1. Principles
Aim
Senatola should be as logical and easy to learn as possible and sound soft and melodic.
Guiding principles
In the lessons: Lesson 21: Paraphrase instead of a rule
- No exceptions. Every rule always applies.
- One spelling, one pronunciation. Every word can be pronounced correctly the first time you read it.
- Soft sound. Only syllables of consonant + vowel.
- Invented, but meaningful. Related ideas share a root.
- What is frequent is short. Function words have one syllable, frequent content words two.
- Grammar only where needed. Rules exist only where they prevent misunderstandings.
- One idea, one word. There are never two words for the same idea, and two different ideas never share a word, even if German or English has one word for both (German “schwer”: heavy or difficult).
- Paraphrase before a new rule. Simple, longer sentences are better than complicated rules. A new rule exists only in two cases:
- A construction that occurs anyway would otherwise have two readings. The rule then fixes the reading.
- A frequent meaning cannot be paraphrased well.
A paraphrase is good if it only uses existing rules, keeps the meaning and needs at most one additional simple sentence. The usual paraphrases are in chapter 4.