This directory contains essays that I've written over the past few years about
the design of artificial or 'constructed' languages.  Do not confuse artificial
languages (henceforth ALs, also called 'conlangs') with computer programming
languages.  Although my approach to language design is formal, the languages I
discuss are intended to be used by people to communicate with each other.  In
some of the essays, I also discuss how to design these languages so that they
are 'computer-tractable'; that is, languages that can be used by people, but
which can also be used to communicate easily and accurately with computers.


Here is a brief description of each of the files in this directory:


Anaphora
	This essay discusses anaphora and how they can be implemented
	without ambiguity in an AL.

ArabicMorphology
	How to design a language with a morphology similar to Arabic and
	other semitic languages.

LexicalSemantics
LSaa
LSab
LSac
LSad
	This is actually a lengthy monograph on the topic of word design.
	It attempts to discuss the semantics of ALL of the concepts that
	a language will need to represent, and how to design words to
	represent these concepts in a regular and semantically precise way.
	It illustrates the techniques by means of a sample language that is
	both easy-to-pronounce and morphologically self-segregating.

	The complete file "LexicalSemantics" was split into the four smaller
	files "LSaa", "LSab", "LSac", and "LSad" for those ftp systems that
	cannot handle very large files.  (When printed, the complete file is
	about 275 pages in length.)

Metaphor
	This essay is about the use of metaphor in ALs, WHY they should be
	avoided, and HOW they can be avoided.

Morphology
	This essay discusses how to design the surface morphology of a
	language (i.e. the 'shapes' of words) such that the words are
	easy to pronounce as well as computer-tractable.

NuttyNames
	A bunch of goofy names for amateur linguists.

Opposites
	This essay discusses one approach to dealing with words of
	opposite meaning.  A much more complete approach is discussed
	in the monograph "LexicalSemantics"

Phonology
	This essay discusses how to select the phonemes of a language
	based on what the language is intended to accomplish, and on
	how much pronunciation difficulty is acceptable.

Syntax
	This essay discusses syntax, and how certain aspects of syntax
	can differ among natural languages.  It also teaches how to use
	a modified version of Backus-Naur form to define the syntax of
	a language, and provides a complete syntax for an AL that is
	extremely flexible while also being extremely simple and easy-
	to-learn.

Transitivity
	This essay discusses how changes in transitivity are accomplished
	among natural languages, and how the apparent flexibility of a
	system like that of English is not only uncommon, but also not
	really flexible.  For a much more thorough treatment of transitivity,
	read the monograph "LexicalSemantics"

Universals
	This article provides a brief description of linguistic universals,
	and then recommends some books that discuss universals in much more
	detail.

VocabularyDesign
	This is a very brief introduction to a word design system.  For a
	comprehensive treatment of the same topic, read the monograph
	entitled "LexicalSemantics".