[MUD-Dev] (fwd) Re: Artificial Language for MUD programmers

[claw at kanga.nu]

------- Forwarded Message

From: "alangiles" <alangiles at classicfm.net>
Newsgroups: alt.mud.programming
Subject: Re: Artificial Language for MUD programmers
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 13:39:47 -0000

I have recently given permission for GILO, an artificial language
that I have developed, to be used by the game Everquest, on Fennin
Ro server.

This is just to let you know that the offer is open to any other MUD
organiser.  The use of another language should add a bit of fun (and
a new challenge) for the players and would mean that the designers
can concentrate on the game and not worry about the time needed to
develop a new language as well.

I enclose a few details below for anyone else who may be interested.

The language is loosely based on English and is intended to be
fairly quick and easy to learn compared with natural languages
(although it will still require a fair amount of work).  There is an
optional GILO alphabet (similar to runes) if required, a fairly
extensive vocabulary and very simple grammar.

I would be perfectly willing to help and advise the game organisers
(eg translating a few particular phrases to get you started,
producing specialist words to suit your game etc).  The MUD
organiser would get a ready-made artificial language to include in
their game and I would get a number of people to test out my
language.

You can get a preview of the language on my web page at
http://www.gilo.org.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who may be interested.

Alan Giles
alangiles at Classicfm.net

------- End of Forwarded Message

Quoting from the ite:

--<cut>--
Gilo is an artificial language.  Such a language might also be known
as a Conlang, Auxiliary Language or Model Language.  It follows a
similar convention to English but with a simpler grammar and a
classified (but no less expressive) vocabulary.  In terms of
language classification, Gilo is SVO (Subject, Verb, Object word
order) and with a mixture of Isolating, Inflecting and Agglutinative
vocabulary (as is English).  In common with most other artificial
languages, there is a single meaning for each word, thus avoiding
both the learning difficulties and other confusion arising from
multiple meanings of words.
 
Gilo is a 'building block' language.  It enables the speaker or
writer to use a relatively small number of root words and put them
together using simple grammatical rules to construct sentences with
meanings as expressive as their own native languages.  The main
difference being that in Gilo they will generally be able to use
shorter words, fewer in number and with a very simple and totally
regular grammar.  Additionally, Gilo is a much more precise language
and much less open to ambiguities of meaning (which is particularly
common in English).  This may cause some difficulties initially with
native English speakers, not through any difficulty in finding the
right word to use in Gilo but in first clarifying their precise
meaning in English before they translate into Gilo!  
--<cut>--

Now while I'm not sure of the applicability of requiring (or even
explicitly supporting) players using an esperanto analogue, the
potential is there for secretive social groups and it makes a heck
of a better tale than merely hashing english text against a st of
dipthong patterns.

I'm actually a little more amused a tht level of resemblence between 
their alphabet (which provides obvious problems for ASCII
ekyboards), and the Graffiti analogue Quikwriting at:

  http://www.mrl.nyu.edu/perlin/demos/quikwriting.html

<<Not too surprising given the cartwheel model>>

--
J C Lawrence                                 Home: claw at kanga.nu
----------(*)                              Other: coder at kanga.nu
--=| A man is as sane as he is dangerous to his environment |=--


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