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| author | uakci <uakci@uakci.eu> | 2020-09-18 02:23:27 +0200 |
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| committer | uakci <uakci@uakci.eu> | 2020-09-18 02:23:27 +0200 |
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diff --git a/2004-en/ithkuil-intro.htm b/2004-en/ithkuil-intro.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..267d179 --- /dev/null +++ b/2004-en/ithkuil-intro.htm @@ -0,0 +1,881 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<title>A Philosophical Grammar of Ithkuil, a Constructed Language - Introduction</title> +<META name="resource-type" content="document"> +<META name="description" content="A constructed philosophical language design showing NOT how artificial languages do function, but rather how they COULD function."> +<META name="keywords" content="constructed language, conlang, philosophical language, hypothetical language, fictional language, artificial language, constructed languages, conlangs, philosophical languages, hypothetical languages, fictional languages, artificial languages"> +<META name="distribution" content="global"></title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> +<!-- + + +function MM_preloadImages() { //v3.0 + var d=document; if(d.images){ if(!d.MM_p) d.MM_p=new Array(); + var i,j=d.MM_p.length,a=MM_preloadImages.arguments; for(i=0; i<a.length; i++) + if (a[i].indexOf("#")!=0){ d.MM_p[j]=new Image; d.MM_p[j++].src=a[i];}} +} +//--> +</script> +<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> +<!-- +function MM_reloadPage(init) { //reloads the window if Nav4 resized + if (init==true) with (navigator) {if ((appName=="Netscape")&&(parseInt(appVersion)==4)) { + document.MM_pgW=innerWidth; document.MM_pgH=innerHeight; onresize=MM_reloadPage; }} + else if (innerWidth!=document.MM_pgW || innerHeight!=document.MM_pgH) location.reload(); +} +MM_reloadPage(true); +//--> +</script> +<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> +<!-- +function changenavintro() { +top.frames[1].location = "nav_panelintro.htm"; +} + +//-->onLoad="javascript:changenavintro();" +</script> +</head> + +<body> +<div align="center"><font color="#999999" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Ithkuil: + A Philosophical Design for a Hypothetical Language</strong></font><br> + <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Title-Script5.gif"><br> + <br> +</div> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td width="9%" height="25" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="1"><a name="menu"></a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a></font></div></td> + <td width="37%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch5a-verbs.htm">5a + Verb Morphology </a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch9-syntax.htm">9 + Syntax</a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-intro.htm">Introduction</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch5b-verbs-contd.htm">5b + Verb Morphology (continued)</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch10-lexicosemantics.htm">10 + Lexico-Semantics</a></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch1-phonology.htm">1 + Phonology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch6-moreverbs.htm">6 + More Verb Morphology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch11-script.htm">11 + The Script </a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch2-morphophonology.htm">2 + Morpho-Phonology</a></font><font size="2"> </font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7a-affixes.htm">7a + Using Affixes </a></font></font></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch12-numbers.htm">12 + The Number System</a></font></font></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font size="2"> </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch3-morphology.htm">3 + Basic Morphology</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">7b + Using Affixes (continued) </a></font></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-lexicon.htm">The + Lexicon</a></font></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">4 + Case Morphology </a></font> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch8-adjuncts.htm">8 + Adjuncts</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Ilaksh_Intro.html" target="_blank">Revised Ithkuil: <font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">I</font>laksh</a></font></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="center"> </p> +<h3 align="center"><a href="update_2011.htm" target="_top">Update: Important Changes Coming to the Ithkuil Website in June-July 2011!</a></h3> +<p align="center"> </p> +<h2 align="center">INTRODUCTION<br> +</h2> +<p align="center"> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td height="21" colspan="5" valign="top" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> + <p><font size="4"><strong>0.1 Background</strong></font></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">Ithkuil is an artificially constructed human language systematically + designed to blend a high degree of communication of cognitive intent and meaning + with a high degree of efficiency, i.e., to allow speakers to say a lot in as + few syllables as possible. The navigational links above (or at the bottom + of this page) lead to chapters on the major grammatical components of the language + and should be read in sequence, as each chapter is cumulative and assumes knowledge + of the preceding. While this grammar assumes only a basic knowledge of linguistic + concepts, it will be helpful to briefly familiarize the reader with the hierarchical/schematic + structure of human language in general, as the organization of this grammar + is somewhat based around this structure. The analysis of human language can + be organized into the following hierarchical schema of primary concepts:</p> +<ul> + <li> + <div align="justify"><strong>Phonology</strong>: The manner in which vocally + articulated sound is structured for use within a language; this is the basic + realm of the acoustic sounds produced by the lungs, vocal cords, tongue, + and lips, i.e., consonants, vowels, volume, pitch, tone, stress, etc.<br> + </div> + </li> + <li> + <div align="justify"><strong>Morphology</strong>: The grammatical rules, structures, + categories and functions which can be manipulated to form words and the + component phrases of sentences; this is the realm of prefixes, suffixes, + word-roots, and conceptual categories like tense, singular vs. plural, moods, + active vs. passive voice, etc.<br> + </div> + </li> + <li> + <div align="justify"><strong>Syntax</strong>: The rules governing how words + and phrases can be combined into grammatically acceptable sentences. <br> + </div> + </li> + <li> + <div align="justify"><strong>Semantics</strong>: The realm of meaning; what + the words, phrases, and syntactical structures of the language represent + in terms of meaning.