Lee's advice for a 30-day conlang

Introduction

On 7 Oct 2010 Matthew Martin asked about creating a conlang in 30-days, NaNoWriMo-style:

From: Matthew Martin
Subject: What is the state of the art for easy apriori conlangs?
To: [email protected]
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010, 7:17 AM

I'm thinking of trying to write a conlang in November in NaNoWriMo style. As two design goals, I am hoping for a language that is different semantically, syntactically and lexically from English, yet reasonably easy. On the other hand, most attempt make easy languages (pidgins, creoles and most auxlangs) resort to lots of loan words and an "apple that doesn't fall far from the tree" style in terms of syntax and semantics, (eg. choosing SVO just because it is common, or defining a word to mean 'honor' with all 20-some English definitions).

Can any of you offer any advice on what features I should incorporate to end up with an easy apriori conlang?

Thanks,

Matthew Martin

At the request of a number of CONLANG list members, my (Lee) slightly-edited response is posted here.

Advice for creating a conlang in 30-days

I can't say anything I've done is necessarily state of the art, but I've tried you are about to attempt for both LoCoWriMos (2009 and 2010)... and failed to get it done in the allotted month.

Maybe the third will be a charm!

Anyway, here are a few lessons I've learned along the way. None of these are earth-shattering, and most are probably obvious.

1. At every level, start simple. Try with all your might to not add that one extra feature you are not 100% sure you really want/need.
2. Phonology. Create your phonology quickly, and stick with it.
3. Syllable patterns. Select a few and stick to them. If your pattern(s) don't yield enough possible words, allow your words to have one more syllable.
4. Word generation. Create a spreadsheet or something to randomly create a collection of words. It is far faster to have a bunch of candidates to choose from that to sit pondering what word feels "right" for a concept. Just pick one that sounds good and move on. If your language design allows for words to readily change part of speech, double-check your lexicon before creating a new word.
5. If borrowing features from other languages, keep that list of languages small.
6. Grammar. Keep it simple. Start with grade school beginning reader level sentences first. Once you can reliably read and write statements and questions, add a single layer (modal, tense, etc.). Don't add another layer of complexity until the one you are on works reliably.
7. Delay tweaking as long as possible. Instead, keep a list of potential tweaks and why you think you want to implement them. You may discover some of them will become unnecessary.
8. If you find yourself getting stuck on a particular feature or language construction, make a note of it and move on to something else. (I tend to get stuck trying to break through a sticking point, and before I know it I've spun my wheels for five days.)
9. Do something with the language everyday, even if nothing more than creating ten more basic sentences.
10. Have fun.

Lee