Zompist Bboard Again

Calligraphic poetry

natsiuanke, or “grid poetry” developed as an homage to both the strict syllable count rules of Japanese Haiku, Chinese Chengyu; four-character idioms, and the typical two-column arrangement of Mayan glyphs. It should be noted that in the context of natsiuanke, what constitutes a “glyph” includes all grammatical and or phonetic markers, known as the ekalo.

The standard form natsiuanke is arranged in a nine-glyph 3x3 matrix, mirroring the 3x3 dot matrix that forms the glyphs themselves.



aye yamahue naha kontomu ma otla ila
/ˈaːjɛ jaˈmaːɦʷɛ ˈnaːha koˈⁿtoːmu ma ˈoːt͡ɬa ˈiːla/
past mountain-LOC river flow-INCH and bird fly
On the mountain the river began to flow, and the bird flew.



nahi nyepalomua mase naye mauan petsa kuhi
/ˈnaːɦi ɲepaˈloːmʷa ˈmaːʃɛ ˈnaːjɛ ˈmaːwan ˈpeːt͡sa ˈkuːɦi/
girl cloud-PL-COM dance while flower-ACC be.delicate grasp
The girl dances with the clouds while grasping a delicate flower.

The extended form functions exactly as the standard but allows for a 4x4 grid of glyphs.



kamakom molinte nya punka tsame te sohokuetan pue kunye uayamu talatli
/kaˈmaːkom moˈliːⁿtɛ ɲa ˈpuːᵑka ˈt͡saːmɛ tɛ sohoˈkʷeːtan pʷɛ ˈkuːɲɛ waˈjaːmu taˈlaːt͡ɬi/
village-AG-PL forest-ABL for fruit gather of harvest-spring-ACC after moon ascend-INCH come-FUT
The villagers will return from the forest for the fruit gathering of the spring harvest after the moon begins to rise.



na’am selan muka ma tolon yasayo kipomua nya omoto sahyatle anya
1pl.EXCL waterfall-ACC face.toward and path-ACC wind.GEN hope-COM for think-way correct-REL watch
We face toward the waterfall watching hopefully for how to think what is correct by the wind.

The english translations don't feel like poetry at all.

Most literal translations of poetry won't.

foxcatdog wrote: ↑Sun May 07, 2023 6:36 pm The english translations don't feel like poetry at all.

When I was at university, studying ecology but doing a few subjects in German, my monolingual ecology friends asked me about my German class and I said we had to write a rhyming poem for homework. They wanted me to read it out, but after about three words in German, they were like "What does it mean?" and I told them and one goes "That doesn't rhyme though!?" and when I said "It does in German!?" she was like "OMG! I'd never thought about that."

haiku are very codified even in their themes but not in their rhymes...

I love the idea of grid poetry, and it fits the glyphs really well.

I also like, and use, square compositions,
like kufic squares, and Chinese seals...
oriental mazes when you don't have the key...
for having inspired me, I dedicate you my last pseudo-haiku...

Looks like a computer screen in an alien ship from an SF film

hwhatting wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 11:34 am Looks like a computer screen in an alien ship from an SF film

I was going to say they remind me a bit of the glyphs the alien computers use in Morningstar (example), probably because of the "grid" feel, although Morningstar's are definitely not as complex now that I revisit them.

I compose only short inscriptions often in square or circle...
thank you for your comments, I have trouble seeing my glyphs without reading them...

foxcatdog wrote: ↑Sun May 07, 2023 6:36 pm The english translations don't feel like poetry at all.

Yeah, I get that. I've tried to do parallel poetry before (stuuf that rhymes in both langs), and I was not amused by the process.

Rounin Ryuuji wrote: ↑Sun May 07, 2023 7:49 pm Most literal translations of poetry won't.

Yep, exactly.

Imralu wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 6:45 pm "What does it mean?" and I told them and one goes "That doesn't rhyme though!?" and when I said "It does in German!?" she was like "OMG! I'd never thought about that."

I wonder how they would react to forms of poetry that decidedly do not rely on rhyming at all.

Ares Land wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 5:36 am I love the idea of grid poetry, and it fits the glyphs really well.

Thank you!

mocha wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 11:43 am

hwhatting wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 11:34 am Looks like a computer screen in an alien ship from an SF film

I was going to say they remind me a bit of the glyphs the alien computers use in Morningstar (example), probably because of the "grid" feel, although Morningstar's are definitely not as complex now that I revisit them.

I guess I see it, but that was not the goal, at all.

I have finished the first draft of the newest reference grammar for Kala. I am open to any and all feedback. Thank you for reading.

I will be continuing to improve the lexicon in the coming weeks and months, but the substance will likely remain largely unchanged in this reference document.

Wonderful to see. I might use this as a reference (alone with zompist’s) in creating reference grammars for Íröd.

Because I'm having to revise several duplicate glyphs, I decided to make use of the revision to add a few things, the above is a new page describing a sort of "in-world" development of the glyphs.

is this how you created your glyphs...
that's interesting...
do you have the same presentation for each glyph...

I like this!

This is super cool (like always)! Reverse engineering historical processes is always a blast, and gives one a ton to think about

WeepingElf wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2023 6:20 amI like this!

Good, I'm glad!

kodé wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:30 am This is super cool (like always)! Reverse engineering historical processes is always a blast, and gives one a ton to think about

It's so good to see you active again. And I completely agree...a lot to think about.

And, because I believe in giving the people what they want, here are some more:

Very nice,
but if it's about reverse engineering,
how do you create glyphs without resorting to pictography...

Happy Holidays. My gift to Kala fans: