|
Common Trade Language Complex nouns are formed by simple nouns (plural or not) put together. Sometimes the parts of the words are devided by a ’ or another way to show where the new simple noun starts. The placing of the simple nouns is flexible. Complex nouns can be very long, but the longest words are only used by poets. Remember, the Common Language was designed to communicate easy among the many people in Daleth. Examples
The poetic use of complex nounsThe syntax of the Common Trade Language (CTL) is very free. There are hardly any rules where to put the words, or how to form complex nouns from other words. This gives poets a freedom that is seldom found.Another point of the CTL is the remarkable small vocabulary. The language -once made for traders only- has no words for many things in “normal” life, let alone the life of a poet. To make a new word (complex noun) the poet has to play with the known words and invent a new word based on associations, linking thoughts, metaphorical language, synonyms... The poets of the “Pure Dawn” movement made a true art of this and claimed the poetry in CTL was the best they ever had. A problem was, that hardly anyone understood the poetry, but this changed into a benefit when the Pure Dawn proclaimed that a poet should not be fully understood for only Magicians of the Word could even guess the true meaning of a language. Soon after, many Pure Dawn Poets had to change jobs to make a living. Next chapter: Toponyms Related topics: |