Resumé etc.

Just started working on a new version of my resumé. This is probably the first step I've really taken towards getting myself a job – I've written a resumé before, but it was mainly a "Mom-told-me-to" thing.

In other news, I'm enjoying being off, and thinking about working on various projects in addition to a job. It might be working on the trade-language I was talking about earlier, it might be drawing, I don't know. Meantime, I'm playing Magic: the Gathering and Scrabble with Dad. Seeya later!

Trade ConLang – Circumstances of Application

A few weeks back, I came up with a concept for a constructed language designed for trade between alien creatures. Today, I thought up a few more aspects, based on one possible scenario in which it might be applied.

This scenario was that of the first contact. Now, while the language is primarily intended as a trading tool, frequently this trading might be carried out with creatures who do not already speak the language. As a result, the following features might be desirable.

• Use a regular structure for absolutely everything. Irregular verbs/nouns/adjectives/anythings should be scorned. It is an artificial language in any case, and there is no reason to expect any.
  
• Use word-order for as much as possible. Anything which requires making variations of words may add confusion, and is therefore a priori undesirable.
  
• Use compound words for many concepts. If "water" and "stuff" are already familiar, then "water-stuff" being hydrogen is a relatively simple step, if you know your chemistry. ("sour" + "stuff" = oxygen might be harder, but you don't have to ape German in everything.)
  
• Make concepts helpful to first-contact teams easy. "Plant", "animal", "person", "me", "you", and so forth are probably on this list – the Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia will have good suggestions.

Incidentally, I probably want to use syllables as the basic language unit, and thereby make difficult pronunciations a little less likely. But that's not from thinking about first contact, that's just from rereading my initial post.