The 5th Annual State of the Language Address

Well, dear readers, it is that time of the year again when I tell you that the language is developing very slowly and next year will be better. I had intended to say this in a video to mark the fifth year in a row that I've given an annual update, but that didn't work out. (I owe y'all a video this year.)

2011 was an eventful year for Teliya Nevashi. The way that nouns work has changed, I've started writing the new and updated version of the grammar, and the language finally has more than 500 words. There were some minor changes to some affixes, and there are going to be some teensy changes with verbs too, but all of that will appear in the Teliya Nevashi 2.0 grammar when it comes along.

I'd hoped to have the grammar written by January, but that was outrageously optimistic. I am not even going to pretend that I have any idea when it will actually be written, but I do hope to have a new version available some time this year.

Other than producing a new grammar for public consumption, I am hoping to hit 1000 words this year. The language lacks a lot of practical vocabulary for everyday use, so that will be my first priority. I'd like to be doing more translations than I have been, which should help the total count also.

I spent a good amount of my language building time in 2011 messing with ea-luna instead. It's a deeply flawed language in so many different ways, but I can't help but have warm, mushy feelings for it. It's the oatmeal in my heart. I am beginning to think that it deserves a blog of its own, or perhaps I should start a general conlanging blog to cover all the things that I'm doing that aren't Nevashi.

On a more personal note, 2011 was a year full of ups and downs, and when I've fallen into those downs, I've gotten a lot of support from my conlanger friends. Thank you, all of you who offered me kind words and a shoulder to cry on. You know who you are.

The State of the Language, February 2009

Teliya Nevashi (hereafter, Nevashi) grew slowly in 2008. There was some minor vocabulary growth and a few grammar tweaks. It was mostly neglected. There wasn't even a lot of undocumented, behind-the-scenes development. On the positive side, the online documentation for Nevashi remains up-to-date. If I make a change offline, I am documenting it online fairly reliably.

My goals for 2009 include further fleshing out the grammar, building a large amount of vocabulary, and to create some texts in Nevashi, both translated and original. The first vocabulary advances will be in numbers and covering the domestic sphere, plus a long list of verbs I've put together.

I've got some ideas about creating an introductory level instructional text (or multimedia presentation of some sort). I don't really expect too many people to take that much interest in it, but I think putting it together may help me clarify some issues for myself, as well as being fun for me.

For right now, I am going to concentrate on Earth Nevashi (or, perhaps more whimsically, Nevashi-In-Exile), as a personal language, rather than Ianea Nevashi, the language as it exists within the fictional world of Ianea. There are two reasons for this. The first is that all of my conlangs are ultimately personal languages, even if I try to do something else with them. I just can't help myself. The second reason is that I am reevaluating where the Nevashi people and culture fit into the world. Development of Ianea continues, very slowly, but the geography is undergoing some radical changes.

So that's where we are right now and where we're going. Onward and upward!