<br> + </div> + </li> + <li> + <div align="justify"><strong>Lexicon</strong>: The list of word-roots within + a language, i.e., the vocabulary of the language. <br> + </div> + </li> + <li> + <div align="justify"><strong>Pragmatics</strong> <strong>and Discourse Rules</strong>: + The analysis of how language is actually used in real-world situations as + determined by cultural and context-driven rules; the realm of style, rhetoric, + formal versus informal language, slang, etc., outside the realm of grammar. + Because this is a formal grammar for a hypothetical language (i.e., it has + no “real world” linguistic context), pragmatics and discourse + rules will not be covered. </div> + </li> +</ul> +<div align="justify"> + <div align="justify"> + <blockquote> + <div align="justify"> + <div align="justify"></div> + </div> + </blockquote> + </div> +</div> +<div align="justify">The above components of language in turn operate in an interrelated + fashion, combining to designate several additional or secondary levels of analysis. + For example:</div> +<div align="justify"> + <ul> + <li><strong>Morpho-phonology</strong>: The interrelationship between phonology + and morphology, i.e., the manner in which the sounds of the language are + manipulated into structures that can contain meaning. For example it is + morpho-phonology that explains why different word-endings signify concepts + such as masculine or feminine in Spanish. <br> + </li> + <li><strong>Morpho-syntax</strong>: The interrelationship between morphology + and syntax, i.e., how the grammatical structures within words impact the + overall structure of a sentence, as illustrated by the relationship between + the sentences <em>It is undeliverable</em> versus <em>It cannot be delivered</em>.<br> + </li> + <li><strong>Lexico-Morphology</strong>: The interrelationship between morphology + and the lexicon, i.e., the structure of word-roots and how they interact + with other morphological categories, as illustrated by the concept of “irregular” + verbs, e.g., ‘go’ + PAST = ‘went.’<br> + </li> + <li><strong>Lexico-Semantics</strong>: The interrelationship between the lexicon + and semantics, i.e. between words and their meaning; what mental concepts + are selected by a language to be instantiated as word-roots and the cognitive + processes behind the selection criterhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ia. </li> + </ul> +</div> +<p align="justify">The interrelationships between these components can be illustrated + by the following diagram.</p> +<p align="center"><img src="Images/Intro/Intro_1.gif" width="479" height="198" align="top"></p> +<p align="center"> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td height="21" colspan="5" valign="top" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> + <p><font size="4"><strong>0.2 How the Language Works</strong></font></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">As a model for human language, Ithkuil is capable of high levels + of conciseness and semantic detail while overtly reflecting a deep level of + cognitive conceptualization, more so than in natural languages. This means, + essentially, that Ithkuil is designed to convey large amounts of linguistic + information using fewer words, with those words being based on monosyllabic + roots and word-parts. In turn, the grammar supporting these words reflect the + speaker’s cognitive intent explicitly, while displaying little of the + euphemism, vagueness, circumlocution, redundancy, polysemy (i.e., mulhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/tiple meanings), + and ambiguity manifested in natural languages. </p> +<p align="justify"> NOTE: The preceding paragraph may remind some readers of the + “<a href="http://www.urticator.net/essay/2/296.html" target="_blank">Speedtalk</a>” + language in Robert Heinlein’s novella <em>Gulf</em>, in which every morpheme + (meaningful word-part) is apparently represented by a single phoneme (sound). + To some extent, Ithkuil approaches this ideal. However, Heinlein’s Speedtalk + appears to focus only on the morpho-phonological component of language (i.e., + the correspondence between sound and individual grammatical components) without + any corresponding focus on the logical redesign of a language’s morphology, + lexico-morphology, or lexico-semantics to provide an equally “compressed” + morpho-syntactical and lexical component. Ithkuil has been designed with an + equal focus on these latter linguistic components. Additionally, the apparent + purpose of Heinlein's language is simple rapidity/brevity of speech and thought, + while Ithkuil is focused on maximal communication in the most efficient manner, + a somewhat different purpose, in which brevity <em>per se</em> is irrelevant.</p> +<p align="justify">As an example of the morphological richness and efficiency + possible in this language, examine the following Ithkuil sentence, comphttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/aring + it to its literal English translation:</p> +<table width="97%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td height="43" colspan="3" valign="top"> + <p><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-1.mp3"><img src="Images/https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Intro/Intro_2.gif" width="388" height="35" border="0"https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/></a> + </p></td> + <td widthttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/h="34%" valign="middle"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-1.mp3">Listen! + </a><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-1.mp3"><img src="Images/Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td width="14%" height="36" valign="top"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TRANSLATION</font>:</td> + <td colspan="3" valign="top">‘<em>On the contrary, I think it may turn + out thttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/hat this rugged mountain range trails off at some point</em>.’</td> + </tr> +</table> +<font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">NOTE: See Phonology, <a href="Ch-1%20Phonology.htm#Sec1o2" onClick="javascript:changenav1();">Section +1.2</a> on how to pronounce the Romanized orthography used to transliterate the +Ithkuil characters.</font><br> +<p align="justify">The reader may well wonder why it takes a 19-word sentence + in English to translate a two-word Ithkuil sentence. One might assume the sentence + “cheats” in that the two Ithkuil words simply have innately intricate + and specialized meanings. While it is true that the first word, <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">oumpeá</font></strong>, + translates as ‘<em>on the contrary, I havhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/e a feeling it may turn out at + some point (that)</em>,’ and the second word, <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">äx’ää<img src="Images/Ch%201/Symbols/l-cedilla.gif" width="5" height="17" align="absmiddle">uktëx</font></strong>, + means ‘<em>the unevenly high range of mountains in question trails off</em>,’ + it would be quite erroneous to conclude that these are simply autonomous words + one might theoretically find in an Ithkuil dicthttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ionary. Indeed, the only part + of the sentence that represents any sort of “root” word is -<strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">xä<img src="Images/Ch%201/Symbols/l-cedilla.gif" width="5" height="17" align="absmiddle"></font></strong>-, + a stem more or less meaning ‘hill’ or ‘upland.’ The + remainder of the sentence is made up entirely of morphological, not lexical + components, i.e., prefixes, suffixes, infixes, vowel permutations, shifts in + stress, etc. For example, the first word, <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">oumpeá</font></strong>, + has four parts to it as shown below:</p> +<table width="98%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td width="4%" height="29"> </td> + <td width="4%" valign="top">1.