Lina
From Langmaker
| Conlang | Lina |
| Author | Falk Joensson |
| Year Began | 2007 |
| Language Type | naturalistic a priori language |
| Lexicon Size | ca 100 |
| Etymologies | No |
| Grammar | Yes |
| Sample Texts | Yes |
| Primer | Yes |
Lina is a naturalistic a priori language created by Falk Joensson.
Description
Inspired by Eurixa and Rick Morneau's essays on language design, Lina was created by "toying around" with conlanging. By its phonetical features and mainly Italian-derived words, it is quite a Eurocentric language. The a-priori grammar is regular, and strictly isolating (except the plural of nouns, and the verb in relative sentences). All nouns in singular end with -a, in plural with -e; all verbs end with -o; all adjectives and adverbs with -i; all other (grammar) words with -u. The grammar is developed to quite a high degree, which means that even complex past and future, as well as relative clauses are possible. Lina still has not yet a lexicon with the essential words for everyday conversation. I may develop Lina further and add what is still missing as I feel inspired to, and/or as other people show a real interest in it.
Uniqueness
Lina uses the Latin alphabet, but the letters C, H, X, Y and Z are not included in Lina. The pronunciation is like Hepburn, with 4 significant exceptions: S may be spoken unvoiced or voiced as suits the speaker, the letter J is to be read as Hepburn's Y, the letter Q stands for the nasal NG (as in "thing"), and the letter V stands for Hepburn's SH (as in "ash"). As in German, all nouns (but also personal pronouns) are written with capital letters. Unique to my knowledge are some of Lina's very neat grammar principles. (Check the weblink below, where you will find the whole grammar with example sentences for every rule.)
Design principles
The idea was to use an isolating and logical grammar yet provide a powerful way to express yourself. The language should sound nice, and be easy to speak. Also the most common words should be as short as possible.
Language sources
Lina's words were mainly derived from Italian, and some from English and German. The grammar is fully a-priori, but was inspired in the first steps by Eurixa and Rick Morneau's essays on language design.
Interest of others
Not much known so far. The common response is that it sounds beautiful. But to my knowledge, so far has nobody attempted to learn Lina.
Sample translation
M Lina om? V uro! A o Liqwa fivali fio Ja. Kasu Ta amo A kasu v palo Ja!
- (Hepburn: M Lina om? Sh uro! A o lingwa fisháli fiho ya. Kazu ta amo a, kazu sh palo ya!)
- = What is Lina? Listen! It is a constructed language that I have created (and may still continue). If you like it, please let me know.
- condensed form: M Lina om? V uro! O Liqwa fivali fio Ja. Kasu amo kasu v palo Ja!
External links
- http://falkj.fa.funpic.de/FJO_l_lina.htm - Broken link: NO.
(Site author: Falk Joensson. Site language: English and German)
