ludling (n.)

A term used in an approach to the FORMAL definition of LANGUAGE games (e.g. play languages, speech disguises, secret languages); from Latin ludus (‘play’) + lingua (‘language’). The focus is on the distinctive structure such games display. In particular, their MORPHOLOGICAL system is limited to a small number of operations superimposed on ordinary language (e.g. INFIXATION, SYLLABLE reversal), its AFFIXES are very few (often only one), and the added elements have no meaning. Ludling operations are seen as extensions of ordinary language processes, and their study has proved attractive in NON-LINEAR approaches to PHONOLOGY and morphology, where they are often referred to as part of the evidence supporting a particular theoretical construct (e.g. the notion of a SKELETAL TIER).