The LCC Relay

Welcome to the LCC Relay! Use the navigation ring below to choose a destination:

Introduction | Rules | Participants | Summary | FAQ
Previous LCC Relays | All Previous Relays


FAQ

  • Q: Is there going to be a relay for LCC4?

  • A: Yes, there was! The relay is now finished, and you can view the results here.

  • Q: What is a conlang translation relay?

  • A: Have you ever played the game Telephone? If not, go here for a detailed explanation and examples. It's essentially a game where you stand in a line, and one persons whispers a phrase from one person to another. By the time the message has been passed from the first participant to the last, it has usually changed, and can sometimes be totally incomprehensible. (E.g., Message: "Your brother left his book at home." Next: "Your mother left her book at home." Next: "Your mother left her cook at home." Next: "Your mother wants to cook at home." Etc.)

    The conlang relay is a version of Telephone using conlangs. The first participant (usually the relay master) comes up with a short text translated into his/her conlang, and passes it on to someone else with a glossary and grammatical information. That participant then uses that information to decipher the text and translate it into their own conlang. After they've done so, they pass on their translation to someone else. In the end, the text usually bears no resemblance whatsoever to its original form.

  • Q: How long has the conlang relay been around?

  • A: Since 1999. The first conlang relay is online, and can be found here. For a little background info, you can go here.

  • Q: Can I see some examples?

  • A: Certainly! Since it started in the internet age, every relay can be found online. Jan van Steenbergen has put up a list of every relay along with every relay participant, and the languages they used, which can be found here.

  • Q: Why would anyone pariticpate in a conlang relay?

  • A: For fun! Additionally, many conlangers find it helpful to test their languages by entering them into a relay, to see what areas need sprucing up, what works, what needs more explanation, and how well another conlanger can handle their language.

  • Q: Can I join?

  • A: No, I'm afraid there is no current LCC relay going on. But if you want to participate in a relay, I strongly recommend joining the Relay List (see next bullet).

  • Q: How do I join the Valdyas Conlang Relay listserv?

  • A: Go to http://www.valdyas.org/mailman/listinfo/relay and follow the instructions listed there. (Note: Currently the Mailman UI is down, so that link will give you an error message. Hopefully it will come up again some day, but in the meantime, go ahead and contact me if you'd like to join the relay list.)

  • Q: Why was there a separate e-mail list for the LCC2 relay?

  • A: Mainly because I didn't see it as an "official" Conlang-L relay, and because there was another (semi-?)official Conlang-L relay going on at the same time, so I didn't want to clutter up the Valdyas listserv with LCC2 relay traffic.

This page was last modified on Friday, August 3, 2018.
This website was last modified on .
This page can be viewed normally, as a milk or dark chocolate bar, in sleek black and white, or in many other ways!
All languages, fonts, pictures, and other materials copyright © 2003- David J. Peterson.

free counters