=> yujiri.xyz | Argument

Trying to change a living language

last edited 2024-11-05

I sometimes find it irritating to see people mispronounce or mispell words, especially when it seems impossible that the person doesn't know how to pronounce it correctly. The example that irritated me most was hearing a presentation on the science of trees pronounce "mature" as "muh-turr" - no ch. I made fun of it to everyone I was with afterward. Some time after I started hearing other people say it outside of that, and I got even more agitated.

But a few years later, I learned something.

I've believed for years now - even before that experience I think - that the world needs a designed language to replace the current ones and I even tried to do it, before realizing I'm under-equipped.

=> Thoya, the philosopher's conlang

So what if the people mispronouncing like that were actually like me? After all, if a pronounciation becomes mainstream, then it becomes by definition correct. So there's nothing wrong with the idea of deliberately trying to change a language by being the change you wanna see. There's no reason that t should have a ch sound. Maybe that guy was wise and he was trying to make the world a better place, bit by bit.