Gendered or classed 3rd-person pronouns can be useful for clarity when you have multiple things to refer to (though only if they have different genders/classes). For a conlang I'm making, which has no class system, I decided to make two different 3rd-person pronouns. The "primary" one is used for the first referent that was mentioned, and the "secondary" for subsequent referents. I know some languages use switch-reference for a similar purpose, but I was wondering if any natlangs or conlangs did anything like this.

A while ago, I've decided that my conlang Leturi will do pronouns similarly to Indonesian. So they function as subject, object, and possessive pronouns. For example:

Si k'en - I speak (lit. I speak)

Then k'en si - You speak (to) me (lit. You speak I)

K'enoken si - My language (lit. language I)

I've already decided that's how it works but I just had an idea. Is it possible for Leturi to have a separate set of possessive pronouns (preferably suffixes) which are separate from the main pronouns?

These pronouns would only be used for certain words or phrases such as family terms or certain inalienable nouns. These suffixes would no longer be productive (i.e. you can't make new words with them) in modern Leturi.

An example:

K'enoken si - My language (lit. language I)

BUT:

Majolta - My son (lit. son-my) In this, -ta means "my" and is from a diferent set of pronouns.

I am aware that Indonesian does have suffixing possessive pronouns (bunga-ku means "my flower) but they're pretty much the same as the standard pronouns (Aku berbicara means "I speak")

Hey guys, here is my rendition of Schleicher's fable in my Indo-European conlang, Danetian.

One interesting thing about Danetian is that instead of using a verb to denote possession, it prefers to use a dative construction. Thus, you would say Ovis, jasmai launa ne est "A sheep, to whom wool not was".

Another interesting thing you will see is that adverbs are simply made from their corresponding adjective in the instrumental case, plus the word djystre, which is the instrumental of "hand". Thus, bire djystre "quickly" literally translates to "with a quick hand". This is similar to Latin's usage of the word mente, if you are familiar with it.

You can read this text and others on my website.

So, I've been working on a conlang for quite some time now, and I've devised a gramattical "alignment" of sorts, the likes of which I have not seen anywhere. I have grown to give it the name "noun-dependent valency", or, slightly more narcissistically, the "Meonic Alignment"

Basically, the idea is that agency can be given to any noun phrase regardless of its actual case role. The agent is always the first noun phrase after the verb.

For example, we have the sentence "J'toka al takep", which means "We're visiting the lake". J'toka "to visit" has no marking, taking on a present continuous tense. "al", "we", is the subject, so it takes no marking as well. "kep" takes the accusative prefix "ta". The first noun phrase is the semantic agent, as well as the grammatical subject, so we get an active voice. Easy.

However, if we were to swap the second and third word, we would get "J'toka takep al". The grammatical object, is now the semantic agent, so we get a passive voice! The sentence now means "it is the lake that we're visiting", or simply "The lake is being visited by us", the distinction only made by swapping the words around - no verb modification required!

This system can be used in a lot more ways than you think. For example, the language has no verb for "to have". Instead, you promote the phrase "of x" to the agent. As an example: "O ś'rel tola" means "The house is mine" (literally "Is house of-me"). But, if we were to shift the ourselves to agent position, we get the sentence "O tola ś'rel", which literally means something like "It is of me that the house is", or simply "I own the house"!

The examples are countless. By agent-ifying the noun phrase "because of x", we get a meaning akin to a causative ("it is because of x that this is happening"). By rearranging the sentence "We are inside the house" to make "house" the agent, the sentence takes on a new meaning! "Being the thing we're inside of" is now a conscious (?) action, which the house is performing!

I'm really proud of this system, but, again, I have seen no language, real or not, utilising it. Could someone help me put a label on this? Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

This is a game of borrowing and loaning words! To give our conlangs a more naturalistic flair, this game can help us get realistic loans into our language by giving us an artificial-ish "world" to pull words from!

The Telephone Game will be posted every Monday and Friday, hopefully.

Rules

1) Post a word in your language, with IPA and a definition.

Note: try to show your word inflected, as it would appear in a typical sentence. This can be the source of many interesting borrowings in natlangs (like how so many Arabic words were borrowed with the definite article fossilized onto it! algebra, alcohol, etc.)

