How are Globasa's words selected?

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Methodology for Lexical Development in Globasa

 

Preliminary Step: Before rushing to expand Globasa’s dictionary with a new root word, determine if the desired word can potentially be expressed through an already established root word or through a word formation method (affixing or compounding). Based on that determination, decide whether or not to introduce a new root word.

 

Two-Part Methodology:

(1) Establishing the etymological source for the word

(2) Determining the exact lettering of the word
 

Establishing the Etymological Source

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Caveats: The following caveats must be kept in mind during the source selection process.
 

• Never adopt minimal pairs with v and w, or s and z, m and n (in word-final position only).
   

• Whenever possible, avoid minimal pairs with l and r, b and p, f and p, c and j, c and x, h and r:  Whenever there is more than one option, regardless of number of language families represented, choose the one that does not create one such minimal pair.
   

• Whenever possible, avoid any minimal pairs: Whenever there is more than one more or less equal option, choose the one that does not create a minimal pair.
   

• Never adopt root words that are identical to already established roots plus/minus a consonant at the beginning or at the end of the word.

  • For example, a pair such as ajibu (strange, weird, odd) and wajibu (duty, obligation, responsibility) should never be adopted. Instead, Globasa has adopted ajabu and wajibu.
     

• Whenever possible, avoid one-syllable words and words longer than three syllables: Whenever there is more than one more or less equal option, choose the one with two or three syllables.
   

• Whenever possible, avoid words that appear to be affixed.
   

Source Selection:

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• Check the following languages on Google Translate, Wiktionary and Wikipedia as well as use print dictionaries as support when in doubt: English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Telugu, Arabic, Swahili, Persian, Turkish, Indonesian, Filipino. You may also want to try the  the Globasa Etymology Helper app. 

  • Select the source with the most language families represented.

    • English, French, German, Russian and Spanish are considered one family.  

    • Indonesian and Filipino are in the same family.

    • Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hindi, Telugu, Arabic, Swahili, Persian and Turkish are all in different families.
       

  • If there is a tie in number of families represented, the order of priority for source selection is as follows:
     

    • Any two or more of the Asian languages: Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese
       

    • Arabic, supported by any other language or languages (Persian or Swahili, for example)
       

    • Hindi, supported by any other language or languages (Telugu, Indonesian, or any European language, for example)
       

    • European languages, supported by any other language or languages (Indonesian, Filipino or Turkish, for example)
       

    • Persian and Turkish
       

  • If there is no consensus, do a more thorough search with other parts of speech or with synonyms.
     

  • If there is still no consensus, choose the most appropriate word based on the following order of priority. 
     

    • Mandarin
       

    • ​Arabic
       

    • Swahili
       

    • Hindi
       

  • Keep in mind that the caveats above always trump the source selection guidelines.

Determining Exact Lettering of the Word

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• Apply the caveats above. 
   

• Try finding a middle ground when creating a blend between the words in the various languages. 
   

• Select consonants and vowels that are the least common in Globasa.

  • All else being equal, choose e over a, i over e, o over any other vowel except u (u over o).

  • All else being equal, choose m over n, l over r, h over k, g over k, d over t, p over b.

  • However, all else being equal, choose s over z. 
     

• Root words in Globasa tend to end in a vowel, preferably an a posteriori vowel found in at least one of the major languages or language families.

  • Examples: Spanish words ending in -o, Swahili words ending in -i or -u, or Japanese words ending in -u.

  • Caveats:

    • If the etymology of a word includes an overwhelming number of languages with the word in question ending in a consonant, this can trump a lone language with a final vowel. For example, see tufan and salun.  

    • A final vowel is typically not added if the word would consist of four or more syllables. 
       

• An a priori vowel should only be added if the last consonant is one which phonotactic rules do not allow in word-final position (b, c, d, g, h, j, k, p, t, v, z) or to create a two-syllable word if the source word consists of one syllable. To select an a priori vowel, use the following guidelines:

  • Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese: -o​ in two-syllable words, and -u in three-syllable words.

  • Indo-European (Romance, Slavic, Germanic, Hindi, Persian): -i for English verbs, otherwise -e. 

  • Arabic: -u

  • Malayo-Polynesian: -u