</td> + <td width="6%" valign="top"><strong>ou</strong>-</td> + <td width="3%" valign="top">=</td> + <td colspan="2" valign="top">an aspectual prefix translatable as ‘it + turns out that’ or ‘it is revealed that’</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="46"> </td> + <td valign="top">2.</td> + <td valign="top">-<strong>mp</strong>-</td> + <td valign="top">=</td> + <td colspan="2" valign="top">an infix indicating both a rebuttal to an allegation + and a conclusion based on the speaker’s intuition, translatable as + ‘on the contrary, I have a feeling’</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="27"> </td> + <td valign="top">3.</td> + <td valign="top">-<strong>ea</strong></td> + <td valign="top">=</td> + <td colspan="2" valign="top">an aspectual suffix translatable as ‘at + some point’ or ‘somewhere along the way’</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="25"> </td> + <td valign="middle">4.</td> + <td colspan="4" valign="middle"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">stress + on final syllable + falling tone </font> = subjunctive mood, translatable + https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/as ‘may’</td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify"><br> + The second word, <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">äx’ää<img src="Images/Ch%201/Symbols/l-cedilla.gif" width="5" height="17" align="absmiddle">uktëx</font></strong>, + breaks down morphologically as follows:</p> +<table width="98%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td width="4%" height="47"> </td> + <td width="4%" valign="top">1.</td> + <td width="6%" valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>ä</strong>-</font></td> + <td width="3%" valign="top">=</td> + <td colspan="3" valign="top">a prefix indicating, among other things, that + the entity displays depletion (i.e., ‘trailing off’ or ‘petering + out’) </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="87"> https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/</td> + <td valign="top">2.</td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>x’ä<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="Images/Ch%201/Symbols/l-cedilla.gif" width="5" height="17" align="absmiddle"></font></strong></font></td> + <td valign="tohttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/p">=</td> + <td colspan="3" valign="top">a stem derived from <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>xä<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="Images/Ch%201/Symbols/l-cedilla.gif" width="5" height="17" align="absmiddle"></font></strong></font> + ‘hill, upland’ (in turn derived from the root <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica,https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ sans-serif">x</font></strong><font size="2"><strong>-</strong></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="Images/Ch%201/Symbols/l-cedilla.gif" width="5" height="17" align="absmiddle"></font></strong></font> + indicating the level of a landscape), the mutation of the initial consonant + <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">x</font></strong>- into + <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">x</font>’</strong>- + indicating that the stem is to be re-interpreted as comprising a composite + entity of non-identical members consolidated together into a single segmented + whole (i.e., ‘hill’ becomes ‘uneven range of hills’)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="27"> </td> + <td valign="top">3.</td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-<strong>ukt</strong>-</font></td> + <td valign="top">=</td> + <td colspan="3" valign="top">a demonstrative suffix translatable as ‘this’ + (= ‘the one in question’ or ‘the one at hand’)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="68"> </td> + <td valign="top">4.</td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-<strong>ëx</strong></font></td> + <td valign="top">=</td> + <td colspan="3" valign="top">a suffix indicating that the stem is to be interpreted + as being very large in size, and furthermore, that the increase in size + creates a new gestalt entity, i.e., not simply a ‘very large hill + or upland’ but rather a ‘mountain’</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="86"> </td> + <td valign="top">5.</td> + <td colspan="3" valign="top"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">stress + on antepenultimate (i.e., third-from-last) syllable (indicated in the Romanized + spelling by doubling of the stem vowel -ä-)</font></td> + <td width="5%" valign="top">=</td> + <td width="57%" valign="top"> generic statement neutral as to time or present + impact</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="25"> </td> + <td valign="top">6.</td> + <td colspan="3" valign="top"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">falling + tone (unmarked)</font></td> + <td valign="top">=</td> + <td valign="middle">statement reflects objective fact as opposed to subjective + interpretation, i.e., that it describes a real situation irrespective of + the speaker’s beliefs, opinions, convention, usage, etc. (i.e., the + fact that the mountain range does have an ending whether one knows where + it is or not)</td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">The following additional example sentences illustrate how the + language manifests a cohttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/mbination of semantic richness withhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ morphological conciseness:<br> +</p> +<table width="62%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td width="62%"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-2.mp3"><imhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/g src="Images/Ch%208/8-1-3-2d.gif" width="136" heighthttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/="25" border="0"></a></td> + <td https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/width="38%" rowspan="2"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-2.mp3">Listen!</a> + https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ <a href="Sound_Files/Intro-2.mp3https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/"><img src="Images/Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-2.mp3"><img src="Images/Intro/Intro_10.gif" width="179" height="26" border="0"></a></td> + </tr> +</table> +<em>Hey! Something belonging to you and your hodge-podge of parts is crawling +on me!</em> <br> +[What a Star Trek character might say to a Borg who has just produced an assimilated +arachnid from hhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/is pocket]<em><br> +</em> +<p align=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/"justify"> </p> +<table width="62%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td width="62%" height="59"><em><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-3.mp3"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Intro/Intro_6.gif" width="254" height="49" https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/border="0"></a></em></td> + <td width="38%" valign="middle"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-3.mp3">Listen! + <img src="Images/Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font></td> + </tr> +</table> +<em>We successfully took part in the effort using a formal set of varying parts +on behalf of the group of people with whom you anhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/d he are associated.