Word assimilation survey *FINISHED*

[Qwynegold]

EDIT: The survey is now closed. Thank you everyone who participated! Comments and the right answers will follow at the end of the thread.

I want to investigate if people can understand some types of words that have been assimilated to the phonology of my IAL, so I would like to ask you to take this survey. (I made a separate thread for this, so that those who are not following my Omni-kan thread will see this.) In this survey, you will guess the meaning of some words. Most of them are English, but a few are not. Some of them are easy and some are hard to recognize. C stands for /tʃ/ and G stands for /ŋ/ in this conlang. Please follow the steps below.

[list=1][*]Please click this link: https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... +generator. A random number will be generated for you. If it's an even number (2, 4, 6, 8 or 10), start with the list called "even number list" below. If it's an odd number (1, 3, 5, 7 or 9), start with "odd number list". EDIT: Please choose the "odd number list" to start with.
[*]Click the SHOW button to reveal the given list. Copy that list and paste it into a new post.
[*]Try to guess what the words on that list mean, and write your answer after each word. For example, if it says:
1. PAINAPEL
Then you write your answer like:
1. PAINAPEL pineapple
It's totally okay to make a wild guess. But if you really can't make a guess, then you can skip that word.
[*]When you are done, please put the [mo​re][/more] tags around your text and post it. Don't change your answers after posting!
[*]After this, if you are up for it, you can also do the other list. But don't look at the other list until you have posted your answers for the first one. EDIT: If you do both lists, please tell me which one you did first.[/list]

Even number list:

More: show

1. SETRANTE
2. TERIK
3. URETU
4. SEPRUS
5. EPLAGKE
6. KERAFTE
7. ESKERUTRAIWE
8. MULSIYA
9. SETREGFE
10. EKESPOSE
11. KERESNAYARESKE
12. ETWOF
13. ESKERIC
14. PALFE
15. PELOT
16. KAREMEN
17. EKRASTE
18. SELPISTAN
19. INSETRAKTE
20. ESPERIGKEL

Odd number list:

More: show

21. ETRIK
22. SEKRIC
23. EPLOT
24. PELAGKE
25. ESTEREGFE
26. KERASTE
27. ULTU
28. TEWOF
29. ESTERANTE
30. MURESYA
31. ESPERUS
32. KERESNAYALSEK
33. PAREFE
34. EKRAFTE
35. SEREPISTAN
36. SEKRUTRAIWE
37. EKSEPOSE
38. SEPRIGKEL
39. INESTERAKTE
40. KALMEN

Thank you for your help!

[Rounin Ryuuji]

C stands for /tʃ/

I think this is unadvisable — it's /k~s/ (or /k~s̪/ or /k~θ/, depending on dialect) in both English and Spanish, and I think Mandarin uses it for /tsʰ/; these aren't languages whose orthographies I think it advisable to make a potential learner fight.

Also, I just kind-of hate using "c" for affricates.

Anyway, that isn't what you asked for:

More: show

1. SETRANTE (either "seventeen" or "seventy"?)
2. TERIK (no idea)
3. URETU (no idea)
4. SEPRUS ("separate")
5. EPLAGKE (no idea)
6. KERAFTE ("crafted, created")
7. ESKERUTRAIWE (no idea, but probably a compound or inflection?)
8. MULSIYA ("emulsion")
9. SETREGFE (no idea)
10. EKESPOSE ("exposé" or "to expose")
11. KERESNAYARESKE (not sure, but "-eske" reminds me of "-esque")
12. ETWOF (no idea)
13. ESKERIC (no idea, but "-ric" might be English -rich, German -reich, Dutch -rijk?; had to think for a moment, though, it looks too similar to the adjective ending "-ic" to parse as anything else)
14. PALFE (no idea)
15. PELOT ("pellet")
16. KAREMEN ("song", "charm", "magic", probably an adaptation of Latin "carmen")
17. EKRASTE ("aross")
18. SELPISTAN ("Iran, Persia", reminds me vaguely of "Selucid" + "-stan")
19. INSETRAKTE (some sort of tract?)
20. ESPERIGKEL (something to do with hope? probably an inflected verbal form?)

