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  Balder : Kosmonaut

Láadan, a Women's Language

Balder said Dec 1, 2008, 10:28 AM:
 

There are a number of interesting “constructed languages” out there, several of which I plan on introducing here.  One of them is Láadan, a constructed language invented for a science fiction novel – but which is interesting because of the premise of the book:  a story about a group of women linguists who attempt to create a language that better reflects women's experience than existing Western languages.

Here is a brief introduction to the language, and here are some FAQs.  I am copying some samples of the language below:

Word

Definition

áalaá butterfly
ashon love for one who is not related by blood but is heart-kin
azháadin to menopause uneventfully
dólhorado to dominate with evil intent
doóledosh pain or loss which comes as a relief because it brings to an end the anticipation of its arrival
doólelasholan alone at last, after putting up with tiresome people
edama the science of touch – touch-science
éeme love for one neither liked nor respected
elasháana to menstruate for the first time
hena sibling by birth
héena sibling of the heart
honáal the hours between midnight and dawn
lalal mother's milk
lewidan to be pregnant for the first time
loláad to perceive internally, to feel
lirini an achievement that seems small to other, but means a lot to the achiever
méhéna compassion despite negative circumstances
móna compassion for foolish reasons
múna compassion for bad reasons
nehena contentment despite negative circumstances
niná the one responsible
ninálh the one to blame
núháam to feel oneself cherished, cared for, nurtured by someone
nuna contentment for bad reasons
ohehena respect despite negative circumstances
óothanúthul spiritual orphanhood; being utterly bereft of a spiritual community
radama to non-touch; to actively refrain from touching
radamalh to non-touch with evil intent
radena unfriendliness for good reasons
radíidin non-holiday, a time allegedly a holiday but actually so much a burden because of work and preparations that it's a dreaded occasion; especially when there are too many guests and none of them help
radodelh non-interface, a situation which has not one single point in common on which to base interaction, often used of personal relationships
radona unfriendliness for foolish reasons
rahéena non-heart-sibling; one so entirely incompatible with another that there is no hope of ever achieving any kind of understanding or anything more than a truce, and no hope of ever making such a one understand why (does not mean “enemy”)
rahom to non-teach; to deliberately fill students' minds with empty data or false information
ralith to deliberately refrain from thinking about something, to wall if off in one's mind by deliberate act
rarulh non-synergy, that which when combined only makes things worse
rashida non-game, a cruel “playing” that is a game only for the dominant playerwho has the power to force others to participate
rathom non-pillow; a “lean on me so I can step aside and let you fall” person
sham love for the child of one's body, presupposing neither love nor respect nor their absence
shol absence-of-pain
thehena joy despite negative circumstances
thuna joy for good reasons
uhud nuisance
uhudemid tick (the insect)
wesháana to menstruate late
widazhad to be pregnant late in term and eager for the end
wina gratitude for no reason
wonewith to be socially dyslexic; uncomprehending of the social signals of others
wóo evidence morpheme indicating the speaker/writer's total lack of knowlege as to the validity of what is said or written
zhaláad the act of relinquishing a cherished/comforting familiar illusion or frame of perception
[For more information, see A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan: Second Edition, edited by Diane Martin; published in 1988 by SF3, Box 1624, Madison WI 53701-1624.]

  Mikey_Dee : A hoot and The frumious Bandersnatc

Re: Láadan, a Women's Language

Mikey_Dee said Dec 2, 2008, 1:55 AM:
 

Bruce, thank you this is a fascinating look into a new world and both the intro and the FAQs were beautifully and clearly presented. I would like to hear some women's views on this language, Thank you for this valuable addition to this pod,
blessings,
Mike
  Balder : Kosmonaut

Re: Láadan, a Women's Language

Balder said Dec 4, 2008, 12:13 PM:
 

Here's a little more information on the language from Wikipedia:

Some basic sentences in Láadan
Láadanliteral translationidiomatic translation
bíi ril áya mahina wastatement present-tense beautiful/beautify flower observed-truthThe flower is beautiful
báa eril mesháad withquestion past-tense plural-go/come womanDid the women go/come?
bíi ril lámála with ruleth wastatement present-tense stroke/caress woman cat-object observed-truthThe woman strokes the cat
bóo wil di le nethrequest hypothetical speak/say I you-objectI would like to speak with you, please.
bíi aril meleyan ra lanemid wáastatement future-tense plural-be-brown negative dog received-truthI hear the dogs will not be brown

[edit] Morphology

Láadan has an agglutinative morphology, and uses a number of affixes to indicate various feelings and moods that many natural languages can only indicate by tone of voice, body language or circumlocution.

Affixmeaningexample
(-)lh(-)disgust or dislikehahodimi: “pleasantly bewildered”; hahodimilh: “unpleasantly bewildered”
du-to try tobíi eril dusháad le wa: “I tried to come”
dúu-to try in vain tobíi eril dúusháad le wa: “I tried in vain to come”
ná-progressive aspectbíi eril dúunásháad le wa: “I was trying in vain to come”
-(e)thanatural possessorlalal betha: “her mother's milk”
-(e)thocustomary or legal possessorebahid letho: “my husband”
-(e)thipossessor by chancelosh nethi: “your money (gambling winnings)”
-(e)thepossessor by unknown provenanceana worulethe: “the cats' food”
-iddenotes male (otherwise female or gender neutral)thul: “mother/parent”; thulid: “father”

The speech act particle, at the beginning of a sentence, can also carry several suffixes, which expand on the overall state of the sentence. For example, bíi begins a statement, but bíide begins a statement that is part of a narrative; bóoth begins a request made in pain; báada begins a question that is meant in jest.

Here's a web page which offers several lessons in Láadan.