</em><br> +<p alhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ign="justify"> </p> +<table width="62%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td width="62%" height="59"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-6.mp3"><img shttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/rc="Images/Intro/Intro_12.gif" width="188" height="52https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/" border="0"></a></td> + <td widthttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/h="38%" valign="middle"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-6.mp3">Listen!</a> + <a href="Sound_Files/Intro-6.mp3"><img src="Images/Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font></td> + </tr> +</table> +<em>The sound coming from the banks of prihttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/nters kept on steadily repeating.</https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/em> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<table width="68%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td width="85%" height="59"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-5.mp3"><img shttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/rc="Images/Intro/Intro_11.gif" width="372" height="61https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/" border="0"></a></td> + <td widthttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/h="15%" valign="middle"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-5.mp3">Listen!</a> + <a href="Sound_Files/Intro-5.mp3"><img src="Images/Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font></td> + </tr> +</table> +<em>As it turned out, the snake-handler apparently began trapping each mouse in +a container, one at a time like clhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ockwork.</em><br> +<p align="justifyhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/"> </p> +<table width="62%" height="65" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> + <tr> + <td width="82%" height="33"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-4.mp3"><img src="Images/Chhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/%2010/10-1-2l.gif" width="287" height="33" border="0"https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/></a></td> + <td width="18%" rowshttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/pan="2" valign="middle"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-4.mp3">Listen!</a> + <a href="Sounhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/d_Files/Intro-4.mp3"><img src="Imaghttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/es/Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30"><em><a href="Sound_Files/Intro-4.mp3"><img src="Images/Intro/Intro_7.gif" width="345" height="21" border="0" align="top"></a></em></td> + </tr> +</table> +<em>Aided by the bird’s own stupidity, the man, in inadvertently letting +it out of the house, unexpectedly and accidentally killed it without even realizing +he’d done so.</em><br> +<p align="justify"><br> + Such detail plus conciseness is possible due to the design of the grammar, essentially + a matrix of grammatical concepts and structures designed for compactness, cross-functionality + and reusability. This matrix-like grammar is combined with a vocabulary/lexicon + of semantic stems which (1) are capable of a high degree of flexibility and + synergism within that matrix, (2) have been completely reconceptualized from + the cognitive level up regardless of their correspondence to actual word roots + and grammatical categories in existing languages, and (3) reflect the inherent + dependencies and interrelationships between one semantic concept and another. + Therefore, the morphemes of the language (i.e., word-roots, suffixes, prefixes, + grammatical categories, etc.) are as phonetically brief as possible, function + in multiple roles with one another, and correspond more closely to human cognitive + categories than in natural languages. In this fashion, a limited number of sounds + and word-roots can be made to generate a vast array of variations and derivations + corresponding to and even surpassing all of the grammatical and semantic functions + of the usual stock of words, phrases, and idiomatic constructions in natural + languages. These linguistic design principles are described in greater detail + in the sections below by means of illustrative analogies with English examples. +</p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td height="21" colspan="5" valign="middle" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <p><strong><font size="4">0.3 + A Synergistic Matrix of Semantic and Grammatical Categories</font></strong></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">The above-described matrix can be dramatically illustrated + by describing the distinct difference between Ithkuil and other languages in + the way its lexicon (stock of word-roots) has been created and the principles + underlying its lexico-semantics (the relationship between words and meaning). + In natural languages, the choice as to what mental concepts and categories will + be overtly reflected as word-roots and stems is arbitrary and unsystematic (while + in most invented languages, the lexicon is by and large consciously or sub-consciously + patterned after that of natural languages). While it is true that virtually + all languages reflect certain basic universals of word choice (e.g., all have + words for <em>sun, moon, speak, mother, father, laugh, I, you, one, two, water, + blood, black, white, hot, cold</em>, etc.), the manner in which these words + are created is haphazard and with little regard for basic conceptual interrelationships. + The result, in most cases, is a plethora of separate, distinct word roots which + bear no morpho-phonological, or morpho-semantic relation to one another (i.e., + the patterns of sounds used to create particular words are unsystematic and + independent for each word-root regardless of whether those word-roots are semantically + or cognitively related to one another). Ithkuil word-roots have been created + in a more efficient and systematic manner, with a recognition that the interrelatedness + between what are large sets of discrete words in other languages can be formalized + and systematized into a vast array or matrix of derivational rules, the result + being a drastic reduction in the number of basic word-roots, which in turn allows + all individual stems to be extremely compact phonologically-speaking. </p> +<p align="justify">For example, consider the following series of English words: + <em>see, sight, vision, glimpse, stare, gawk, view, panorama, look, eye, glance, + visualize</em>. Note how each of these is a separate, autonomous word despite + the fact that it shares a single underlying semantic concept with the others + (a concept which we can conveniently refer to as <font size="2">SIGHT/VISION</font>), + each representing a mere manipulation of either durational aspect, situational + perspective, or manner of participation relating to that underlying concept. + What is more, these manipulations are, by and large, haphazardly applied, vague, + subjective, and particular to the specific underlying concept (i.e., the aspectual/perspectival + manipulations applied to <font size="2">SIGHT/VISION</font> do not parallel + those manipulations applied to the concept <font size="2">TRANSFERENCE OF POSSESSION</font> + by which we derive the series <em>give, take, receive, steal, donate, lend, + borrow, send</em>, etc.). </p> +<p align="justify">In Ithkuil, it is the seminal underlying concept which is lexified + into a word-root which then undergoes a series of regular, predictable, and + universally applicable modifications at the morphological (i.e., grammatical) + level to generate new words that, in some cases, parallel such series of English + words, but in most cases, far exceed the dynamism and range of such English + word series. This is illustrated by the list of Ithkuil words in the table below, + all of which are simply grammatical derivations, using affixes and systematic + phonemic mutations (i.e., sound shifts), of a single word-root <strong><font color="#FF0000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">r–q</font></strong> + whose meaning is translatable as ‘<font size="2">EXISTENT THING; TO EXIST + (AS SOMETHING)</font>.’ Alongside each word is its translation. (Note: + the translations below represent convenient approximations at best, as purely + literal translations would have to capture the systematic and derivative structure + of the Ihttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/thkuil words. For example, the word<font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> + </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>amriqoçi<img src="Images/Ch%201/Symbols/Qv.gif" width="10" height="18" align="absmiddle"></strong></font><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> + </font> translated below as ‘destroy’ literally means ‘unmake + a constructed componential set by extreme violence.’ Note also that the + list below represents only a smalhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/l number of the thousands of derivations theoretically + possible for this single word-root.)</p> +<table width="73%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td><img src="Images/Intro/Intro_4.gif" width="555" height="668"></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">Another principle underlying the formation of words in Ithkuil + is <strong>complementarity</strong>. Western thought and language generally + reflect Aristotelian logic in the way they conceptualize the world and the interrelationships + between discrete entities in that world. Ithkuil, on the other hand, views the + world as being based on complementary principles, where, instead of discrete + independence between related entities, such concepts are seen as complementary + aspects of a single holistic entity. Such complementarity is in turn reflected + in the derivation of word-roots. By “complementarity” is meant that + the manifestation of a concept appears in any given context as either one sort + of entity or another, but never both simultaneously; yet, neither manifestation + can be considered to be a discrete whole without the existence of the other. + A simple illustration of complementarity is the flip of a coin: the coin can + only land on one side or the other, yet without both sides being part of the + coin, any given coin toss has no meaning or contextual relevance no matter which + side is face-up. </p> +<p align="justify">For example, in Western languages, words such as <em>male</em>, + <em>night</em>, <em>limb</em>, <em>sit</em>, and <em>happen</em> are all autonomous + words, linguistically representing what are inherently considered to be basic + mental concepts or semantic primitives. However, in Ithkuil, none of these words + is considered to be a semantic primitive. Instead, they are seen to be parts + of greater, more holistic semantic concepts, existing in complementary relationship + to another part, the two together making up the whole. </p> +<p align="justify">Thus, Ithkuil lexical structure recognizes that the word <em>male</em> + has no meaning in and of itself without an implicit recognition of its complementary + partner, <em>female</em>, the two words mutually deriving from a more basic, + holistic concept, translatable into English as <em>living being</em>. Similarly, + the word <em>night(time)</em> derives along with its complement <em>day(time)</em> + from the underlying concept translatable as <em>day</em> (24-hour period), while + <em>limb</em>, along with its complement <em>trunk</em> or <em>torso</em>, derives + from the stem <em>(corporeal) body</em>. </p> +<p align="justify">Actions, too, are not exempt from this principle of complementarity, + an example being the relationship between <em>sit</em> and <em>seat</em>; one + has no meaning without an implicit and joint partnership with the other, i.e., + one cannot sit unless one sits upon something, and whatever one sits upon automatically + functions as a seat. We see the awkward attempt of English to convey these jointly + dependent but mutually exclusive perspectives when comparing the sentences <em>Please + sit down</em> and <em>Please be seated</em>. Another example involves the word + <em>happen</em> or <em>occur</em>, which Ithkuil recognizes as having no real + meaning without the attendant implication of <em>consequence</em> or <em>result</em>, + the two being complementary components of a holistic concept roughly translatable + as <em>event</em> or <em>situation</em>.</p> +<p align="justify">The Ithkuil word for <em>hole</em> illustrates another instance + of complementarity. Holes can be looked at from two different, but interrelated + perspectives: either as an opening connecting two different spaces (or access + point to a previously unavailable space, i.e., a pit), or as a discontinuity + in the surface or structural integrity of the dividing entity separating the + two realms. In other words, one can focus on the potential function or consequences + of the hole, or on the structural nature of the hole. Either of these two perspectives + represents a legitimate, but complementary way to consider a hole or puncture. + Thus, the Ithkuil word would have two derivative roots each indicating one of + these two perspectives. One such root would be used when saying <em>There’s + a hole in your shirt</em>, while the other would be used when saying <em>She + saw me through a hole in the fence</em>.</p> +<p align="justify">Ithkuil recognizes that such complementarity exists for virtually + any concept, in fact that it is one of the foundational principles of the universe + itself. No beam of light can be spoken of without implicit recognition of its + source. No signal can be described without accounting for the signaling device. + Indeed, in Ithkuil no river is without its channel, no surface without its firmament, + no message without its medium, no sense impression without its sense faculty, + no contents without their container, no occurrence without its consequence, + no memory without its present effect, no plan without its purpose, no music + without its playing, no relief without prerequisite deprivation, no pleasure + without its absence, no motion without space in which to move.