Daniel M. Bensen's Blog, page 53
March 1, 2018
The Duties to the Gods of Pto’a
Tonun-uva Shyamuga kozana, maanun kromma huttun-osha amaanna.
Khrhaashora ‘on wamanokha-nash shkaf-nash ‘on om’an-natosha ‘on Hagopa-na-natosha an ‘on mula-tosha ‘on Hunabura-natosha.
If we are to obey Beautiful Shyamuga(1), we build temples to pray (in) them.
Only the lazy ones flee toward the lands of the Hagopas(2) and the deserts of the Hunaburas(3).
Tonan-uva Shoshka kona, onran ‘otna knon-osha ugana.
Khrhaashora ‘on khrhashokha-nash shkaf-nash ‘on om’an-natosha ‘on Nobana-na-natosha an ‘on tsonaght-tosha ‘on Kkekkanna-natosha.
If we are to obey Mighty Shoshka(4), we convene armies to fight Ugas(5).
Only the cowardly ones flee toward the lands of the Nobas(6) and the wilderness of the Kkekkans(7).
Tonan-uva Takheshpa khushohaa, maamanun seghana orun-osha pona.
Khrhaashora ‘on abhokha-nash shkaf-nash ‘on tsoda-tosha ‘on Nuhana-tosha.
If we are to obey destructive Takheshpa(8), we endure inundations to eat corn.
Only the greedy ones flee toward the lake of the Nuhas(8).
Oshoba wamanokhana! Oshoba khrhashokhana! Oshoba abhokhana!
Ovha-wora ‘on padaahana Pto’a-nosha ovaashna!
Go, you lazy ones! Go, you cowards! Go, you greedy ones!
The gods of Pto’a(9) do not want you!
— ‘On tontna ‘on padaahana-nosha Pto’a-nanosha
– The Duties to the Gods of Pto’a
(1) A sun god, related to Hurrian Šimegi.
(2) The Ucaptians, from Ucaptian ħwt k ptħ, or “house of the soul of Ptahh.”
(3) Presumably a nomadic people in northwestern Africa. Possibly the same as the knj-brw mentioned in Ucaptian sources as dwelling in the Atlas Mountains.
(4) the war goddess, related to Hurrian Šauška.
(5) The Hittites, from Hittite ekku, or “horse.”
(6) The Nubians, from Nubian Noba.
(7) Presumably a nomadic people in east Africa. Possibly related to Old Wak’ang apuok’e!in, or “correct.”
(8) A Eunymphic people, probably the proto-Taynadzians. Compare Taynadzian nùh, or “people.”
(9) The Classical name of the Kingdom of Podzra, from Ancient Podzran Patahhai.
The Duties to the Gods of Pto’ad
Tonan-uva Shyamuga kozana maanna-osha kromma hut’aun amaanna. Khrhaash ‘on wamanokhanash shkaafnash ‘on om’annadosha ‘on Hagopana–nadosha-an ‘on muladosha ‘on Hunaburanadosha.
Tonan-uva Shoshka kona onnarash-osha ‘otna knoun ‘on frhaaranna–osha ugana-na-osha. Khrhaash ‘on khrhashokhanash shkaafnash ‘on om’anna-ta-osha ‘on Nobana–nadosha-an ‘on kkekkanna-tosha ‘on tsonaght-tosha.
Tonan-uva Takheshpa khushohaa maamanna–osha ‘on seghana orun pona. Khrhaash ‘on abhokhanash shkaafnash ‘on Nuhana-tosha ‘on tsoda-tosha.
Oshoba wamaanna! Oshoba khrhaashna! Oshoba ovhana! ovhawa–ora ‘on padaahana avushna Pto’adan!
– “‘On tontna ‘on padaahana-osha Pto’ad-nosha,” or “The Duties to the Gods of Pto’ad”
February 27, 2018
Birds Land on Branches
Birds land on branches
Clumps of snow fall to make room
Shut up, internet
A Haiku
Birds land on branches
Clumps of snow fall to make room
Shut up, internet
February 26, 2018
A Moment to Think
A moment to think
Snow crosses the window panes
Sirens approaching
A Haiku
A moment to think
Snow crosses the window panes
Sirens approaching
February 25, 2018
Violet Evergarden
By my serifs and ligatures! I am really enjoying Violet Evergarden.
Maybe it’s because it has a lovely constructed script (sort of Latin/Cyrillic/Georgian with distinct serif, sans-serif, cursive, and printed handwritten forms! USED PERHAPS TO WRITE A REAL CONSTRUCTED LANGUAGE?!?!?!111/?). Maybe because it’s a show about rebuilding and healing after a war. Maybe I’m just a big, squishy softy.
