Re: next step
Saul Epstein 
Tue, 3 Mar 1998 16:21:33 -0600

Quotes from: Rob Zook
Date: Tuesday, March 03, 1998 3:02 PM

>At 11:28 AM 3/3/98 PST, Surak of Vulcan wrote:
>

>>The problem remains, that a layperson may not find the language
>>easy enough to learn on their own.

This has been a concern of mine as well. It is partly motivating the
somewhat simultaneous development of two forms of this language, one
which Rob refers to as Formal (and I refer to sometimes as Certain)
and another which we both refer to as Ambiguous. While Formal promises
to be both complex and strict, it answers a perceived need by
post-Reformation Vulcan for a precise, inambiguous, "logical" form of
communication. The Ambiguous mode, on the other hand, reflects the
more natural, pre-Reformation form of the language. It will likely end
up being as complex as Formal, but I envision it as being more
forgiving, and built around a relatively simple core, which I hope
will give beginners a more inviting space in which to "get their feet
wet." (I have other motivations for advocating the existence of the
Ambiguous mode, but that's another topic.)

In any case, I think the problem with our primary sources as far as
ease of use -- and I mean this as no negative criticism -- is that it
seems to be written in an attempt to balance the linguistic knowledge
of the author against an assumed lack on the part of his audience.
This seems to have led to an inconsistency in terminology, so that
even the parts that avoid "technical" language are difficult to
decipher without knowing the technical equivalent to the actual
wording. Also, the texts are extremely compressed, and expanding them
with more elaborate descriptions and additional examples is a large
part of what we've been busy with so far.

Rob said:
>Our talk about the Grammar is to expand on what the Zvelebils
>call the Vulcan Lexicon. Before we can attempt to create a teaching
>manual, we must flesh out the grammar rules.

Exactly. About all we could teach now is how to pronounce our few
words. Which is important, but of uncertain value without the ability
to form and sequence those words into expressions.

>I have made a first
>attempt to expand on the grammar with a expansion on the space-and-
>time expressions in the lexicon. Saul objected to parts of it, so he
>and I have been resolving our dispute in the background. I think we
>almost have all his objections resolved and our combined effort
>should be forthcoming shortly.

And that will be a relief. ;-)

>>Also, Saul, I think you should take the word "banana" out of the
>>word list because it is unlikely that such a thing exists on
>>Vulcan.
>
>Funny, I thought my name was Rob >;-|

I hate tell you this, Rob, but we may not be real distinct to people
at first.

>As I said please note all words that are Terran only and please let
>me know. I will compile a list from the responses and then delete
>them en masse.

I've been marking words like "banana" with asterisks, to indicate
words whose direct referents wouldn't exist on Vulcan, but which might
have analogs. That is, no Terran flora or fauna are native to Vulcan.
But Vulcan flora and fauna, obviously, are. So we might leave some
such things, like specific animal and plant names, in the list as
place-holders. There wouldn't be an original Vulcan word for "banana,"
for instance, but we will need many different words for actual Vulcan
fruits, and "banana" can hold a fruit-name place in our list well as
anything else.

--
from Saul Epstein
liberty*uit,net
http://www,jccc,net/~sepstein
"Surak ow'phaaper thes'hi thes'tca'; thes'phaadjar thes'hi
    suraketca'."
                                        -- K'dvarin Urswhl'at