Strish

Strish is a streamlined yet feasible conlang. The intent is to have a phonology, morphology, and syntax that minimizes the time to produce meaningful utterances, while at the same time not being so compact that it prevents normal persons from using it.

Some earlier attempts at a streamlined conlang include Speedtalk, which required such fine distinctions that only a trained phonologist could use it. It was not even described well enough for anyone to learn. It is likely to have been completely fabricated.

At the other end of the spectrum are some modest attempts to abbreviate every word. Making almost every root monosyllabic can certainly help, but there are further refinements one can make to a grammar that will help streamlinedness.

In Strish, most roots are not even syllables. They are initial consonants and consonant clusters. Trained runners know that if you want to maximize speed, you have to minimize friction. The way you do that is to make your strides as long as possible, because every time your foot hits the ground, you slow down. In the same way Strish has some complex consonant clusters to maximize the number of words in the fewest possible syllables.

The grammar is highly synthetic, so a single word with many affixes can convey a complex meaning.

Strish is subject to change, but it will follow a schedule to keep it somewhat stable. Its alpha release will occur when it has 400 roots, complete morphologies for major lexical categories, and a complete syntax for simple, compound, and complex sentences. Its beta release will occur four months later and will include adjusts for clarity, feasibility, and of course streamlinedness. Four months after that it will have its official release. After that it will be subject to changes once every six months. At least half of the changes must involve increases to streamlinedness.

• Strish Phonology
• Strish Morphology
• Strish Syntax