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"bfowol" <pkroser@e...> wrote: > > My understanding of an engelang is that it is designed with specific > design parameters in mind - In my mind this by no means negates the > issue of aesthetics, and good design should not only be functional and > efficient, but also aesthetically pleasing. I tried to make this very case in a later paragraph. > Having been priviledged to see the gradual unfolding of Livagian over > the past few years, there is a definite artlang aesthetic involved, > and I have to feel that rather than beeing opposite ends of a > continuum, artlang and engelang might better be thought of as x and y > coordinates, where some languages have a higher value for one > parameter than the other, while some are more balance. There is > probably a z-axis as well, but I can't think of what it should be off > the top of my head. I agree that the *result* of any conlang design process will be better described by perpendicular axes indicating artistic and engineering merit separately, but having witnessed architects and engineers at their professions for several years, I have to say that there is definitely a distinct, scalar contrast between the *approach* taken by the artist and that taken by the engineer. In this respect, I have to maintain that the concept of a scale between the extreme artlanger and engelanger types is valid--even if it is argued that between artlang and engelang it is not. BTW how much of Livagian have you seen? :-) > I think that a better continuum might be 'natlang <--> engelang' since > the tendency of many natlangs towards irregularity would seem to be > counter to the notion of an engelang. On the other hand, even here one > could find natlangs that at least seem more engineered than others > (Quechua has been described as a rather engelangy natlang). > > Bfowol I agree that virtually any engelang is bound to be more regular than the average natlang by an order of magnitude or more. But as I tried to explain to Rick at some length, in my view, extreme regularity is no more the essential mark of an engelang than any of the other design goals that may given to a engelang project. Regards --- Mike