2) Respond to a post by adapting the word to your language's phonology, and consider shifting the meaning of the word a bit!

3) Sometimes, you may see an interesting phrase or construction in a language. Instead of adopting the word as a loan word, you are welcome to calque the phrase -- for example, taking skyscraper by using your language's native words for sky and scraper. If you do this, please label the post at the start as Calque so people don't get confused about your path of adopting/loaning.

Last Time...

Nambano by /u/gupdoo3

xabe /ʃabe/ (noun) key

puribado /pɯɾibado/ (adjective) private

Take care of yourselves and each other

Peace, Love, & Conlanging ❤️

I’m using my goblin language in a faux academia project that also involves Edgar Allan Poe. Basically, how would Poe’s stories differ in a world where goblins were real. I’d like to get some reactions to what I’ve written so far. It’s something like 4,000 words (only a few lines of Goblin. No translation to worry about). Would anyone be interested in reading it and giving feedback?

So, my main conlang has base-9 counting, but 9 itself is a single-digit number in the language, so their counting would go 7 8 9 11 12...

i know this is a primitive system of counting in our world, but i can't find any real-life examples of it, nor if there is any named distinction between systems with and without "sets of zeros" like how we count to 10s. So i was wondering if anyone here knows what that's called, a system where the highest number in any set is treated as a single-digit like the rest of the numbers...

Hey guys, here are the declension paradigms for my Indo-European conlang, Danetian. You can read more about the language over here.

You will see that the language is very conservative, preserving the PIE ablaut in words that used to have it.

Do these forms feel familiar to you?

This is different from the Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights (as well as non-human rights) are very important to Aengisian culture.

They’ve written lots of rules, so here’s a short excerpt to act as a translation exercise!

Laws of Organisms and Humanity
kos ju xem si ne so jok faj
thing SUB person and of that one.COL rule

All beings are free to live.
mej kak ja kjan e sum.
organism all exist possible PRED POLI

They are not bound by humans or others, but by nature.
mom kos ju xem nu nil, nen ja kjak e sum.
other object SUB person or against nature exist limit PRED POLI

One should not care about difference unless of ill-intent.
sot ju mat xot ne so na so la, on ja cap lan naj ep.
outside SUB bad want of that see that if.exist 1IMP exist different see NEG.POLI JUSS

Unity is built from connected parts, not from disconnected parts.
mom we ja lik hi so mo e et, kat mo e nil sum.
other with exist crystal resemble that part PRED from separate part PRED against POLI

Sapient creatures will work alongside humans in peace.
xem ne so nar ek, xem e im so jan ja an næ nas.
person of that neighbor in people PRED NEG that people exist thing do well

Notes:
- kos means a physical thing (an object if you will) but is used here to mean non-human organism
- mej means organism in general (human or non-human)
- xem means any “person” but is here used to mean human
- jan means a population of beings but is used here to mean any sapient being.

Hello! I’ve been working on my conlang for some time now, and I’d really appreciate some advice from anyone willing to offer it.

This is my first time sharing my conlang publicly and asking for feedback, so please forgive me if I’ve forgotten something important or struggle to explain certain aspects clearly.

My conlang is called Kkin, which has a lot of complex meaning behind it, but can be roughly translated as “Among Allies.”

The language has had several older names, some of which are now obsolete. Over time, the name was shortened to Kkin for simplicity.

Kkin was developed for an extensive creative project involving me and my friends. It has three dialects or versions:

Kishin
Ara’nan
Omate

For now, I’m prioritizing Kishin, which uses Latin characters for writing.

The people who speak Kkin have human vocal anatomy. I developed its sounds largely by experimenting with pronunciation and combinations of sounds, with the intention that its words should be reproducible by ordinary human speakers.

I know the language is still in its early stages, and I’m looking for advice on what works, what doesn’t, and what I should research further.

These are the areas where I’d particularly appreciate feedback.

Phonology and writing system

Are there too many consonants and vowels in my inventory? Do any of the sounds or combinations seem unnecessarily complicated?
Do any of the sounds seem particularly difficult for a human speaker to reproduce?
Does the sound inventory feel plausible, and do the spelling conventions seem intuitive?