Odd number list:

More: show

21. ETRIK (not sure, but "-ik" is probably an adjectival suffix)
22. SEKRIC (probably a country name)
23. EPLOT ("explode")
24. PELAGKE ("skateboard")
25. ESTEREGFE (something to do with strength?)
26. KERASTE ("crest")
27. ULTU ("final")
28. TEWOF ("two of")
29. ESTERANTE ("in front of the east"?)
30. MURESYA (probably hard for East Asian speakers to pronounce, whatever it is)
31. ESPERUS ("hope", alternatively "summoned beast in a JRPG", or "user of psychic powers"; possibly also "dawn")
32. KERESNAYALSEK (no idea)
33. PAREFE ("paraffin")
34. EKRAFTE ("to build")
35. SEREPISTAN ("country of surreptitious people")
36. SEKRUTRAIWE (no idea)
37. EKSEPOSE ("expose")
38. SEPRIGKEL ("mirror")
39. INESTERAKTE (something to do with land?)
40. KALMEN ("to calm, to becalm", alternately "squid"

Some answers may sound sarcastic, but they're actually genuine. I feel unkind saying this, but I find the words opaque, the "c" (especially in the -ric(?) ending, which I want to read as -ic/-ique) and "g" painfully unintuitive (also they represent sounds that I wouldn't really think advisable in an auxiliary language), and the language overall rather ugly...

[Creyeditor]

My answer will probably not help much. A lot of the words looked more Indonesian or German to me than English.

More: show

1. SETRANTE the aunt
2. TERIK to scream
3. URETU uterus
4. SEPRUS a push
5. EPLAGKE a plagur
6. KERAFTE force, power
7. ESKERUTRAIWE, excrement
8. MULSIYA mull samd
9. SETREGFE a track
10. EKESPOSE to expose
11. KERESNAYARESKE crass-esque
12. ETWOF something
13. ESKERIC ex-war
14. PALFE coffee
15. PELOT pilote
16. KAREMEN care-men
17. EKRASTE a caste
18. SELPISTAN the name of a country
19. INSETRAKTE insect
20. ESPERIGKEL especially

[willm]

I’m personally fond of <c> for /tʃ/, but it may indeed not be ideal for an IAL. Aesthetically, the orthography seems fine to me.

More: show

1. SETRANTE strand
2. TERIK trick
3. URETU Urdu
4. SEPRUS surplus
5. EPLAGKE plank
6. KERAFTE craft
7. ESKERUTRAIWE screwdriver
8. MULSIYA emulsion
9. SETREGFE strength
10. EKESPOSE expose
11. KERESNAYARESKE Krasnoyarsk (this is all I could think of)
12. ETWOF twelve
13. ESKERIC screech
14. PALFE ???
15. PELOT plot
16. KAREMEN ???
17. EKRASTE crossed
18. SELPISTAN ???
19. INSETRAKTE instruct
20. ESPERIGKEL sprinkle

[quinterbeck]

I really had to bend my brain around these to get any answers, and pretend to be an American English speaker

More: show

1. SETRANTE - strand
2. TERIK - trick
3. URETU - Urdu
4. SEPRUS - cyprus
5. EPLAGKE - plank
6. KERAFTE - craft
7. ESKERUTRAIWE - screwdriver
8. MULSIYA - music??
9. SETREGFE - strength
10. EKESPOSE - expose
11. KERESNAYARESKE - cresnaer-esque
12. ETWOF - dwarf
13. ESKERIC - screech
14. PALFE - bath??
15. PELOT - bellowed
16. KAREMEN - Carmen
17. EKRASTE - crossed
18. SELPISTAN - Selbyston??
19. INSETRAKTE - instruct
20. ESPERIGKEL - sprinkle

[KathTheDragon]

I was going to make an actual reply, until I found I couldn't figure out what any single one of these words were.

[Qwynegold]

I was going to make an actual reply, until I found I couldn't figure out what any single one of these words were.

Oh no. Okay, I'll have to add in one unintelligible point to each word when I tally the scores. Did you look at both lists or just one, and which one in that case?

[KathTheDragon]

Both. Even comparing the two directly didn't help at all.

[LingEarth]

I did both lists. I really had no clue for most of the words.

More: show

1. SETRANTE
2. TERIK earth
3. URETU
4. SEPRUS Cyprus
5. EPLAGKE
6. KERAFTE coffee
7. ESKERUTRAIWE
8. MULSIYA
9. SETREGFE
10. EKESPOSE
11. KERESNAYARESKE
12. ETWOF
13. ESKERIC
14. PALFE
15. PELOT
16. KAREMEN caramel
17. EKRASTE
18. SELPISTAN selfish
19. INSETRAKTE
20. ESPERIGKEL asparagus

More: show

21. ETRIK
22. SEKRIC
23. EPLOT
24. PELAGKE pelican
25. ESTEREGFE
26. KERASTE
27. ULTU
28. TEWOF
29. ESTERANTE restaurant
30. MURESYA
31. ESPERUS hope
32. KERESNAYALSEK
33. PAREFE
34. EKRAFTE coffee
35. SEREPISTAN
36. SEKRUTRAIWE secretary
37. EKSEPOSE
38. SEPRIGKEL
39. INESTERAKTE
40. KALMEN

[Starbeam]

I got the even list.

