Common Borrowed Language
What is CBL
CBL is an extension of English language. By taking existing words and modifying them according to specially developed rules (a process called piping), new words are created. CBL words differ from normal English words by delivering complex meaning with very rich palette of feelings and imagery, similar to eastern hieroglyphs but actually going even further in complexity.
Terminology
to pipe a word - to modify a normal English word according to CBL rules
ports - words, which sound alike to the mirrored version of the original word, from which the CBL word meaning is derived
to port a word - create a meaning of a new word based on it's ports
How to pipe words
Piping words consists of three phases:
1. Mirroring.
2. Porting.
3. Replacing.
How to mirror words
Mirroring words means simply to write their letters in reverse order.
[milk-klim]
The rules to CBL are that new words have to be made English-readable. For that reason endings like 's' or 'ing' are usually put to the end and stuff like 'sh' and 'ch' are left as they are in most cases. Examples:
fish=shif <-- keeping the 'sh' intact (because the word 'hsif' won't be pronouncible)
worms=mrows <-- keeping the 's' in the end ('smrow' isn't very nice)
dishes=shides <-- keeping the 'sh' and leave 'es' in the end
English words which when mirrored turn into another normal English words (dog<->god) can not be piped unless a replacement technique (3rd step) is used.
How to port words
Porting words is a process of creating a new meaning for the word. It is done by finding words which sound alike with the already mirrored word. Several of them are chosen, at the liberty of the author, however, any CBL word has got to have at least 2 ports. The meaning is derived from ports plus the original, non-mirrored word.
Porting is a rather creative process and gives the author a lot of freedom.
For example, the above mentioned 'shides' is plural. Single form would be 'shide', where 'i' is pronounced as in 'hide'. The meaning of the word is derived from the original word, in this case 'dish', mixed with words that it resembles now. 'Shide' is very close to 'shine', 'side' and 'hide', so basically we have four parts, the original word and it's three ports': 'dish', 'shine', 'side' and 'hide'. From this point on you normally use your imagination. Like, the dish that shines is a dish that is clean, we place it on it's side and hide it (into the cupboard). So 'shide' means a dish that had been washed and put away. Figuratively, 'shide' is something that is completely taken care of and can be a verb.
For example:
[-Shide the dog, will you?] - which depending on the circumstances may mean different things. If it is time to walk the dog, 'shide the dog' would mean to take it out for a walk, bring it back home, wash it in a bath, if it's dirty, and afterwards wash the bath after the dog and clean the floor if it left traces. Saying simply 'walk the dog' would not have such a number of meanings, whereas 'shide' emphasizes that you ask for a complete 'taking care of'.
How to use the replacing technique
Replacing technique is optional for words that when mirrored do not become normal English words and is mandatory for those that do.
The technique allows to give individuality to the word by replacing certain letters and/or adding letters to the end of the word using the rule table below.
All the rules in the table work both ways.
Replacement rule table:
sh-th
ing-es
+e
+er
+ette
The rule table is in development.
How to contribute
If you think you've piped a great word, feel free to send it over. In your message be sure to not only include the piped word and it's meaning, but also it's ports.
As an author of CBL, I leave it to myself to decide whether to include the suggested word into the official CBL Dictionary or not. I might also take your word and change it to my liking. However, even in that case if the word gets included into the dictionary, you will receive credit as a contributor to CBL.
Dictionary
CBL dictionary is freely accessible via the link below.