Derfred is healthy and happy.

Here are names I’ve given to some of the other birds:

• Signore Salieri (has an unusually large beak and high “hair line”)

• Mr Faith No More (actually a girl, but looks a lot like Mike Patton. Sounds dumb but I swear it’s true).

• Mr Roy (has a rainbow-ish pattern on the head. Full name is Roy G. Biv).

• Cleopatra (a lady bird who gets a lot of attention from the boys, and takes no prisoners. She’s always very nice to me, though)

• Mr Blackbottom (he has a large black patch on his lower beak - completely harmless. Beaks are black as juveniles, then the black gradually fades as they get older).

• The Scream (a girl bird who enjoys landing on my arm, staring me square in the eye, flapping her wings and screeching at me. No other reason than to chat/play. Weirdo).

• John Deere (when I sing or talk, this goober stares at me like a deer in the headlights. As if I am threatening it. It knows full well I’m not threatening it, just a bit of a drama queen).

There are more but I can’t remember them right now.

I leave food and water out for the local birds, and sit outside under a beautiful big tree, and birds come up, eat the food, have a drink and a bath/splash around, then some of them land on me and we have a chat. I actually get a lot more sense out of those interactions than I do with any human where I am, so it really helps. One little goober gets a crazy look in the eye, then (most of the time) gently bites my finger and half rolls over. So I roll him/her over and tickle the belly. It’s hard to stay grumpy when you start your day like that!

The thing that helped me was “let go or be dragged”.

Death will happen whether I stress out about it or not. Stressing about it just contaminates the time you have. So I gradually learned to focus more on the “isn’t existence weird?!” than “death is coming”. And when you really get into the swing of it, your limited time becomes timeless.

Aha. When tech geeks meet theology. I like it!

Yes, I don’t mind “Living God” as long as it remains abstract and not attached to whatever religious organisation.

Haha that’s very concrete and abstract at the same time.

Why “number”?

“All I said was that piece of halibut was fit for Jocular”.