All
About Carichendali and Conlanging
How it all started
Carichendan (Carichendali) is the name of the language that I am creating. I have had the idea of creating my own language since I was about 16 or 17, when I started to create Dezhmaic, a language that was going to be closely related to Aramaic, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages. I never got far at all with Dezhmaic because I soon reasoned with myself that creating my own language was a pointless thing to do. Why spend my time creating and learning a language that no one but me could understand? Wouldn't my time be better spent learning a real language? I always loved languages, so that's what I decided to do instead. I am glad that I did, because the knowledge I have gained of other languages has helped me in many ways. But after studying other languages, I still kept coming back to the idea of creating my own. It's just something that seemed natural to me, for some reason. I love to listen to music from all over the world, but I rarely understand the words, so while singing along, I would often just make up my own "words." Sometimes I would compose a tune, but not have words for the song yet, so I would sing in this "language" - you might call it gibberish. ;-) But I began to feel as though this "gibberish language" had the sound of a real language, a unique language with its own characteristic features. Some of those features were obviously similar to the particular languages that I have studied over the years, and others seemed to come from nowhere (although I'm sure they came from somewhere, since I've studied so many languages over the years).
I decided to analyze and define the features of this language, and I called it Carichendan. I listened to myself sing and speak the "language" (at that point, none of the "words" had any meaning), and I listed all the sounds that occurred, and created an alphabet. I listened to the way I accented words, and figured out the rules for accentuation. I did not say to myself (as I assume many conlangers do), "Which letters should I include in this language I will create? How should I accent it? What will be the structure of the words?" Instead, I had already come up with the sounds, accentuation, and word structure - so all I needed to do was analyze it and figure out what the order was behind it. After that, I started to build vocabulary and grammar rules.
All this time, I had absolutely no idea that anyone else created their own languages. I thought that it was strange and I didn't tell anyone that I was doing this. I thought they'd think I was nuts! But while surfing the net one day, lo and behold, I discovered that I was not alone. I learned that there was a category of languages called "Constructed Languages" or "Conlangs." These are languages that are created on purpose usually by one individual. I was ecstatic, because this meant that I could actually accomplish this task! Other people had done it, and now I felt confident that I could too. I do not know linguistics as well as other conlangers do, but I still feel that I can create my own language, because of the exposure I have had to other languages, and because I think I have a natural talent for understanding how language works. I am very analytical, which helps I think.
My goal for Carichendan
Conlangers have various reasons that they create language. For me, it is mostly aesthetic. I love the sounds of various words and letter combinations. I want to create a language that I love the sound of. Maybe no one else on earth will think my language is beautiful, but at least I will. ;-) I consider this a hobby much like any other artistic hobby. Creating a language is like creating music. And even if no one is around to hear you play a song, the song still has value - it is something that entertains you and can lift your own spirits. Even if no one else will ever speak Carichendan, I believe it has value. It is my creation, an artwork of sorts, and I love every minute of creating it. If anyone else finds they like it and want to learn a little of it (or all of it) then that is fantastic. Perhaps you will be intrigued and decide to create your own language. Perhaps you will like parts of Carichendan, but not all the features. If so, you are welcome to make a Carichendan 2.0. ;-)
Whether anyone actually wants to learn Carichendan or not, I will continue to present lessons on this website. This is so that anyone who is just curious can see and hear what my language is all about. It is also for myself. I myself gain from the lessons. The best way to learn something is to become familiar enough with it so that you can teach it. So teaching it is a way for me to familiarize myself with it and practice it myself.
I want to become completely fluent in Carichendan. For this reason, I have kept the grammar as simple as possible for me. Some may think it is too similar to English, but that's ok. Since my main goal is to have a language that I like the sounds of, my focus is on vocabulary moreso than grammar. I believe that my grammar is very simple. I have purposely left out those types of features that have been hard for me to learn in other languages. For example, there is only one form of any present tense verb. You don't have to conjugate verbs to agree with person and number in any tense. I do not see why that is necessary. Communication is perfectly clear without it, and it sure makes it a lot easier!
I want for Carichendan to contain within it the beauty of other cultures and languages. If I like a feature of another language, I do not mind borrowing it. The Carichendan people are a people who appreciate the beauty of all people and all cultures. They have been influenced by various cultures throughout their history, and so it makes sense that their language would pick up features from other languages. I make up the vast majority of Carichendan words by myself. But I do frequently borrow words from various languages, if I think that the word sounds "Carichendan." Sometimes, I borrow only the word and do not borrow its meaning. So I will give that word another meaning entirely. Other times I borrow the word with the meaning, or give it a similar meaning, especially if the word is long and would be unlikely to accidentally arise in 2 different languages. Very often, I find a word in another language that I had already made up on my own (with a different meaning). I find that interesting! Some of the languages I love the most are Hebrew, Akkadian, Sanskrit, Indonesian, and various African languages. But I will sometimes borrow a word from a random language - a lot of times it will be a language I hadn't even heard of before. There are so many languages out there, it is actually not hard at all to find one that you have never heard of! I just think it adds a touch of charm to go sneak in a word into my language that is from a little-known language. Again, I do not borrow the word unless I think it sounds like it could be a perfectly good "Carichendan" word. Sometimes I have to "Carichendanize" the pronunciation. But this borrowing from other languages makes Carichendan what I really want it to be - a language that, while having its own unique character - can find beauty and appreciation for all the cultures of the world.
