Search found 450 matches

by Darren
Mon May 06, 2024 7:39 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: Syntax random
Replies: 195
Views: 114109

Re: Syntax random

I'm trying to reformulate this with a verb that doesn't require auxiliary negation: 1′. "We only aren't anaesthetists" → we're everything but anaesthetists 2~3′. "We aren't only anaesthetists" → we're anaesthetists and other things too 4′. ?"It's only anaesthetists which we ...
by Darren
Mon May 06, 2024 7:18 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: Syntax random
Replies: 195
Views: 114109

Re: Syntax random

Here's my two cents: 1. "We only didn’t see the Louvre" → we didn't see the Louvre, but we did all the other things expected of tourists going to France 2. "We didn’t only see the Louvre" → we saw the Louvre, and did some other things 3. "We didn’t see only the Louvre" ...
by Darren
Sun May 05, 2024 6:36 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Random Thread
Replies: 3720
Views: 450001

Re: Random Thread

A totally unrelated random musing: Have humans made more transistors, or more things which aren't transistors? I think transistors win out by a large margin. This took longer to find than I expected, but I think I have a candidate: viral particles in the Covid vaccines. First, let's look at the tra...
by Darren
Sun May 05, 2024 2:54 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Random Thread
Replies: 3720
Views: 450001

Re: Random Thread

A totally unrelated random musing:

Have humans made more transistors, or more things which aren't transistors? I think transistors win out by a large margin.
by Darren
Wed May 01, 2024 4:45 am
Forum: Conlangery
Topic: Romanization Challenge Thread v2.0
Replies: 969
Views: 477429

Re: Romanization Challenge Thread v2.0

Seenku You're welcome 🙏 Initials: /p b t d ts dz c ɟ k g kp gb/ <p b t d ti di ki gi k g ku gu> /m n ɲ ŋ ŋm/ <m r ni n nu> /f s/ <su s> /l (j) w/ <l j w> Major syllable nuclei: /a ɛ ɔ e o (ɪ) ʊ i u/ <a c q e o x f j~i v~u> and so on for all <j v> /aː ɛː ɔː eː oː iː uː/ <a' c' q' e' o' i' v'> /ã ɛ̃ ...
by Darren
Mon Apr 29, 2024 6:30 am
Forum: Almea
Topic: "Experiencer"
Replies: 40
Views: 4293

Re: "Experiencer"

xxx wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 5:29 am Well, natural languages are nothing more than conlangs reworked by a very large number of fans,
This is not true
by Darren
Wed Apr 24, 2024 4:48 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: English questions
Replies: 1383
Views: 444249

Re: English questions

Bilabially trilled coronal affricates (advibrates?) are found fairly frequently in Sino-Tibetan too; some language (can't remember which, Nort would know) has synchronic /ⁿdə/ → [ⁿdʙv̩]. Wikipedia says Namuyi has a full set of bilabially trilled affricates /pʙ bʙ tʙ dʙ/ but it's unsourced (well it'...
by Darren
Tue Apr 23, 2024 6:31 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: English questions
Replies: 1383
Views: 444249

Re: English questions

I have heard it suggested that the Pirahã suddenly starting to use /tʙ̥/ around Everett was literally just a joke. Like they were bored and wanted to fuck with him so they started sticking raspberries in random words. Isn’t it also seen in Wariʼ, at least? Yeah. And Oro Win. EDIT: looking it up, ap...
by Darren
Tue Apr 23, 2024 4:43 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: What are the phonotactics rules for Classical Latin?
Replies: 22
Views: 854

Re: What are the phonotactics rules for Classical Latin?

/s/ is always weird phonotactically. Some say it's a vowel.
by Darren
Tue Apr 23, 2024 4:42 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: English questions
Replies: 1383
Views: 444249

Re: English questions

I have heard it suggested that the Pirahã suddenly starting to use /tʙ̥/ around Everett was literally just a joke. Like they were bored and wanted to fuck with him so they started sticking raspberries in random words.
by Darren
Mon Apr 22, 2024 4:35 pm
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?
Replies: 42
Views: 947

Re: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?

This is precisely the situation I’ve been describing! The question is, why did that small percent difference even exist in the first place? (As I recall, people have actually calculated what the difference should have been to produce the amount of matter we see today. Wikipedia quotes it as being ‘...
by Darren
Mon Apr 22, 2024 6:29 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: What are the phonotactics rules for Classical Latin?
Replies: 22
Views: 854

Re: What are the phonotactics rules for Classical Latin?

Actually English phonotactics are almost identical to those of Latin, you just have to add some more sC onsets, a few more RC codas and then a indiscriminate post-coda /s~z θ t~d/. Suck it, Catholics.
by Darren
Mon Apr 22, 2024 6:25 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?
Replies: 42
Views: 947

Re: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?

This is precisely the situation I’ve been describing! The question is, why did that small percent difference even exist in the first place? (As I recall, people have actually calculated what the difference should have been to produce the amount of matter we see today. Wikipedia quotes it as being ‘...
by Darren
Sun Apr 21, 2024 7:33 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?
Replies: 42
Views: 947

Re: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?

Yes, if there was an equal amount of antimatter as matter, it would all have been annihilated, and the universe would consist of photons alone. (Which, if I must state the obvious, it does not.) In that case it makes sense that there's more of one kind than the other, since otherwise we wouldn't ex...
by Darren
Sun Apr 21, 2024 7:30 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: What are the phonotactics rules for Classical Latin?
Replies: 22
Views: 854

Re: What are the phonotactics rules for Classical Latin?

It’s surprisingly hard to find an answer for this, but the maximal structure would appear to be something like (s)(C)(r)V(r)(C)(s). For more detail see, for instance, Latin syllable structure in typological perspective (Lehman n.d.). I think (s)(C)(l,r)V(l,r,N)(C)(s) is better, with the caveat that...
by Darren
Sun Apr 21, 2024 7:10 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?
Replies: 42
Views: 947

Re: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?

Yes... and then we'd call it "matter." The sign is arbitrary. Sorry, I meant "mutually annihilated with all the matter". Yes, if there was an equal amount of antimatter as matter, it would all have been annihilated, and the universe would consist of photons alone. (Which, if I m...
by Darren
Sun Apr 21, 2024 12:04 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?
Replies: 42
Views: 947

Re: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?

That’s not what the problem is. Essentially: we predict that the Big Bang should have produced an equal amount of matter and antimatter, in the past. The question is: given that initial state, why do we see more matter than antimatter today? If there was more antimatter, wouldn't it of blown up all...
by Darren
Sat Apr 20, 2024 4:06 pm
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?
Replies: 42
Views: 947

Re: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?

That’s not what the problem is. Essentially: we predict that the Big Bang should have produced an equal amount of matter and antimatter, in the past. The question is: given that initial state, why do we see more matter than antimatter today? If there was more antimatter, wouldn't it of blown up all...
by Darren
Fri Apr 19, 2024 9:30 pm
Forum: Conlangery
Topic: Romanization Challenge Thread v2.0
Replies: 969
Views: 477429

Re: Romanization Challenge Thread v2.0

Nortaneous wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2024 9:02 pm ʙo͝o‼
Aaaahhh! :o
by Darren
Fri Apr 19, 2024 6:42 pm
Forum: Languages
Topic: English 'not' migration
Replies: 8
Views: 331

Re: English 'not' migration

Shouldn't there be a difference in meaning for at least some verbs? I'd say so – "It's not mandatory to go" vs. "It's mandatory to not go". I reckon there's still a difference between "I do not want to go" / "I want to not go" too; the second is more emphatic...