If natlangs were conlangs

[Whimemsz]

Sure, although not all of them as equally widespread. "Wine/vine" is maybe the best example: Indo-European (including multiple borrowings within IE), Semitic, and Kartvelian at least all seem to share the word although no one can apparently agree on which family it originated in. (Historically-speaking we should probably expect Kartvelian to be the source language, since that's the region where wine originated, but the word has a plausible etymology within IE, from "wind/twist/weave.") IE and Semitic also seem to share a few other terms like "horn" (Proto-Semitic *qarn-) and "aurochs" ["bull"] (Proto-Semitic *θawr-). Several languages share a term for "iron" or a similar metal (some Semitic languages have something like bVrz(V)l although the correspondences are often irregular; this can be compared to Latin ferr- and ***possibly*** English brass though that's very uncertain).

[Xwtek]

Well, Kabardian, you might like Vertical Vowel System. However, in all other languages that have it, they also have extensive palatalization and/or labialization. However, aside from labiovelar and labiouvular, I don't see anything in your consonant inventory.

[Frislander]

Well, Kabardian, you might like Vertical Vowel System. However, in all other languages that have it, they also have extensive palatalization and/or labialization. However, aside from labiovelar and labiouvular, I don't see anything in your consonant inventory.

Actually NWC's not so bad, the worst one's Ndu - you can't just put square your vertical vowel system with your lackluster consonant system by putting glides everywhere.

[gach]

Actually NWC's not so bad, the worst one's Ndu - you can't just put square your vertical vowel system with your lackluster consonant system by putting glides everywhere.

Except, as I like to point out, I haven't ever seen a detailed modern description of a Ndu language that would support the vertical vowel system analysis, such accounts supporting more complex systems. If you happen to know of a well argued one, please point me to it.

So how terrible it must be that the one thing that makes your conlang family famous is little more than a misinterpretation made by an old-timer.

[Xwtek]

So, in your conculture, there's a tribe that is so afraid of forest, so it uses avoidance language when entering forest. Sounds realis... wait a second, why did you place your culture inside the forest, then? Why even you resort so far to add forest theme to your culture?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_language

[Raholeun]

Well, Kabardian, you might like Vertical Vowel System.

There is something very endearing about vertical vowel systems.

[Xwtek]

What, Chipewyan, you merged *t and *k? But unlike the Polynesian language, you have a lot of consonants!

[Nortaneous]

Well, Kabardian, you might like Vertical Vowel System. However, in all other languages that have it, they also have extensive palatalization and/or labialization. However, aside from labiovelar and labiouvular, I don't see anything in your consonant inventory.

Actually NWC's not so bad, the worst one's Ndu - you can't just put square your vertical vowel system with your lackluster consonant system by putting glides everywhere.

Marshallese has glides everywhere to hold the VVS analysis together, but actual [j w] exist word-initially - except the standard VVS analysis analyzes word-initial [j] as /ɦʲɨɦʲ-/. It also analyzes word-initial prevocalic [‌i] as /ɦʲɨɦʲ-/, so it isn't entirely clear how to distinguish them, although the MOD lists dialectal Western forms in /ɦʲɨɦʲɦʲ-/ for words with initial prevocalic [‌i].

The standard analysis is probably wrong, but I don't think anyone's challenged it yet.

[Xwtek]

Somebody that made Lontara' must learn how to make a conscript. So, your script is to be written on leaves, right? Why is your script full of straight lines? Isn't it tearing the leaves?

[Richard W]

Somebody that made Lontara' must learn how to make a conscript. So, your script is to be written on leaves, right? Why is your script full of straight lines? Isn't it tearing the leaves?

It seems that its only lines in certain directions that cause the tears. Note that the straight strokes are diagonal.

[Xwtek]

I think the conlanger of this world is a smartass. Why do you have two language family with similar names? Austronesian vs Austroasiatic. Even worse that there is Palauan (an Austronesian language) and Palaungic languages (an Austroasiatic subfamily)

[Vijay]

Maybe we can call them Southie vs. Coastie instead, where Southie is Austronesian and Coastie is Austroasiatic.

