On Episode 114 of The TLB Podcast James sits down with longtime friend and master linguist, Ben Norton, and the pair discuss Ben's journey from growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska to living full time in Japan, the cultural immersion that shaped his life, using language to connect with, and find similarities in, cultural exchanges, the parallels between language and music, the process of developing two constructed languages, Nurama and Omati, for his graphic novel and card game, the artistic expression found in language, and the subtleties and complexities involved in working with indigenous languages.

BEN NORTON’s LINKS

YouTube: @brushesbladesconlag

Speaking Nurama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRQ6wIkbaa8

Brushes and Blades Instagram: @Brushesandblades_languages

Personal Instagram: @ben.norton328

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction and Journey to Japan

03:01 - Learning Japanese

06:00 - Cultural Immersion and Language Mastery

08:53 - The Complexity of Japanese Language

11:59 - Language and Music

15:01 - Role of Language in Cultural Connection

18:04 - Constructed Languages

27:07 - Language and Perception

28:43 - The Nurama Language

29:14 - Evolution of Nurama

31:38 - Symbolism and Sound in Language

35:51 - The Process of Creating a Language

36:40 - Nurama's Structure

41:23 - Pronouns and Conjugation

45:35 - Diacritics in Nurama

48:46 - Adjectives and Nouns

50:14 - Grammar and Syntax

51:27 - Technology Behind Language Creation

52:41 - Journey of Language Development

54:43 - The Omati Language

56:13 - Constructed Scripts and Decorative Language

58:50 - Cultural Significance in Language

01:01:23 - Modernizing Indigenous Languages

01:05:38 - Language Revitalization and Cultural Integration

01:12:35 - Omati and Nurama

01:16:10 - The Art of Language Creation

01:22:27 - Hawaiian Language Revitalization Efforts

01:29:29 - Future Projects and Community Engagement

#Japan #Japaneseculture #language #learning #culture #linguistics #music #Nurama #Omati #languagecreation #languagerevitalization #conlangs #graphicnovel#Hawaiian #nebraska #omaha #ponca #thetlbpod

Patreon: patreon.com/TheTLBPodcast
Tiktok: tiktok.com/@tlbpod?_t=8YwZxHWa7Ks&_r=1
Instagram: instagram.com/totallylegitimatebusiness
Linktree: ...