The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
zompist.com
The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
1–10 of 16 posts
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#2How nice to see this here! When I first got interested in language creation, the LCK was one of the first books I read (followed shortly by Mark/zompist’s other books on linguistics and worldbuilding). It is an excellent introduction to conlanging — as well as to the whole field of linguistics, in fact. I recommend it without hesitation to anyone who is interested in making their own language.
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#3This document was hugely influential to me. It got me interested in linguistics (one of the "immaterial sciences" alongside math, comp sci). My username includes "kisone" which is from the conlang I made as a kid. It is wonderful to see it again and I hope folks still enjoy it!
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#4This document was hugely influential to me. It got me interested in linguistics (one of the "immaterial sciences" alongside math, comp sci). My username includes "kisone" which is from the conlang I made as a kid. It is wonderful to see it again and I hope folks still enjoy it!
Any connection to Finnish "kissa" 'cat'?
(apparently from an onomatopoeia for calling a cat)
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#5Zompist is a bit unusual these days: one guy working on one project (his Constructed World Almea) for over 40 years now, with 30 of those on the web. It's a beautiful relic of the early web. Most of the sites from my old "conlang" bookmark folder are dead now, but not zompist.com
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#6Gotta love zompist!
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#7This was my introduction to conlanging, a hobby that has been incredibly rewarding for me over the years. I still haven’t found a better introduction to the scene.
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#8Related. Others?
The Language Construction Kit - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32124388 - July 2022 (5 comments)
The Language Construction Kit - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8019118 - July 2014 (6 comments)
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#9I thought this was related to compilers, probably ocaml lisp or something.
Re: The Language Construction Kit (1996, 2012)
#10One of my favorite single pages on the web is this author’s take on what it would look like if English were spelled with characters inspired by (but not copied from) Chinese hanzi. He calls it yingzi (“English writing” in Chinese) but it's designed entirely for English. The point of the page is not to create a new writing system (it doesn't go nearly that far) but simply to give an impression of what Chinese writing is actually like and what effect it has had on its speakers’ perception of their own language. Give it a read, it's super fascinating.