Possible grammar quirks for my new conlang?

[Sami-Fire]

Hello! I'm trying to make a new conlang, but I just can't figure out how to make it shine. (My last two conlangs didn't have many twists to differentiate them from coded English.) I want to make this one different, but I'm just not sure what I can do for the grammar and structure to make it not screwy English.

Currently, I have the following ideas. The words are structured similarly to Japanese words, being made out of consonant-vowel syllable pairs (there may be some exceptions/single letters, but I'm not sure yet). The grammar is going to be in subject-object-verb format... and that's all I have.

What other grammar quirks could I introduce to make the language distinct, but not too complex? My other two conlangs have suffix and prefix syllables that indicate emotion and other details, but I feel like that's becoming a crutch of mine and I'd prefer not to use it in this language so that it's separate from the other two.

If it helps at all, here's a little backstory about the language that might give you an idea of how it might be formed. This one is actually a conlang in-universe, created by a group of people in a dimension-traveling inn who were hoping to make a "universal" language that could be used for artistic purposes. So, I'd imagine that it'd pick up lots of strange things from visitors' native languages, but I don't know what.

[Keenir]

Hello!

Hi! welcome to the group. have some tea.

I'm trying to make a new conlang, but I just can't figure out how to make it shine. (My last two conlangs didn't have many twists to differentiate them from coded English.) I want to make this one different, but I'm just not sure what I can do for the grammar and structure to make it not screwy English.

its not the twists that make something "coded English" or otherwise.
(others can explain that better than I did)

What other grammar quirks could I introduce to make the language distinct, but not too complex?

It doesn't have to be super-full of quirks. Start on one part of the conlang - a part with the quirk or without the quirk - and make a few example sentences, and build from there.

[qwed117]

Hello! I'm trying to make a new conlang, but I just can't figure out how to make it shine. (My last two conlangs didn't have many twists to differentiate them from coded English.) I want to make this one different, but I'm just not sure what I can do for the grammar and structure to make it not screwy English.

Currently, I have the following ideas. The words are structured similarly to Japanese words, being made out of consonant-vowel syllable pairs (there may be some exceptions/single letters, but I'm not sure yet). The grammar is going to be in subject-object-verb format... and that's all I have.

What other grammar quirks could I introduce to make the language distinct, but not too complex? My other two conlangs have suffix and prefix syllables that indicate emotion and other details, but I feel like that's becoming a crutch of mine and I'd prefer not to use it in this language so that it's separate from the other two.

If it helps at all, here's a little backstory about the language that might give you an idea of how it might be formed. This one is actually a conlang in-universe, created by a group of people in a dimension-traveling inn who were hoping to make a "universal" language that could be used for artistic purposes. So, I'd imagine that it'd pick up lots of strange things from visitors' native languages, but I don't know what.

What I would say is read a lot of books/papers about the language whose aesthetic you wish to emulate (NOT RECREATE). There's a torrent somewhere with trillions of grammars. You'll have to find it yourself though.

[Frislander]

You don't have to find it: it's here

I particularly recommend looking at the Papuan and North-American folders.

[paa pəpaa]

You don't have to find it: it's here

I particularly recommend looking at the Papuan and North-American folders.

Wow, that is a great resource!
I've been using SIL PNG for grammars of Papuan languages, but you have to look a bit to find available and interresting papers there. I love Papuan languages.

To the OP, I'd advise against trying too hard to make it too different to begin with. I think the best approach for newbies will be to single out a few areas where the grammar is un-Englishy, and try to keep the rest simple. If you manage this, and make something you're fairly content with, you can use the knowledge you gained and up the ante a little bit for the next language.

I don't seem to be quite able to follow this advice myself though. My main flaw in conlanging is that I keep finding interesting things I'd like to incorporate, and then I end up having something that just plain makes my head explode. I'm a major scrapper, and despite having conlanged on and off for half a a decade, I still consider myself quite the noob.

[Frislander]

You don't have to find it: it's here

I particularly recommend looking at the Papuan and North-American folders.

Wow, that is a great resource!
I've been using SIL PNG for grammars of Papuan languages, but you have to look a bit to find available and interresting papers there. I love Papuan languages.

To the OP, I'd advise against trying too hard to make it too different to begin with. I think the best approach for newbies will be to single out a few areas where the grammar is un-Englishy, and try to keep the rest simple. If you manage this, and make something you're fairly content with, you can use the knowledge you gained and up the ante a little bit for the next language.

I don't seem to be quite able to follow this advice myself though. My main flaw in conlanging is that I keep finding interesting things I'd like to incorporate, and then I end up having something that just plain makes my head explode. I'm a major scrapper, and despite having conlanged on and off for half a a decade, I still consider myself quite the noob.

My advice is always to make sure you fully understand a feature before you include it, and if possible find more than one natlang example first. That way you're more likely to create something which feels natural and is more satisfying. This is especially important for discourse-related features, such as topic-prominence.