One of my life-long goals has been to create the simplest language possible which can express any idea. I have always wanted to break down the meaning of the universe into elemental parts.
The first minimalistic language I made was called "Assembly". It had roughly 11 words. However, it relied on a large number of word combinations with implicit meaning. For example, "opposite of force" implicitly meant "knowledge", and "time possesses 1 unit x-axis" meant "a time with a 1 in 2 change of occurring". I realized that these kinds of word combinations were funny-business. They reduce the number of words without decreasing the language's complexity.
For a while I considered languages with ZERO words which relied on pictures instead. It seemed that I could express any concept if I supplied enough pictures. However, I was still curious to know how simple a language could be WITHOUT using pictures.
My next minimalistic language was called "Zurafa". The grammar and lexicon were based on Pegakibo, one of my "normal" conlangs. While Pegakibo had over 1000 words, Zurafa had only 80. When making Zurafa I avoided implicit meanings like those of Assembly. However, Zurafa relied largely on scientific knowledge. For example, colors were expressed as frequences of electromagnetic radiation, and materials were expressed in terms of their atomic structure. This required the user to consult Wikipedia when speaking the language.
I created a new minimalistic language to resolve the caveats of my previous languages.
Presenting: Sese.
LANGUAGE GOALS
Ability to express all concepts (regardless of efficiency)
Very small lexicon (~100 words)
Not rely excessively on scientific knowledge
No implicit meaning nonsense (Certain oligosynthetic languages serve as counter-examples)
It is worth noting that while both Toki Pona and Sese have small lexicons, Sese has a significantly different design philosophy. Toki Pona encourages a Taoist simplification of thought. In contrast, Sese harbors complexity. Communication in Sese is often a "semantic explosion". If you enjoy a linguistic challenge, Sese is for you.
GRAMMAR
There are two parts of speech: noun and verb.
Verbs behave in a similar fashion to functions in mathematics or programming. To invoke a verb, place the verb before space separated arguments enclosed in brackets:
VERB[ARG1 ARG2 ARG3...]
A verb invocation returns either a noun or another verb. Verb invocations may be nested.
ALPHABET
Consonants:
K as in Cat
G as in Get
S as in Sat
Z as in Zoo
T as in Ten
D as in Door
P as in Pet
B as in Bet
Vowels:
U as in bOOt
O as in bOAt
A as in bAt
E as in bEt
I as in bEEt
Every word has the phonetic structure (consonant)(vowel)(consonant)(vowel), where both consonants are ALWAYS the same.
In writing, a word may be abbreviated by removing the second consonant.
IE: (consonant)(vowel)(vowel).
Furthermore, if both vowels are the same, the second vowel may be removed.
IE: (consonant)(vowel).
DICTIONARY
Let arg1 be the first argument, arg2 be the second argument, etc.
Let the default return value be the state, quality, action, or process of the statement.
SUSU (N)
Thing; the most general noun.
BOBO (N)
Object; physical entity.
BIBI (N)
Light.
BEBE (N)
Color.
BEBU (V)
Statement: Arg1 is red.
Return value: (N) Default.
BOBE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is orange.
Return value: (N) Default.
BEBI (V)
Statement: Arg1 is yellow.
Return value: (N) Default.
BIBE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is green.
Return value: (N) Default.
BEBO (V)
Statement: Arg1 is blue.
Return value: (N) Default.
BUBE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is purple.
Return value: (N) Default.
BABE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is gray.
Return value: (N) Default.
SASA (N)
Sound.
SISE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is high-pitched.
Return value: (N) Default.
ZUZU (N)
Taste; smell.
ZUZI (V)
Statement: Arg1 is sweet.
Return value: (N) Default.
ZIZU (V)
Statement: Arg1 is sour.
Return value: (N) Default.
ZUZE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is salty.
Return value: (N) Default.
ZEZU (V)
Statement: Arg1 is bitter.
Return value: (N) Default.
ZUZO (V)
Statement: Arg1 is umami.
Return value: (N) Default.
DADE (N)
Temperature.
KIKI (N)
I; me.
KEKU (V)
Statement: Arg1 is relative to arg2; along; about.
Return value: (N) Default.
TETE (N)
Space.
TATA (N)
Time.
POPO (N)
Position.
DODO (N)
Rotation.
GIGI (N)
Axis.
GIGU (N)
X axis (from left to right).
GIGO (N)
Y axis (from back to front).
GIGE (N)
Z axis (from bottom to top).
GIGA (N)
T axis (from past to future).
POPA (N)
Distance; angle.
KUKA (N)
Unit (meter, degree, second, gram, liter).
POPI (V)
Statement: Arg1 is in arg2; within.
Return value: (N) Default.
DODE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is continuously changing over time.
Return value: (N) Default.
GAGA (N)
Shape; form.
GAGU (N)
Length; angle.
GAGI (N)
Part; piece.
GAGE (V)
Statement: Arg1 is attached to arg2; bonded to.
Return value: (N) Default.
GEGI (N)
Corner; vertex.
GEGO (N)
Edge; line.
GEGU (N)
Face; surface.
GOGA (V)
Statement: Arg1 is curved.
Return value: (N) Default.