Grammar

Does my SVO sentence structure work? Are there important details I should clarify?
Is the ske rule understandable, or does it feel unnecessarily complicated? Does making its use depend on the final word of a sentence seem workable?
Are my tense, negation, question, number, and pronoun rules clear enough to learn from these examples? Where would you expect a learner to get confused?

Vocabulary and language development

Does my approach to deriving new words feel organic, or does it seem too heavily based on English? Are there any patterns I should reconsider?
Do any of my root words resemble vulgarities, clichés, or unintended meanings in major natural languages?
Does Kkin feel like a language that could plausibly be spoken by a human community, rather than a collection of invented words and grammar rules?

Learning resources and speaking practice

What resources, books, websites, or apps would you recommend for organizing a conlang’s phonology, grammar, vocabulary, and historical development?
How do you practice speaking your conlang when nobody else speaks it? I find it difficult to immerse myself in the language without other speakers, so I’d love to hear how others approach this.

What Should I Work on Next?

I know Kkin is still in the early stages, and there is a lot I need to develop. I’d especially appreciate suggestions for what I should research next, whether that means phonology, morphology, syntax, language evolution, or something else.

Overall I want to make sure I’m doing this right. I’m not expecting the language to be perfect already. I’m hoping to learn from people with more experience and make it more coherent, natural, and enjoyable to speak.

Alright, this is some info on my Conlang.

Starting with my Alphabet/ Yoyaka
This is [Yoyaka characters in Kishin] <=> [IPA]

Consonants (49 consonants/ 49 + sounds):

B = /b/

C = /ˈs/

Ch = /ˈt͡ʃ/

Ck = /sk/

D = /d/

Dr = /d͡ɾː/

Drr = /d͡r̚/

F = /f/

G = /g/

-g [- = word ending] = /ɡ̚/

Gě = gɛ̤ / /giː/

-(i)gh = /j/

-Ght = /ʢt̚/

Ght = /ʜ/

H = /h/

Hh = /h͡ħ/

J- = /ʒ/

J = /d͡ʒ / ʐ/

K = /k/

Kk = /q͡χ/

Kh = /k͡h/

Kc = /ks/

L = /l / ɬ/

Ll = /lː/ only

L(v)’ = /ʎ(v)/

M = /mː/

Mm = /ɱ/

Mh = /mʱ/

Mn = /m͡n/

N = /ɲ/

Nn = /n/

Nh = /nʱ/

P = /pʰ/

Ph = /ɸ/

Ps = /p͡s/

Q = /kʲ/

Qc = /ʡ͡ċ̰/

R = /ɾ / ɹ /

Rr = /r/

T(v)r = /ʁ̃/

S = /z̥/

Ss = /t͡s/

Sh = /ʂ/

Sk = /skʼ/

T = /t / t̪ / tʰ/

Tt = /tː/

Ts = /t͡s/

V = /v/

W = /w̞/

X = /t͡s͡sɯ/

x = silent (Used to create a gap in consonants or softer end to a Vowel)

Z = /z/

Vowels (22 vowels/ 22 + sounds):

A = /ˈə̠/

À = /ɔː / a / æ/

Á = /eɪ̯/

Ā = /ɑ̃ː/

E = /ɛ/

È = /ɪ̈ːh / ɛ̤/

É = /iː/

Ē = /eɪ/

I = /i̯ / i/

Ì = /ɪ̯h/

Í = /aɪ̯/

Ī = /iː/

O =/** **̚ / (attach to preceding consonant. If vowel refer to O-)

O- = /oʊ̯/

Ó = /oʊ̯/

Ò = /ɔ̃/

Ō = /oː/

U = /u/

Ù = /ə/

Ú = /ju/

Ū = /uː/

Y = /j/

Ý = /waɪ/

There are special conventions as shown above. For example, O marks a consonant change, while O- represents a vowel sound. Lowercase x is silent in the relevant spelling convention. Are any of these to complex?

I know this looks like a lot, but I find most of the sounds fairly manageable to memorize and pronounce. I suspect the most difficult ones for new speakers will be Ght, Qc, and X. Especially Qc since it’s very common they are important to know.

