New Addition to TCL
Yet another new addition to TCL: There is now a new page on the conlang exhibit that appeared at Cleveland Public Library in 2008. In addition to information on how the exhibit came about and what’s going on with it now, a slideshow (from the Flickr-posted photos of the exhibit) is now available embedded on the page.
(Slightly) New Look
The Conlanger’s Library Homepage has received a slightly new look. Being a sub-domain of the Language Creation Society (LCS), I felt it was appropriate to provide a more visible connection with the society’s page. Therefore, you’ll see a new “disclaimer” and the LCS logo proudly displayed front-and-center.
An even bigger change took place in the About pages. The Who Did This? page has finally been filled in. Turn there to learn more about me. I’ve also brought Arcimboldo’s painting into the About pages as well.
A Top Ten List
A new Wired article has been posted to the Magazine section of The Conlanger’s Library (to make up for the one from 1996 posted earlier). This one is entitled “Top Ten Geekiest Constructed Languages.” As with any top ten list, this one has some interesting comments about others’ nominations for geekiest. The consensus (by several) seems to be Lojban. That’s not my opinion…just the posters’ on Wired.
Drogön Chögyal Phagpa added to TLC
A new image and information has been added to the Writing Systems page of the Internet resources at The Conlanger’s Library. The new image you’ll see is of a Tibetan lama. Click on it to find out what he’s doing at the TCL.
James A. Garfield?!
Yes, that James A. Garfield. I’m currently reading a biography of our 20th President. Why? First, he was born just a little over ten miles from where I live. Second, he was a fascinating individual and his Presidency (to me, at least) seems like it was a missed opportunity. “But what does he have to do with conlangs and languages?” Glad you asked. Check out the Quotations site of The Conlanger’s Library for a very favorable quote of Garfield’s concerning German. Yes, German, that language disparaged by Mark Twain. Garfield was also a scholar of “dead” languages and was a professor of Latin and Greek. His fiancee, Lucretia Randolph, and he actually exchanged letters concerning the worth of studying languages. Alas, but Garfield’s language acumen didst not blossom into the full grown flower of language creation…ahem, sorry, I was channeling the 19th century’s prose. Mea culpa.
New Old Books Added
Two new science fiction novels have been added to the Books section of The Conlanger’s Library. They are both works from the late 19th century. The works have obviously affinities for the universal language movements of their time as evidenced from this excerpt: I soon found that, unlike any Terrestrial tongue, the language of this people had not grown but been made–constructed deliberately on set principles, with a view to the greatest possible simplicity and the least possible taxation of the memory. Thanks are also due to Jim Henry for suggesting the addition of Across the Zodiac for the Library! Check out Books for these and other “required reading” for conlangers.
Thanks, David P!
~:D Thanks to David J. Peterson for calling my attention to Esperanto quotes in both Thomas Mann’s Der Zauberberg and James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake. These selections have been added to the Quotations section of The Library. Check them out! (Mann’s work, published in 1924, may be the first mention of Esperanto in a work of fiction.)
Additions to the Library
Just a quick post today to highlight some new additional to The Conlanger’s Library. A new book on universal grammar in Linguistics – Advanced and a new one on idioms in Popular Nonfiction. We’ve also loaded a new link in the Linguistics Online resources on glossing rules. Check out the sections above for the new as well as the other resources available at the Library.
Thank You, Ketumak!
Ketumak
If you have suggestions for books, Internet sites, quotes, or other authoritative items, feel free to send them to library at library dot conlang dot org.