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Sira ná Hantalë!

Posted on Thursday, November 22, 2012 in Rant

So, today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. The title of this post is as close as I can come to “Today is Thanksgiving!” in Quenya. Hopefully, it’s correct. Since it’s a holiday and I had some time, I thought I might compose a little shout-out to what I’m appreciative of conlangery-wise (in addition, of course, to being thankful for family, health, and those things I’m thankful for every day).

I’m thankful for all the fascinating people I’ve met through conlanging, both those I’ve met personally and all those who’ve ever been ready to share their advice and knowledge through Conlang-L or other venues. Thank you all!

I’m thankful (I think “thankful” is an appropriate word) for finding a hobby/craft/art that constantly has new things to learn. I realize that’s true of most hobbies, but this happens to be the one I enjoy. Just when I think I have a handle on some aspect of language, I find another new one to explore (and to humble me). Enjoying the “multifariousness and beauty of language” (to quote The Conlang Manifesto) is one of the great things about conlanging.

I’m thankful I have the opportunity to represent the LCS as prime tweeter @fiatlingua (or is that twitterer?), secretary, and librarian. I recently had the chance to talk with Christine Schreyer‘s class via Skype about the LCS, my exhibit, and some of my conlanging efforts. I’m also writing an article on conlanging for an online magazine. All this came about due to my involvement with the LCS.

It’s easy to get frustrated if one is a conlanger. There’s not enough time to devote to the craft. There’s too much to learn. There are so many others far better than you. But these things are usually true of any worthwhile endeavor. We make the time. We enjoy becoming knowledgable. We learn from those more experienced than ourselves. Be thankful for the opportunty 🙂

Happy Conlanging and Alassëa Hantalë!