I’d be interested to know whether my sound inventory seems plausible for a human language, whether the spelling conventions are intuitive, and whether I should simplify anything.

Note: The following is only a sample of the inventory. I have a more extensive list, including their IPA transcriptions and special spelling rules.

Kishin-English-Category
Kiné: I (Pronoun)
Kaé: She (Pronoun)
Koé: He (Pronoun)
Denka: Mother (Family)
Ghàraké: Friend (formal) (People)
Muira: Ocean (Nature)
Drranni: Earth (Nature)
Okta: Sun (Nature)
Mūn: Moon (Nature)
Pràh: Star (Nature)
Gwà: Go (Verb)
Hédà: Come (Verb)
Harà: See / look (Verb)
Mànà: Eat (Verb)
Lōvà: Love (Verb)
Marrāh: Food (Noun)
Seng: Fruit (Noun)
Nabé: Apples (Noun)
Bon: Good / nice (Adjective)
Ske: Sentence-ending particle (Grammar)
Bà: Not (Grammar)
Gě: Of (Grammar)

Sentence Structure and Grammar

Kishin generally follows subject–verb–object (SVO) word order.

My current sentence patterns are as follows:

Basic statement: Subject + Verb + Object/Description + Ske (when required)
Time statement: Time + Subject + Verb + Object/Description + Ske (when required)
Past Tense Time: Za/và + Time + Subject + Verb + ending (often Ren) + Object/Description + Ske (when required)
Past tense: Subject + Verb + zà/và + Object/Prepositions + Question/Ske/Negation
Future tense: Subject + U-shifted Verb + Object/Prepositions + Question/Ske/Negation
Negation: Sentence + Ske (when required) + bà
Question: Specification word + Sentence + No + Ske (when required)

Some of these rules are still being developed, so I’d especially appreciate feedback on whether they are clear and consistent.

The Ske rule

One of Kishin’s features is the use of ske, a spoken particle used to confirm the end of a sentence.

Ske is normally required unless the sentence ends with an anthropocentric word. In my current notes, this means certain words associated with people and human relationships can end a sentence without it.

For example:

With Ske:

Kaé mànás nabé ske.

“She eats apples.”

Nabé means “apple” and is not anthropocentric, so ske is used.

Without Ske:

Koé na’ás tu denka.

“He calls to his mother.”

Denka means “mother,” so ske is omitted.

Negation

Negation uses bà, which appears at the end of the sentence.

Kaé mànás nabé sho ske bà.

“She doesn’t eat apples.”

Questions

Questions use sho as a question-related word and no near the end of the sentence.

Sho kaé mànás nabé no ske?

“Does she eat apples?”

Sho kaé mànás nabé no ske bà?

“Does she not eat apples?”

Past and future tense

Past tense uses a marker such as zà or và.
Zà is for I /1st person.
Và is for you.

Kaé dó mànás và nabé ske.

“She did eat the apples.”

Kiné dó mànà zà nabé ske.

“I did eat the apples”

Future tense uses a modified form of the verb.

Kaé munás nabé ske.

“She will eat apples.”

I’m still working on making the tense rules and the placement of particles more consistent.

Numbers and Counting

Kishin has a number construction that differs from ordinary English word order.

The general pattern for quantities of three or more is:

Noun + Of + Number

Examples:

One:

Tan ist bé ske.

“That is an apple.”

Two:

Tan ist nabé ske.

“That is two apples.”

Three:

Tan ist bé gě inga ske.

“That is apple of three.”

In my current system, the second example can also express an unspecified quantity. I’m interested in whether this distinction is understandable or whether I should develop a more explicit number system.

Pronouns and Verb Markers

Another feature I’m experimenting with is a distinction between speaking about oneself, someone else, and a group that includes the speaker.

My current markers are:

-à: Associated with “me” or the speaker.
-á / -ás: Associated with “you” or someone other than the speaker, depending on context.
-à / -às: Forms that can be used when both the speaker and listener are included.

Almost every verb contains an A somewhere in its form, although not every word containing A is a verb.

I’m still working on making the rules for these markers easier to explain.

Age markers

Kishin also uses age-related suffixes that reflect age, familiarity, and social relationships:

-ka / -ko: Ages 0–16.
-ska / -sko: Common for ages 17 and older, or when addressing someone younger than or around the speaker’s age.
-vha: A neutral or formal marker, commonly associated with ages 24 and older, older people, strangers, or formal situations.

These markers are intended to reflect social context as well as age.

I also have vocabulary for colors, time, greetings, pronouns, grammatical particles, adjectives, and other concepts. I’m continuing to expand the lexicon alongside the grammar.

Cultural Context

Kkin is part of a larger creative project, so I’ve also been developing cultural elements alongside the language.

For example, I have designed traditional clothing for the people who speak Kishin, including:

Yabb: A lightweight inner dress.
Yabbo: A structured overdress inspired by the Russian sarafan.
Unoba: A knitted working coat designed to keep the wearer warm without restricting movement.
Pada: A protective pelt apron.
Etta: A three-layered status garment that can include inherited, highly detailed heirloom pieces.
Sàtà: A versatile knitted spring coat that can also be used as a carrier.
Okass: Woven summer shoes.
Dakass: Insulated winter boots with removable traction fittings.
Khaki: Strips of fabric wrapped around the feet in place of socks.
Dashki: Winter leg warmers.

I’m trying to make the language and the culture develop together rather than treating the language as an isolated vocabulary list.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! Any constructive feedback is welcome. I do hope this wasn’t to long.

Behold some words in my Indo-European conlang, Danetian. You will notice some very familiar words here. An interesting feature about Danetian is that it preserves the Indo-European ablaut, and actually generalizes it to many words that never had it.

Are you able to recognize any of these words just by looking at them?

Edit: The words are cited in their principal parts, the nominative and genitive singular.

Be it a phonological or grammatical one? Like, conjugating the negation particle for person instead of the verb, OVS word order or lack of plurality in pronouns

Currently I am working on creating a conglang for a world building project, this is my first time doing so and I'm not overly familiar with language rules and laws. I wanted to show what I have so far and ask a specific question around word formation.

Due to world building reasons I pulled from the Indo-European phonetic inventory and the Ancient Greek inventory. I'm not looking to recreate those languages or take anything beyond some inspiration. This left with me

19 (+1) consonants (m/p/b/n/t/d/s/r/l/k/g/w/a/bh/gh/ph/th/gh/kw/h and 7 vowels o/e/ō/ē /a/u/ū.

a is special and gets to be both a vowel and a consonant for fun really.

The main question I have as I'm starting towards making root words/lexemes and I've had a fun idea on word formation but I'm not sure if it makes any sense linguistically, I know language laws are pretty wishy washy but I'm not sure if there's any big no no's.

the culture speaking the language will have a lot of interest in aspects of things both mundane and metaphysical/spiritual. since I have 5 consonants that are almost the same beyond the extended breath sound (kw being the exception sound wise (b-bh, g-gh, p-ph, t-th, and k-kw) and 3 vowel pairs.

my idea is for the culture to use consonant lengthening/change to indicate physical difference specifically longer sounds trend towards larger or longer things. such as if;

ud=Water then udh=ocean.

and if something is being referred to in a religious spiritual or as a way to show honor or great respect the vowel is lengthened.

ūd= Holy water or Water spirit (context) or ūdh= Ocean god/spirit

Sound wise this seems like an inflection change but the consonants are technically different letters/phonemes so I'm not sure if that's 'allowed' At the same time I'm not sure if I'm just overthinking things or if its just some rule I haven't run across yet.

Any advice towards this, the phenomes in general, word formation, or conglanging overall it would be greatly appreciated.

Just showing a bit of how my conlanging notebooks looks like and how I develop my grammar rules ☺️❤️

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uOW-9zlC0vDaxvx3sVuEw7E8yFNuV4aK9TtM6452QxU/edit?usp=drivesdk

I've been thinking about this for a while but I can't seem to come up with anything specific.

Edit: Let's say the have the required vocal chords and organs to make human-like speech. Also, let's say it's passive telepathy. You can't read the thoughts of someone who doesn't want you to read them.

