One WORD language

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
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I'm for the use of Marklar, really. To me, that episode actually made SENSE.

Failing that....TIMMY!
 

warprincenataku

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Jan 28, 2010
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To my knowledge there are only five tones for a word or syllable; normal, high, low, rising and falling.

There could be more as I am no linguist, but I can't think of any other possibilities.

So it would be a five word language.
 

Fetzenfisch

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Sep 11, 2009
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Theres a lot like that in chinese if i recall right.
as if it wasnt complicated enough ;)
i think "Ma" can mean Mother, Hemp, Horse and kicking depending on the way its said
 

Zacharine

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Apr 17, 2009
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Nevyrmoore said:
Well if you live on the Discworld, you can find a language composed entirely of shouts and screams. So, don't say "Aargh!" because that means "Quick! More boiling oil!"
As I belive one mister Rincewind, the Egregious Professor Of Cruel And Unusual Geography, found out during his forced travels.

OT: I don't think it is possible, no matter how sensitive a hearing there is - communicating concepts is just too comples without an extensive vocabulary or alternatively psychic ability. But, with just one word vocabulary, facial expressions and body language, in addition to tonal differences, would simply replace syllabels in constructing sentences - in effect replacing words in all but name.
 

Front Row

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Jan 23, 2009
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Player 2 said:
Sure, it'd have to be "fuck", though. As The Wire taught us, you can solve a crime by only communicating with variations of "fuck".

Seriously, though: No, that'd be just stupid, impractical and unnecessary.
I'd actually agree with you. Fuck is one of the most versatile words in the English language.
I just have "meh" , "smurf" and as well "fuck"...
And i have to say ... "fuck" is the winner =)
 

Benny Blanco

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Jan 23, 2008
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Superbeast said:
It could be possible.

There are African languages that are entirely made up of tongue clicks, clucks and a few whistles thrown in. It originated because it makes hunting much easier for the tribesmen, as the sounds do not travel as well as distinct words to (even whispers). I am not talking about the Xhosa language (which has clicks in normal words), but a small tribe that exclusively communicates in that way. I'm looking for a link, but it was on a BBC programme where a female anthropologist was tracing the origin of humanity.

In light of that, a language with one word could be possible, but I do not know if it could be to a complex enough level for modern life - for example how would it deal with science, given the nuances and very important distinctions that are required?
I think you're talking about the !Kung bushmen (no, the ! is not a typo, it's the way in which we transcribe the click at the beginning of the name) but there may be still others out there. When I was doing my degree in Social Anthropology I remember doing a lot about the !Kung.

In addition, I have a memory from Linguistic Anthropology classes about the number of words in different languages for colour. Apparently 3 is the minimum which exists in any language.

Also, with the OT's point about tonality, I think there are only about 8 different tonalities which can be used (or at least, distinguished by a native speaker of tonal languages such as Mandarin) so that wouldn't help a great deal.
 

Nevyrmoore

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Aug 13, 2009
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SakSak said:
Nevyrmoore said:
Well if you live on the Discworld, you can find a language composed entirely of shouts and screams. So, don't say "Aargh!" because that means "Quick! More boiling oil!"
As I belive one mister Rincewind, the Egregious Professor Of Cruel And Unusual Geography, found out during his forced travels.
You forgot Chair of Experimental Serendipity, Reader in Slood Dynamics, Fretwork Teacher, Chair for the Public Misunderstanding of Magic, Professor of Virtual Anthropology, Chair of Approximate Accuracy, Assistant Librarian and Health & Safety Officer.
 

Zacharine

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Apr 17, 2009
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Nevyrmoore said:
SakSak said:
Nevyrmoore said:
Well if you live on the Discworld, you can find a language composed entirely of shouts and screams. So, don't say "Aargh!" because that means "Quick! More boiling oil!"
As I belive one mister Rincewind, the Egregious Professor Of Cruel And Unusual Geography, found out during his forced travels.
You forgot Chair of Experimental Serendipity, Reader in Slood Dynamics, Fretwork Teacher, Chair for the Public Misunderstanding of Magic, Professor of Virtual Anthropology, Chair of Approximate Accuracy, Assistant Librarian and Health & Safety Officer.
ahh, true. Been a while since I last read anything with Rincewind on it, the Unseen Academicals as my latest book on the Disc. Thanks for reminding me why Rincewind is still my second best character :D
 

Paul Hearding

Creator of Pro-gamer Gauntlet
Oct 1, 2010
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Well, technically you could have a language without words. Take a look at a wolf pack. They communicate through body language and facial expressions. I'm sure you could develop something like this for humans and then throw in just one word for fun.
 

Kurokami

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Feb 23, 2009
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TheBluesader said:
I just had an idea and I wonder what fellow Escapists think.

Would it be possible to have an entire language that was just a single word, where different meanings would be implied simply by tone of voice? Obviously the people speaking it would have to have super-trained hearing to pick out the slight variations in tone.

Or if that's impossible, then how about the word being pronounced in different ways? I guess that would technically make them multiple words, but they'd still all be represented by the same symbols or letters.

Or if THAT'S too much, then a language with only a handful of words, like less than 20?

Thoughts?
I'm thinking Pikachu, I recall it worked well in Pokemon.
 

Danzaivar

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Jul 13, 2004
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Sign language does it with no words. So if you use tone and body language to transfer meaning then of course it's doable.
 

Kurokami

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Paul Hearding said:
Well, technically you could have a language without words. Take a look at a wolf pack. They communicate through body language and facial expressions. I'm sure you could develop something like this for humans and then throw in just one word for fun.
Really, a wolf pack? You wanted to think of a language without words and you thought of a wolf pack? Wouldn't it have been easier to just go with sign language since its a human language?
 

Exocet

Pandamonium is at hand
Dec 3, 2008
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You could make tiny changes in the sound so it makes thousands of different "words" but the human ear and mouth just isn't made to be able to do so.
 

KaosuHamoni

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Apr 7, 2010
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Treefingers said:
Malkovich malkovich malkovich, malkovich malkovich malkovich MALKOVICH malkovich!


Seriously though... you could imply basic meanings with few words and tone of voice, but why would you want to limit your expressive capabilities?
This. One hundred times this. xD The first thing i thought when i saw this thread was "Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich, Malkovich MALKOVICH Malkovich." =]
 

KaosuHamoni

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Apr 7, 2010
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Kurokami said:
Paul Hearding said:
Well, technically you could have a language without words. Take a look at a wolf pack. They communicate through body language and facial expressions. I'm sure you could develop something like this for humans and then throw in just one word for fun.
Really, a wolf pack? You wanted to think of a language without words and you thought of a wolf pack? Wouldn't it have been easier to just go with sign language since its a human language?
The thing about a wolf pack is that they integrate sounds with body language. Sign language, does not. They use sounds when only absolutely necessary, for example a short, low bark means "Danger", and a howl is a location signal and an expression of territory, while all conversation is taken care of, as he said, via body language and facial expressions. Not only that but all of the sounds are variations on one 'word' if you can call it that.