</p> +<p align="justify">Other principles underlying Ithkuil word-derivation include + the interrelated principles of fuzzy logic, prototype theory, and radial categorization. + Incorporation of these principles into the architecture for word-formation allows + roots to be grouped into various types of affiliated sets, each of which then + functions as a conceptual gestalt, the individual members of which being marked + as having varying degrees and kinds of relatedness or similarity to a hypothetical + prototype member or archetype. Thus, Ithkuil is able to systematically derive + words such as <em>crowd, mob, group, troop, club, association, assembly, </em>and + <em>gathering</em> all from the single root-word <em>person</em>. Similarly, + words such as <em>grove, orchard, forest, woods, jungle</em>, and <em>copse</em> + can all be derived from the single root-word <em>tree</em>.</p> +<p align="justify">As one last example exemplifying the dynamism and conciseness + of Ithkuil lexico-semantics, consider the following list of English words and + phrases: <em>drenched, wet, damp, moist, near-dry, dry, parched</em>. Rather + than provide separate autonomous words for these concepts, Ithkuil recognizes + that these terms all indicate relative degrees of moisture along a continuous + range. Such continua would be addressed by a single root whose meaning more + or less corresponds to <font size="2">[DEGREE OF] MOISTURE</font> to which an + array of simple suffixes would be added to specify the particular degree along + that range, all the way from <em>bone dry</em> (or <em>parched</em>) through + <em>drenched </em> to<em> saturated</em>. All such phenomena which Western languages + tend to semantically delineate into binary oppositions (e.g., <em>hard/soft, + light/dark, shallow/deep</em>, etc.) are recognized and lexified in Ithkuil + as single roots which then systematically use suffixes to specify the particular + degree along a continuous range.</p> +<p align="justify">The above paragraphs illustrate how Ithkuil is able to capture + and systematically present at the morphological level what other languages accomplish + haphazardly at the lexical level. By systematically finding and structuring + the covert dependencies and interrelationships between what are disparate words + in other languages, the hundreds of thousands of words in a language like English + are drastically reduced down to the 3600 word-roots of Ithkuil. This is morpho-lexical + efficiency on a grand scale. Nevertheless, by means of the matrix-like morphological + scheme previously described, each of these 3600 roots can in turn generate thousands + of permutations to convey complex and subtle semantic distinctions and operations + which dwarf the capacity of existing languages to convey without resorting to + cumbersome paraphrase. This is lexico-semantic and morpho-semantic efficiency + on an equally grand scale. Such a synergistic design for grammar lends a dynamism + that allows the Ithkuil language to describe reality to a minute lehttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/vel of detail + and exactitude despite a limited number of word-roots. This dynamism is visible + throughout this work, but is discussed in systematic detail in <a href="ithkuil-ch10-lexicosemantics.htm">Chapter + 10: Lexico-Semantics</a>.</p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td height="21" colspan="5" valign="middle" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <p><strong><font size="4">0.4 + Addressing the Vagueness Inherent in Natural Languages</font></strong></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">To further illustrate the cognitive depth at which Ithkuil + operates, consider one of the most pervasive aspects of natural human languages: + semantic vagueness. For example, consider the following four English sentences:</p> +<blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p align="justify">(a)<em> The boy rolled down the hill.</em><br> + (b) <em>Maybe she just stopped smoking.</em><br> + (c) <em>Joe didn’t win the lottery yesterday.</em><br> + (d) <em>There is a dog on my porch.</em></p> + </blockquote> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify">In examining these four sentences most native English speakers + would deny that any vagueness exists. This is because the vagueness does not + exist in terms of the overt meanings of the words themselves. Rather, the vagueness + lies at the nearly subconscious level of their grammatical (or syntactical) + relations and cognitive intent. For example, in sentence (a) we have no idea + whether the boy chose to roll himself down the hill or whether he was pushed + against his will. (In formal linguistic terms we would say it is unknown whether + the semantic role of the subject ‘boy’ is as <em>agent</em> or <em>patient</em>.) + And yet knowing which scenario is correct is crucial to understanding the speaker’s + intent in describing the action. </p> +<p align="justify">Imagine sentence (b) <em>Maybe she just stopped smoking</em> + being spoken as an answer to the question ‘Why does she seem so irritable?’ + In interpreting sentence (b), we have no idea whether the subject is indeed + a smoker or not; i.e., is the speaker offering this speculation because he/she + knows the subject to be a smoker, or as mere conjecture without knowledge one + way or the other whether the subject smokes or not? </p> +<p align="justify">Sentence (c) <em>Joe didn’t win the lottery yesterday</em> + illustrates four-way ambiguity. Joe’s failure to win the lottery could + be either because: the speaker knows Joe didn’t play; because the speaker + knows Joe did play but lost; because the speaker doesn’t know whether + Joe played or not and is simply voicing a conjecture; or because the statement + is an inference based on some indirect clue (e.g., since Joe showed up for work + today, he must not have won the lottery).</p> +<p align="justify">And while sentence (d) <em>There is a dog on my porch s<em></em></em>eems + on its surface to be the most straightforward of the four, is the intent of + the speaker to simply describe and identify the participants to a scene, or + does she wish to convey the idea that the scene has personal significance to + her, e.g., because she has a phobia of dogs or has been waiting for a long-lost + pet dog to return home? In other words, the sentence itself does not convey + the intent behind the utterance, only the static description of the scene.</p> +<p align="justify">In all four instances, such vagueness exists unless and until + the audience can ascertain information from the surrounding context of other + sentences. This shows that, despite the fact that all four sentences are grammatically + well-formed English sentences whose words in and of themselves are unambiguous, + their grammar alone is insufficient to convey the cognitive information necessary + to fully comprehend the intent of the speaker’s utterance. This failure + of grammar to inherently convey the requisite information necessary to understand + a speaker’s cognitive intent is a functional pitfall of human language + in general which Ithkuil grammar has been designed to avoid. The Ithkuil equivalents + to the above four sentences would mandatorily convey all of the “missing” + information noted above without requiring any extra words not corresponding + to the English originals. The grammatical elements of the words themselves (word-selection, + declensions, conjugations, prefixes, suffixes, etc.) would convey all the elements + mentioned.