Welcome to the r/conlangs Official Checkpoint. You have been selected for a random check of your language. Please translate one or more of the following phrases and sentences:

"Announcement! Announcement! The flock has arrived!"

"HELP!! I can't live if it stays as it is; Daddy, Mummy, I couldn't be a good girl."

"So turn it up, can't stop, won't stop preaching. Who said the sky's the limit?"

"You and I reach the line, mark the end, but we'll keep on going until the bubbles fade."

"You never see what I want, what I need, oh, do you?"

"Stop!"

If you have any ideas for interesting phrases or sentences for the next checkpoint, let me know in a DM! This activity will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The highest upvoted "Stop!" will be included in the next checkpoint's title!

These are the lyrics of the Seven Havens lullaby:
"Oh little one where'd you take my heart?
Oh little one where'd you take my heart?

Did you hide it in the moon?
Did you sink it in the sea?

Is it stuck inside your pocket?
Keep it close as close can be

Someday you'll return to me..."

I tried to do it in mine (Kaufur), it's not too developed yet but it was really fun doing it for a song! I tried for it to work with the amount of syllables so it could actually be sang.

Translation in Kaufur:

O, YalleChè, ka ptuulè tai yet?
O, YalleChè, ka ptuulè tai yet?

Gi jaro yu dishishi?
Gi Fluè yu gamaishi?

Yu yet gi kau ra ihu?
Faronlai yu gi zelsi

Idè Ru pai esili...

Literal translation to English word for word:

O, Small child, my heart where is?
O, Small child, my heart where is?

In surface it (you) hid? [sidenote: the conlang is spoken by a society underground, so they would say surface instead of moon/sky]
In water it (you) sank? [Usually water is Hoa but a large body of water is Fluè]

It is in inside your palm?
Keep it in proximity

Sometime you again will come...

How would it be in your conlangs?

(boy look at that pretty flag)

hi people, today id like to present Nihlian,

which i thought of in my own thoughts that:

why cant there be an easier easier language?

(forget esperanto exists)

so i tried my luck and made a buncha shit youll see below:

​1. Phonology

​vowels: a, e, i, o, u

​consonants: p, t, k, m, n, s, l, r, w, y, f

​

in Phonology, 1 letter is equal to 1 sound, thats all

​2. Pronouns & Plurals

​plurals here are formed by adding the universal suffix -li to the singular form

​1st person:

​Singular: Nia (I / Me)

​Plural: Niali (We / Us)

​2nd person:

​Singular: Tia (You)

​Plural: Tiali (You all)

​3rd person:

​Nime (He) >>> Nimeli (They - male)

​Nife (She) >>> Nifeli (They - female)

​Nofe (It) >>> Nofeli (They - inanimate / neutral)

​3. "To Be", "To Have", and Possession

​we do NOT use irregular verbs in this beautiful language, instead, they derive from pronouns and end with -l or -il

​nil = am (derived from Nia)

​til = is / are (derived from Tia)

​noil = are plural (derived from Nofe)

​to have:

​hal = to have / have / has

​Possessives:

formed by prefixing he- to the "To Be" verbs:

​henil = my / mine (he- + nil)

​hetil = your / his / her / its (he- + til)

​henoil = our / their (he- + noil)

​4. Sample Sentences

these are some sample sentences if you apply all the rules before this

​Nia nil... = I am...

​Nia hal... = I have...

​Nife hal henil... = She has mine...

so people of this subreddit, i need your help on this, flood my messages with tons of suggestions for words for this language, starting now

- kimkardashianisanalien

solo project i've been building. every person in the sim has their own words for ~400 concepts (food, fire, friend...). the first words are random syllables, kids inherit their mom's words with the odd letter mutated, people pick up words from whoever they talk to, and a group slowly settles on the most common one. unused words get forgotten. so when a tribe splits, the two halves drift into different languages over a few generations.

it's rust compiled to webassembly and runs in the browser. the code for the language part is in crates/sim-core/src/organism/vocabulary.rs if you want to look.

play: https://thehumanbox.com

source (MIT): https://github.com/1homsi/thehumanbox