Thread:ThisIsXenon/@comment-32273133-20190602002333

yeah conlangery is cool

I’m working on Xenon’s birth language right now, might poke at the one for the djinns later.

There’s a lot that goes into making a language—it’s more than making up words and saying that they mean things. Language is incredibly complex. You have to consider phonetics [pulmonic and nonpulmonic consonants, clusters, and diphthongs] syntax, grammar, usage, and script. Currently I’m in the phonetics stage for Xenon’s language [tentatively it’s called K’ap’ana, but that’s like two ejectives in a row so idk], dipping my toe into word creation [for GGaD fic purposes]. I’ll use this thread to spew linguistical jargon about it and probably ask a bunch of questions about whether something sounds weird or is it just me.

Currently I’m trying to decide whether masculine and feminine third person singular pronouns [he and she] are needed or if I can just go with a singular they. This is both a grammar and a cultural question:  grammar because when working with pronouns those are normal and I need to figure out if I want to keep them, and cultural because what if a culture didn’t care so much about gender and/or didn’t want to misgender anyone so they stuck with a gender neutral pronoun for everyone? That would be super cool, but I’m not sure if Xenon’s culture was that cool, plus some people might have preferred to use gendered pronouns? Maybe the gender neutral pronoun was standard until you knew what someone preferred?

Decisions, decisions. I’ve already made masculine and feminine and neutral pronouns, now it’s just figuring out when there’s I want to use them or not  