At heart, Violet Evergarden is about peeling back the layers of human communication, exposing the fears and hopes that drive us. Also it’s about, you know, my job. Figuring out what people would say, if only they could.
No fantastical elements yet aside from the robot hands, but oh, the towering feelings!
February 22, 2018
Ensuring Collective Prosperity
Here’s the maximally conservative (extremely un-phonetic) spelling
Far as via bóyì xué, behavior analytics, and saamaajik research utilization, we all always modeling it out mutlidimensional “morality space,” where good zhèngcè “peaks” and bad “valleys” being pratiroop.
Via us all’s network leadership peak-ward and valley-from, securing it zhèngcè that grows them reductive kustawi and emergent thrivation.
And here’s correcting for semantic drift
Fars bóyì xué, behavior analytics, and saamaajik research utilization, we all always modeling it out mutlidimensional “morality space,” where good zhèngcè “peaks” and bad “valleys” being pratiroop.
Via all our network leadership peak-ward and valley-from, securing it zhèngcè that grows them reductive kustawi and emergent thrivation.
Securing Emergent Thrive-ity
I was thinking about the political system of the “Present day” (2145) in The Centuries Unlimited, and also about the ways I have the English language evolving in the next ~140 years (fast+weird). The result is the following:
Far’s via boyhee-soowa, behave-yoyun-ledex, na-sama-cheex research-utilization, we olwas modeling-dewa multi-timensional “morality s’pace,” wa’e kut shunt-chya “heex” ants vat “vyaleez” heem para-teeruph.
Via-soz natwa leadershiph heek-wutn vyalee-freng, a securinet shunt-chya ja khrewuz-um rudektev koosatawi ants majant travedy.
That’s what the language might sound like to Ruth (who speaks 1930s English). If you want a bit more precision, here’s the IPA:
/fa:zvia bojhiʃuʌ bi’heiviojən’ledeks nəsa:ma:tʃikx ‘risetʃiutilizeiʃən wi’o.wəz ‘mate.linede.wəʔ multitimenʃənal moralitisəpeis wæə kʌʔ ʃʌntʃjhʌ ɸiks ants βæʔ vjæ.li:z ɸimpəratirupɸ
viɜ’soz nætwəʔ li:taʃipɸ ɸikwʌtn̩ vjæli:fɹ̠ẽ əse’kiurineʔ ʃʌntʃjhʌ dʒæ kxɹ̠e.wəzm̩ ɹ̠ədɜktəv kusətaui ants mʌdʒənʔ tɹ̠ave:di/
The above is a standardized form rather more artificial than England’s BBC Received Pronunciation — simultaneous speech-to-speech translation has made for wildly divergent dialects — but if you speak this way, everyone’s computer will understand you.
The passage’s “correct” spelling is harder to get at, since in the 2140s spelling conventions have become a quaint folk art, like calligraphy. The following is spelled in one of the more conservative fashions.
Fars via bóyì xué, behavior nalytics, n saamaajik research utilization, weal always matelin t out mutlitimenshanal “morality space,” ware good zhèngcè “peex” and bad “valeez” bin pratiroop.
Via usals networ leetaship peek wat n valley from, securin t zhèngcè ja growzem reductiv kustawi and mergent thrivity.
BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Guesses in the comments 
February 16, 2018
“The Algonquin Alphabet”
Nothing, just reading The Years of Rice and Salt.
The book mentions a poster written in the three international languages of “Chinese, Arabic, and Algonquin.” And I was like “what the hell does written Algonquin look like?”
In real life, Ojibwe (an Algic language) has been written in several interesting ways, but in the world of the Years of Rice and Salt, the “Algonquin” language must be an Algic language related to Ojibwe, with a writing system handed down from the Iroquoian-speaking “Hodenosaunee,” who got it from the Japanese Diaspora. The other possibility is that Algonquin is written in Arabic or with an entirely novel alphabet, but shut up.
The first sentence of the Declaration of Universal Human Rights in Ojibwe.
The Iroquoian language spoken by the founders of the Hodenosaunee League was actually much harder for early Japanese scribes to fit to the katakana syllabary. Early forms used extensive diacritics to indicate labialized, affricated, and aspirated consonants, as well as nasalizated and null vowels. However, most of these innovations were scrapped (along with the use kanji) with the adaptation of katakana to Algonquin. Algonquin does use null-vowel kana (from the Japanese -u kana) and hiragana to represent the labial sounds missing in Iroquoian languages.