Carichendan (Carichendali) is the name of the language that I am creating. I have had the idea of creating my own language since I was about 16 or 17, when I started to create Dezhmaic, a language that was going to be closely related to Aramaic, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages. I never got far at all with Dezhmaic because I soon reasoned with myself that creating my own language was a pointless thing to do. Why spend my time creating and learning a language that no one but me could understand? Wouldn't my time be better spent learning a real language? I always loved languages, so that's what I decided to do instead. I am glad that I did, because the knowledge I have gained of other languages has helped me in many ways. But after studying other languages, I still kept coming back to the idea of creating my own. It's just something that seemed natural to me, for some reason. I love to listen to music from all over the world, but I rarely understand the words, so while singing along, I would often just make up my own "words." Sometimes I would compose a tune, but not have words for the song yet, so I would sing in this "language" - you might call it gibberish. ;-) But I began to feel as though this "gibberish language" had the sound of a real language, a unique language with its own characteristic features. Some of those features were obviously similar to the particular languages that I have studied over the years, and others seemed to come from nowhere (although I'm sure they came from somewhere, since I've studied so many languages over the years).
I decided to analyze and define the features of this language, and I called it Carichendan. I listened to myself sing and speak the "language" (at that point, none of the "words" had any meaning), and I listed all the sounds that occurred, and created an alphabet. I listened to the way I accented words, and figured out the rules for accentuation. I did not say to myself (as I assume many conlangers do), "Which letters should I include in this language I will create? How should I accent it? What will be the structure of the words?" Instead, I had already come up with the sounds, accentuation, and word structure - so all I needed to do was analyze it and figure out what the order was behind it. After that, I started to build vocabulary and grammar rules.
All this time, I had absolutely no idea that anyone else created their own languages. I thought that it was strange and I didn't tell anyone that I was doing this. I thought they'd think I was nuts! But while surfing the net one day, lo and behold, I discovered that I was not alone. I learned that there was a category of languages called "Constructed Languages" or "Conlangs." These are languages that are created on purpose usually by one individual. I was ecstatic, because this meant that I could actually accomplish this task! Other people had done it, and now I felt confident that I could too. I do not know linguistics as well as other conlangers do, but I still feel that I can create my own language, because of the exposure I have had to other languages, and because I think I have a natural talent for understanding how language works. I am very analytical, which helps I think.
My goal for Carichendan
Conlangers have various reasons that they create language. For me, it is mostly aesthetic. I love the sounds of various words and letter combinations. I want to create a language that I love the sound of. Maybe no one else on earth will think my language is beautiful, but at least I will. ;-) I consider this a hobby much like any other artistic hobby. Creating a language is like creating music. And even if no one is around to hear you play a song, the song still has value - it is something that entertains you and can lift your own spirits. Even if no one else will ever speak Carichendan, I believe it has value. It is my creation, an artwork of sorts, and I love every minute of creating it. If anyone else finds they like it and want to learn a little of it (or all of it) then that is fantastic. Perhaps you will be intrigued and decide to create your own language. Perhaps you will like parts of Carichendan, but not all the features. If so, you are welcome to make a Carichendan 2.0. ;-)
Whether anyone actually wants to learn Carichendan or not, I will continue to present lessons on this website. This is so that anyone who is just curious can see and hear what my language is all about. It is also for myself. I myself gain from the lessons. The best way to learn something is to become familiar enough with it so that you can teach it. So teaching it is a way for me to familiarize myself with it and practice it myself.
I want to become completely fluent in Carichendan. For this reason, I have kept the grammar as simple as possible for me. Some may think it is too similar to English, but that's ok. Since my main goal is to have a language that I like the sounds of, my focus is on vocabulary moreso than grammar. I believe that my grammar is very simple. I have purposely left out those types of features that have been hard for me to learn in other languages. For example, there is only one form of any present tense verb. You don't have to conjugate verbs to agree with person and number in any tense. I do not see why that is necessary. Communication is perfectly clear without it, and it sure makes it a lot easier!
I want for Carichendan to contain within it the beauty of other cultures and languages. If I like a feature of another language, I do not mind borrowing it. The Carichendan people are a people who appreciate the beauty of all people and all cultures. They have been influenced by various cultures throughout their history, and so it makes sense that their language would pick up features from other languages. I make up the vast majority of Carichendan words by myself. But I do frequently borrow words from various languages, if I think that the word sounds "Carichendan." Sometimes, I borrow only the word and do not borrow its meaning. So I will give that word another meaning entirely. Other times I borrow the word with the meaning, or give it a similar meaning, especially if the word is long and would be unlikely to accidentally arise in 2 different languages. Very often, I find a word in another language that I had already made up on my own (with a different meaning). I find that interesting! Some of the languages I love the most are Hebrew, Akkadian, Sanskrit, Indonesian, and various African languages. But I will sometimes borrow a word from a random language - a lot of times it will be a language I hadn't even heard of before. There are so many languages out there, it is actually not hard at all to find one that you have never heard of! I just think it adds a touch of charm to go sneak in a word into my language that is from a little-known language. Again, I do not borrow the word unless I think it sounds like it could be a perfectly good "Carichendan" word. Sometimes I have to "Carichendanize" the pronunciation. But this borrowing from other languages makes Carichendan what I really want it to be - a language that, while having its own unique character - can find beauty and appreciation for all the cultures of the world.