</p> +<p align="justify">Similar examples can be given to show the extent to which natural + languages such as English must often resort to idiomatic expressions, metaphor, + paraphrase, circumlocution and “supra-segmental” phenomena (e.g., + changing the pitch of one’s voice) in their attempts to convey a speaker’s + intended meaning. Ithkuil grammar has been designed to overtly and unambiguously + reflect the intention of a speaker with a minimum of such phenomena.</p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td height="22" colspan="5" valign="top" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <p><font size="4"><strhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ong>0.5 + Comparison to Other Constructed Languages</strong></font></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">Those readers familiar with the history of <a href="http://donh.best.vwh.https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/net/Esperanto/EBook/chap03.html#introduction" target="_blank">artificial + language construction</a> might think this endeavor belated or unnecessary, + in that <a href="http://minyeva.alkaline.org/links.htm" target="_blank">logical + languages</a> such as James Cooke Brown’s renowned Loglan (or its popular + derivative, Lojban) already exist. This serves to illustrate exactly what distinguishes + Ithkuil from such previous attempts. Loglan was published in the 1950s as a + spoken/written language based on symbolic logic (formally known as the first-order + predicate calculus), an algorithmic system of symbol manipulation devised by + mathematicians and logicians. As a result, one might think that such a language + is the most capable means of achieving logical, unambiguous linguistic communication. + However, Loglan and its derivatives are merely sophisticated tools for symbol + manipulation, i.e., the levels of language previously described as morphology + and syntax. It is not within the scope of such languages to address any reorganization + of the semantic realm. This means that symbolic logic simply manipulates arguments + which are input into the system, they do not analyze the origin of those arguments + in terms of meaning, nor are they capable of analyzing or formalizing the structure + of the cognitive or semantic realm of the human mind in terms of how meaning + itself is assigned to arguments. (Indeed, Lojban derives its roots via statistical + “sampling” of the most frequent roots in the six most spoken natural + languages, a method virtually guaranteed to carry over into the Lojban lexicon + all of the lexico-semantic inefficiencies previously described.) By not addressing + these components of language, Loglan and similar efforts fail to address the + inconsistencies and inefficiency inherent in language at the lexico-semantic + level. Ithkuil has been designed to systematically address this issue. </p> +<p align="justify">Other readers might think of international languages (or “interlanguages”) + such as Esperanto, Interlingua, or Ido, as being logical and efficient representations of language. + However, these languages are merely simplified, regularized amalgamations of + existing languages (usually Indo-European), designed for ease of learning. While + addressing many overt irregularities, inconsistencies, and redundancies of language + found at the morpho-phonological and morpho-syntactic levels, they do little + to address the problems found within the other components of language, especially + the lexico-semantic. For example, while Esperanto admirably employs systematic + rules for word derivation as <em>knabo</em> ‘boy’ versus <em>knabino</em> + ‘girl,’ it preserves the basic lexico-semantic categorization scheme + of Indo-European languages in general, rather than seeking opportunities to + expand such word derivation schemes into multidimensional arrays as will be + shortly illustrated for Ithkuil.</p> +<p align="justify">All in all, neither logical languages such as Loglan nor interlanguages + such as Esperanto, are designed specifically to achievehttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ the purpose of cognitive + exactness and conciseness of communication which is the goal of Ithkuil. Actually, + Ithkuil might more readily be compared with the <a href="http://www.alamut.com/subj/artiface/language/johnWilkins.html" target="_blank">analytical + language of John Wilkins</a> of the Royal Society of London, published in 1668, + in which he divided the realm of human conception into forty categories, each + containing a hierarchy of subcategories and sub-subcategories, each in turn + systematically represented in the phonological structure of an individual word. + For example an initial <em>g</em>- might stand for a plant, while <em>go</em>- + indicated a tree, <em>gob</em>- a particular class of tree, and <em>gobo</em> + a particular tree species. While unworkable in terms of specifics, Wilkins’ + underlying principles are similar in a simplistic way to some of the abstract + derivational principles employed in Ithkuil lexico-morphology and lexico-semantics. + Another comparable predecessor in a simplistic sense is the musical language, + Solresol, created by Jean François Sudre and published in + 1866.</p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td height="22" colspan="5" valign="top" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <p><font size="4"><strong>0.6 + The Uniqueness of Ithkuil</strong></font></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">The above description demonstrates that Ithkuil is rather unique + in the niche it occupies in the array of both natural and invented languages. + The design of Ithkuil has slowly and painstakingly evolved from my early attempts + as a teenager (following my introduction to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and Charles + Fillmore’s seminal 1968 article on case grammar) to explore beyond the + boundaries of Western Indo-European languages to a complex, intricate array + of interwoven grammatical concepts, many of which are wholly of my own creation, + others of which have been inspired by such obscure linguistic sources as the + morpho-phonology of Abkhaz verb complexes, the moods of verbs in certain American + Indian languages, the aspectual system of Niger-Kordofanian languages, the nominal + case systems of Basque and the Dagestanian languages, the enclitic system of + Wakashan languages, the positional orientation systems of Tzeltal and Guugu + Yimidhirr, the Semitic triliteral root morphology, and the hearsay and possessive + categories of Suzette Elgin’s Láadan language, not to mention ideas + inspired by countless hours studying texts in theoretical linguistics, cognitive + grammar, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, linguistic relativity, semantics, + semiotics, philosophy, fuzzy set theory, and even quantum physics. </p> +<p align="justify">The Ithkuil writing system likewise derives from both original + and inspired sources: it employs a unique “morpho-phonemic” principle + of my own invention, its logical design borrows from the mutational principles + underlying the Ethiopic and Brahmi scripts, and its aesthetic visual design + bears a superficial resemblance to Hebhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/rew square script and the various Klingon + fonts.</p> +<p align="justify">As for the name of the language, Ithkuil, it is an anglicized + rendering of the word <img src="Images/Intro_5.gif" width="40" height="20" align="absbottom">, + whose approximate translation is ‘hypothetical language.’ </p> +<p align="justify">This website provides a systematic presentation of the grammar + of the language. In addition to a description of the various components of the + grammar, the reader will find example phrases or sentences illustrating those + components. Each example comprises an Ithkuil word, phrase, or sentence written + in native Ithkuil script, accompanied by a Romanized transliteration, an English + translation (sometimes divided into a “natural” versus literal translation), + and a morphological analysis. The morphological analysis is presented serially, + morpheme-by-morpheme, using three-letter abbreviations or labels for Ithkuil + morphological categories. These labels are presented within the body of the + work in conjunction with the explanation of each morphological category. This + system is illustrated by the example below, where the labels <font size="2">OBL</font> + and <font size="2">PRP</font> refer https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/to the <font size="2">OBLIQUE</font> and + <font size="2">PROPRIETIVE</font> noun cases respectively. (These noun cases + are explhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ained in <font color="#FF0000"><a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm" onClick="javascript:changenav4();">Chapter + 4</a></font>):</p> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify"><img src="Images/Intro/Intro_3.gif" width="84" height="21"><br> + <strong>têr hionn</strong><br> + <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">title</font>-<font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">OBL</font> + <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">father</font>-<font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRP</font><br> + <em>‘a father’s title’</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify">This work is not meant as a primer or means of self-instruction + in speaking the language, a task beyond even its creator, given that Ithkuil + may be perhaps the most grammatically complex language ever devised. Simplicity + was not my purpose, but rather bridging the gap between extreme morphological + dynamism, the overt reflection of human cognitive processes via language, and + extreme morpho-semantic economy and efficiency. I believe I have achieved a + result which is close to the ideal I sought. I leave it to the reader to explore + that result.</p> +<p align="justify">I wish to thank all of those who have taken an interest in Ithkuil. I especially wish to thank Stanislav Kozlovskiy, whose 2004 article “The Speed of Thought” brought Ithkuil to the attention of so manyhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ people. Спасибо, Стас! Thanks also to Lexa Samons for his hard work in translating the original <a href="http://ithkuil-russiahttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/n.narod.ru/" target="_blank">Ithkuil site into Russian</a>. My appreciation also to fellow linguist and conlanger Davhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/id J. Peterson for bestowing upon Ithkuil the <a href="http://dedalvs.cohttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/nlang.org/smileys/2008.html" target="_blank">2008 Smiley Award</a>. </p> +<p align="center"><a href="http://dedalvs.conlang.org/smileys/2008.html" target="_blank"><img src="smiley_award.PNG" alt="Smiley Award" width="214" height="80" border="0" longdesc="http://dedalvs.conlang.org/smileys/2008.html"></a></p> +<p align="justify">I dedicate this work to my brother, Paul, in fond memory of + <em>Kccöj</em>, <em>Mbozo</em>, and our other made-up langhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/uages, and all + the fun times we had as kids learning about and playing with linguistics.</p> +<p align="right"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch1-phonology.htm" onClick="javascript:changenav1();">Proceed + to Chapter One: Phonology >></a></font></strong></p> +<p align="center"> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td width="9%" height="25" valign="top"><https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/div align="left"><font size="1"><a name="menu"></a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sanhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/s-serif"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a></font></div></td> + <td width="37%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch5a-verbs.htm">5a + Verb Morphohttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/logy </a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch9-syntax.htm">9 + Syntax</a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"><div align="left"><https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/etica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-intro.htm">Introduction</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ch5b-verbs-contd.htm">5b + Verb Morphology (continued)</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch10-lexicosemantics.htm">10 + Lexico-Semantics</a></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valighttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/n="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-sehttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/rif"><a href="ithkuil-ch1-phonology.htm">1 + Phonology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch6-moreverbs.htm">6 + Morhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/e Verb Morphology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch11-script.htm">11 + Thttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/he Script </a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch2-morphophonology.htm">2 + Morpho-Phonology</a></font><font size="2">&nbhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/sp;</font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7a-affixes.htm">7a + Using Affixes </a></font></fohttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/nt></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch12-numbers.htm">12 + The Number System</a></font></font><https://web.archive.org/font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font size="2"> </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch3-https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/morphology.htm">3 + Basic Morphology</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">7bhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/ + Using Affixes (continued) </a></font></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-lexicon.htm">Thhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/e + Lexicon</a></font></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Hehttps://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/lvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">4 + Case Morphology </a></font> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606100823id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/"Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch8-adjuncts.htm">8 + Adjuncts</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ilaksh/Ilaksh_Intro.html" target="_blank">Revised Ithkuil: <font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">I</font>laksh</a></font></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p><font size="-1">©2004-2011 by John Quijada. You may copy or excerpt any portion + of the contents of this website provided you give full attribution to the author + and this website. </font></p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<p> </p> +</body> +</html> |