More: show

1. SETRANTE strand
2. TERIK trick
3. URETU ?
4. SEPRUS spruce
5. EPLAGKE plank
6. KERAFTE craft
7. ESKERUTRAIWE screwdriver
8. MULSIYA multiplication
9. SETREGFE strength
10. EKESPOSE exposé
11. KERESNAYARESKE ?
12. ETWOF troff
13. ESKERIC screech
14. PALFE ?
15. PELOT plot
16. KAREMEN ?
17. EKRASTE crust
18. SELPISTAN self-esteem
19. INSETRAKTE instruct
20. ESPERIGKEL sprinkle

As far esthetics go, i don't mind <c> for /tS/, and to a lesser extent <g> for <N>. What does bug me is it's in all caps; i feel like i'm being yelled at or i'm reading a spam email.

[Qwynegold]

Both. Even comparing the two directly didn't help at all.

Alright. Thanks for having a look anyway.

[Qwynegold]

What does bug me is it's in all caps; i feel like i'm being yelled at or i'm reading a spam email.

Yeah, that was to

More: show

hide the proper nouns

, but it turns out this was difficult enough already. >_<

[Starbeam]

What does bug me is it's in all caps; i feel like i'm being yelled at or i'm reading a spam email.

Yeah, that was to

More: show

hide the proper nouns

, but it turns out this was difficult enough already. >_<

Don't be so hard on yourself. Most of these weren't too bad, and vocab is just part of learning a language. That said, i value any resource a script has to

More: show

separate names and proper nouns from ordinary words

.

[Zju]

odd:

More: show

21. ETRIK - trick
22. SEKRIC - secret
23. EPLOT - plot
24. PELAGKE - plank
25. ESTEREGFE - strength
26. KERASTE - crossed?
27. ULTU - old?
28. TEWOF - twelve
29. ESTERANTE - restaurant
30. MURESYA
31. ESPERUS - espresso
32. KERESNAYALSEK
33. PAREFE - part?
34. EKRAFTE - craft
35. SEREPISTAN
36. SEKRUTRAIWE - secretive?
37. EKSEPOSE - expose
38. SEPRIGKEL - sprinkle
39. INESTERAKTE - instruct
40. KALMEN - come on? calm?

even:

More: show

1. SETRANTE
2. TERIK - trick
3. URETU - you're too?
4. SEPRUS - spruce?
5. EPLAGKE - plank
6. KERAFTE - craft
7. ESKERUTRAIWE - screwdriver
8. MULSIYA
9. SETREGFE - strength
10. EKESPOSE - expose
11. KERESNAYARESKE
12. ETWOF - twelve? tooth? twoth?
13. ESKERIC - screech
14. PALFE
15. PELOT - plot
16. KAREMEN - car men?
17. EKRASTE - crossed?
18. SELPISTAN
19. INSETRAKTE - instruct
20. ESPERIGKEL - sprinkle

[Rounin Ryuuji]

EDIT: If you do both lists, please tell me which one you did first.

I did them in the order in which they appear in my reply.

[Qwynegold]

I did them in the order in which they appear in my reply.

Thanks! Oh, that edit was a little unnecessary, now that I think of it; since I told everyone to start with the odd one. I'm suspecting that the random number generator is giving everyone the same number...

[Rounin Ryuuji]

I got an even one. I think it was a four?

[Qwynegold]

Hmm, it seems to work after all. It must've been a fluke. Well, now I just need a few more odd ones.

[alynnidalar]

Odd:

More: show

21. ETRIK attic?
22. SEKRIC secret
23. EPLOT upload
24. PELAGKE plank?
25. ESTEREGFE strength
26. KERASTE crust/crusty? Christ?
27. ULTU ultra?
28. TEWOF trough?
29. ESTERANTE interesting
30. MURESYA mercy?
31. ESPERUS hope
32. KERESNAYALSEK (genuinely no idea)
33. PAREFE pareve (I know this is unlikely as a word, but it is what first came to mind. Alternately, parfait? if we're really going wild with correspondences, then breath??)
34. EKRAFTE craft
35. SEREPISTAN surreptitious?? (I know this isn't correct but I genuinely can't think of anything else)
36. SEKRUTRAIWE secretary?
37. EKSEPOSE suppose?
38. SEPRIGKEL sprinkle
39. INESTERAKTE instruct??
40. KALMEN calm? (based purely on spelling here)

I didn't realize there were supposed to be proper nouns in here until I had already completed my list and glanced at others' answers. But as I've already looked at other answers, I won't modify my list.

[Qwynegold]

Thanks for all the answers so far. I'm hoping I could get four more people to take the survey. That would be perfect because of reasons...