Open thread May 7 2008
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
I think I might have just about enough traffic to make it worth it to start an open thread every once in a while. If I get two comments on this first one I'll consider it a success.
Topic: Would IALs with their grammatical simplicity and regularity be easier for other primates and other highly intelligent animals to understand? Which languages would be the easiest?
My opinion: it wouldn't be an IAL like Toki Pona which involves too much word compounding, and even some animals can understand more than a few hundred words (larger than TP's total vocabulary). I think the most important criterion here would be that the language would have to be spoken all the time between the people as well, because if it's a language made specifically for easy communication with animals (and ergo not between humans), then humans would switch back to their own language afterwards and when talking to each other, and that would be a completely different atmosphere than a language used both between humans and between animals.
1 comments:
Hmm, maybe I think something with very little grammar but mid sized vocabulary would be best. Compound words would probably be confusing. It would have to be large enough though that people could use it with each other, because without that they wouldn't be able to become fluent and the animals couldn't benefit from hearing people use it with each other as well.
Since animals have really good hearing I don't think the phonology would need to be limited. They probably do a better job than us distinguishing between aspirated and unaspirated, guttural sounds and everything else.
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