"I made this Dravidian conlang called Telugu. I have a verb in it that's pronounced [ˈʋatːsu]. It means 'to come'. It's native to Telugu but is cognate with its equivalents in the other Dravidian languages."
"Cool!"
"So this is how it's conjugated...here's the present tense, the past tense, the future tense, all very regular, yadda yadda yadda, pretty run-of-the-mill stuff for a Dravidian language."
"Okay, what about the imperative form?"
"Oh, it doesn't have an imperative form."
"Huh?"
"(grabs a random grammar of Tamil) Oh, apparently, 'come' in Tamil is [ʋaˈɾa]!"
"Yeah, that's the infinitive. Nobody ever uses it on its own, th--"
"I think I'll make the imperative out of that."
"...Wait, what? That's the infinitive. And nobody even uses it. And why the fuck do you need to borrow your imperative in the first place?!"
"I'll just lop off the first half of the Tamil verb."
"But...that's the one with the stem in it! The stem that's cognate to your other verb!!!"
"And ta-da! Elongate the final vowel (because why the fuck not), and we now have an imperative! 'Come!' is [raː]! Or [ɾaː], but the rhotics merged pretty recently, boring old sound change, who gives a shit. And I'll make an infinitive form out of that!"
"Wait, what?!"
"Yes. I will make the infinitive of the imperative. No, I am not kidding. It is [ˈrəmmu]."
"What. The. Actual. Fuck."
"(getting really into it now, talking very fast) And I'll conjugate it (gasps) and I'll make a 3SG.MASC.PRES form (gasps) for the negative form of the future tense (gasps) and I'll make a 3SG neuter present tense form, too! OOOOOOOOOH! (gasps) And I'll use that to mean 'cannot' (gasps) regardless of whether the subject is 3SG or not (gasps) and...and..."
"......"
(Several hours later)
"I'm gonna make another Dravidian conlang called Toda! I think I'll give it some fricatives and..."
"Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!"

[Qwynegold]

I think the conlanger of this world is a smartass. Why do you have two language family with similar names? Austronesian vs Austroasiatic. Even worse that there is Palauan (an Austronesian language) and Palaungic languages (an Austroasiatic subfamily)

And in the same area he placed a language called "Thai", which belongs to the "Tai-Kadai" family. Umm, I think you left out a H from the name of that family.

[Richard W]

And in the same area he placed a language called "Thai", which belongs to the "Tai-Kadai" family. Umm, I think you left out a H from the name of that family.

I wonder if Li Fang-Kuei was poking fun at English speakers when he made that useful* distinction between Tai and Thai? Tai and Thai are essentially the same word, but most Tai languages' speakers use /t/, not /tʰ/. However, in his professional writings, he calls the language 'Siamese'. In Siamese, the two senses are distinguished by 'Thai' having a redundant final <y>.

*E.g. when talking about non-Tai Thai languages, such as Northern Khmer.

[Xwtek]

Tanoan language family makes no sense. For first, why do you think Inverse number system is a good idea? Also apparently you don't know how language family works. You can't just make it like: They have inverse number system, but the suffix is not cognate. They also don't have horses, but let's make Tiwa sandwich both Tewa and Towa[1]. Oh, the naming of the subfamily is really bad, as you see. When someone told him about this, he then makes a slightly more creative name Kiowa. But that's just for a "this language is really different" gag. You see that Kiowa is somehow Plains Indian, while the rest of Tanoan is Puebloan.

[1] Yes, really, see the picture below

Also, there is another Tiwa in Texas. So there's an Apache between two Tiwas.

[Xwtek]

Everywhere I see desert, I see a native culture utilizing agriculture. Even Atamaca desert. Isn't the point of desert is you can't easily grow a plant? The only place I see a culture without agriculture in desert is Australia and South Africa. Southwestern US is partial answer, because you can get both Apache and Pueblo in the same place. Gobi desert is also partial answer because people there is herding instead.

[Zaarin]

Everywhere I see desert, I see a native culture utilizing agriculture. Even Atamaca desert. Isn't the point of desert is you can't easily grow a plant? The only place I see a culture without agriculture in desert is Australia and South Africa. Southwestern US is partial answer, because you can get both Apache and Pueblo in the same place. Gobi desert is also partial answer because people there is herding instead.

You also had pastoralists in the Negev, Aravah, Syrian Desert, and Arabian Desert; although the Canaanites practiced agriculture, I'm reasonably certain they didn't do so in the Negev or Aravah.

[Xwtek]

So, English, how do you differentiate yourself from other conlang? /ʍ/? Are you serious?

Tamaziɣt: So you want more word without vowels. But you can't just use old words and simply removing the vowels in certain positions.

[malloc]

Everywhere I see desert, I see a native culture utilizing agriculture. Even Atamaca desert. Isn't the point of desert is you can't easily grow a plant? The only place I see a culture without agriculture in desert is Australia and South Africa. Southwestern US is partial answer, because you can get both Apache and Pueblo in the same place. Gobi desert is also partial answer because people there is herding instead.

I have always wondered how that worked myself. It's well known that the Middle East has supported numerous major civilizations, yet I have never really understood how they managed agriculture in such an arid climate. Nor why so many people would choose to live there given the hellish summer temperatures and perpetual scarcity of water.

[Linguoboy]

It's well known that the Middle East has supported numerous major civilizations, yet I have never really understood how they managed agriculture in such an arid climate.

Dude they had rivers.

Iraq has bloody swamps.