Re: Case

On Sat, 10 Jul 1999, From Http://Members.Aol.Com/Lassailly/Tunuframe.Html w=
rote:

> why so many locative cases ? do you feel it is better
> than deriving them from nouns and verbs ?
> to reach > until
> in-side > in
> enter inside > into
> i'd thought the languges you study are likely to do so.
>=20
Well, what I'm doing is not exactly inventing them; I have a 1992 grammar
of Denden in which they are all already named. I'll be taking a copy with
me to Londen - you did have some Dutch, didn't you?

There are some connections with related verbs, but basically, I already
had about 80 adpositions, and I have to analyze them in some coherent way.
What I'm doing with Denden is not inventing it here and now, but working
on all the material I made  from 1985 to 1993, and it is very seldom that
I have to add anything to the available material (always excepting lexical
items). In that sense it is real fieldwork.

So I'm stuck with the particles - can't do anything about it! (But I've
grown to like them - they are easy in use!)

> your NOM "ga" intrigues me. is it like in japanese :
>=20
> THEME-wa ... RHEME(-da)
> RHEME/FOCUS-ga .... THEME(-da)
>=20
> ("theme" is topical and "rheme" is expletive)
>=20
This is what it started out as - it has developed in usage to
a final copula, which can be negated, but never has tense,
aspect of attitudinal qualifiers. Well, when I say never, I must
admit that many non-native speakers of Denden do pretty much what
they want with it, and while not common, phrases like the next are=20
found:

=2E   Quandiyal lyan   tau.ga.ju
    Quandiyal pretty NEG.NOM.CRT
    Quandiyal is certainly not pretty!
   =20
But this is recognized by autochtonous grammarians as sub-standard
and non-Charyan usage. But all in all, _ga_ isn't a verb.

> why call it "NOM" while it looks like a final copula ?
Tradition, mere tradition!

In the 1992 grammar of Denden I have the following examples with _ga_ NOM:

Passive:

=2E    Quna.dir ga  muanir. =20
     cat.p    NOM stroke
     The cats are being stroked
    =20
Existentials:

=2E    Charya ga  Pal.
     Charya NOM emperor
     There is an emperor in Charya, Charya has an emperor.
    =20
=2E    Charya ta  ga  Pal.
     Charya NEG NOM emperor
     There isn't an emperor in Charya, Charya does not have an emperor.

     Contrast with:
    =20
=2E    Charya.zu  adan.dan atan  Pal
     Charya.LOC man.p    to_be emperor
     In Charya there is an emperor.

It is possible to finish off the _ga_ phrase with the particle _at_ EXIST:

     Ga Pantumatar at=20
     NOM Pantumatar EXIST
     Pantumatar exists

     Sera  ga Pantumatar at.=20
     3shGH NOM Pantumatar EXIST
     Pantumatar he exists.

     Pantumatar ga at.
     Pantumatar NOM EXIST
     Pantumatar exists.

Attribtution:

     Charya ga  n=E0dal   ray.    =20
     Charya NOM country good
     Charya is a good country

     Da    ga Dustladan.
     3sMGH NOM Dustlani
     He is a Dustlani

     Attributive _ga_ phrases can be finished with _yautan_ ATTR
    =20
     Sero  ga  Daine yautan.=20
     1sHGH NOM daine ATTR.
     I am the Daine.

     Ga Daine yautan seri.=20
     NOM daine ATTR  2sHGH
     Are you the Daine?

Situative expressions:

     Broi ga  klonlyan tan Pal.
     Broi NOM palace   TAN emperor
     In Broi is the palace of the emperor

     Situative expressions can be finished with cu SIT.

     Andan ga sumis cu.
     man  NOM wine  SIT
     The wine is in the man

     sumis ga  taush   cu  yan.
     wine  NOM caraffe SIT too
     There's wine in the caraffe too.

Object nominalisation:

     Adanvough qireze barusha.
     old_man   see    mountain
     The old man sees the mountain
    =20
     barusha  (ga)  goho (yautan)
     mountain (NOM) high (ATTR)
     The mountain is high

     These two nominalised to object:
    =20
     Adanvough ga  barusha  goho qireze.=20
     old_man   NOM mountain high see
     The old man sees the mountain that is high.
     The old man sees that the mountain is high.

     Keda   ga  naha   afran teshitlo gevir ram.
     father NOM mother go    market   give  money=20
     father gives money to mother who goes to the marked

     Zinahama ga  aday  yos=E9   sam=E9.=20
     grandma  NOM child cheeky say
     Grandma gives the cheeky child a talking-to


Well, what do you think? How would you analyse _ga_ on the
basis of these examples?

Boudewijn Rempt  | http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt