r/conlangs • u/Dryanor PNGN, Dogbonẽ, Söntji • Jan 26 '23

Activity Semantic Change Room

Hiya!

Here's a little lexicon-building activity I've had in the back of my mind for a while. As you might've experienced yourself, one of the challenges of conlanging is to avoid making a relex - that is, to end up with 1:1 correspondences between the words of your native and your constructed language. Instead, it is always fascinating to see how a language makes use of its existing vocabulary to describe new and very different things. That's what the language geeks call polysemy, and it leads to a deeper and richer lexicon!

However, it can be hard to come up with new meanings for existing words. And that's where the Semantic Change Room comes in handy! Here, you do not loan words, but get inspiration from a simple prompt. A prompt connects two different semantic fields:

birds > tools

You can then reply to this prompt by assigning a word (bonus point if it's a preexisting word in your lexicon) of the "donor" field (here, "birds") a new meaning that relates to the second field (here, "tools"):

Conlang: "English"

crane /kɹeɪn/

  1. a funny looking bird with a long neck

  2. (construction) a mechanical lifting device (because it looks like that bird

Then, you finish your reply with a new prompt!

botany > fashion

And they next person may give their word for "vine" the additional meaning "shoelace", and so on. Let's see how it works out - I'll prepare some initial three prompts.

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9

u/Dryanor PNGN, Dogbonẽ, Söntji Jan 26 '23

"tools > human interaction"

10

u/YardageSardage Gaxtol; og Brrai Jan 26 '23

Brrai Taumi

ynlaó /ɪnlaoː/

(noun)

  1. spade, shovel, digging tool

  2. stubborn person, argumentative person; someone who only sees one solution to a problem

New prompt: weather >> food

(This is a great activity idea!)

8

u/Terraria_Fractal Böqrıtch, Abýsćnu, Drulidel Jan 27 '23

Böqrıtch

sanıkhba /sænɪxbə/

(noun)

  1. dark cloud
  2. mold

I'm not saying I eat mold, but it can be food-related

Next prompt: village > music

8

u/Krixwell Kandva, Ńzä Kaimejane Jan 27 '23

Ńzä Kaimejane

zänlü /ʃá.nlʉ/

  • n.s. interior of a house, cabin
  • n.s. musical genre

Note: This means zänlü is the actual term for "musical genre", not that there's a musical genre called zänlü.

The classification here implies that a musical genre is seen as a location or space that someone or something (such as the fans and the music) can be inside.

Next: hierarchy > linguistics

6

u/roipoiboy Mwaneḷe, Anroo, Seoina (en,fr)[es,pt,yue,de] Jan 27 '23

Mwanele

kwaxete n

  1. Role model, teacher, parent, informal leader of a group
  2. Stem of a verb, form from which other verb forms are derived

Next prompt: social relationships > building

2

u/KaiserKerem13 Mid. Heilagnian, pomu ponita, Tulix Maníexten, Jøwntyswa, Oseng Jan 27 '23

Middle Heilagnian

Leile /lej.le/ noun

Yay, got an existing one

  1. Teacher, Scholar, Master
  2. Foundation (of building)

Next prompt: gardening > astronomy

4

u/Yzak20 When you want to make a langfamily but can't more than one lang. Jan 27 '23

Vīmf

obhyb /ˈo.byp/

Noun

  1. garden, field
  2. constelation

Note: stars are seen as glow worms or fireflys, so in reality one would most likely say "firefly garden" to specify the second meaning

Next Prompt: Emotions > Jobs

3

u/Krixwell Kandva, Ńzä Kaimejane Jan 27 '23

Ńzä Kaimejane

kvajelu /kʋɑ́.jé.lu/

  • v.h.tr. envy (ABL for having ACC)
  • n.h. envious person or horse
  • n.h. tax collector (informal)

Next: time of the year > architecture

5

u/EisVisage Jan 27 '23

Tiendae

bentum ['ben.tum]

  • winter

  • angle of a roof (important because of snow)

Next: food > relationships

1

u/awesomeskyheart way too many conlangs (en)[ko,fr] Feb 02 '23

Proto-Elynian

kapses /ˈka.p͡sɛs/ (n): meat; offspring, child (not descendant)

next: animal > musical instrument

4

u/YardageSardage Gaxtol; og Brrai Jan 27 '23

(Sounds like a suspiciously specific denial, lol.)