Re: How to...

On Wed, 24 Oct 2001 16:33:17 +0200 The RipperDoc <ripperdoc@...>
writes:

> Hello! I'm trying to develop my Teinvard-grammar to a more advanced
level.
> It can handle simple sentences like "Marlo eats food" etc., but I need
it
> to be waterproof. How should I proceed the testing and development of
the
> language? Do you have any good methods?
Well, there's always a series of questions that you can ask yourself to
see how tightly your grammar fits together.  Starting with:

Phonology:  OK, so you probably already know what sounds your language
has.  But many people, especially beginning conlangers, don't ask more
advanced questions.  What sorts of consonant combinations are allowed?
How many consonants are allowed at the beginning of a syllable?  How many
at the end?  What about vowels?  Is there hiatus--two adjacent vowels in
different syllables?  What allophones (variations on the basic sound) are
there?  How are foreign words assimilated?

Morphology:  You probably have inflectional morphology down--the
grammatical endings and such.  However, what about derivations?  How do
you derive an actor noun from a verb?  Or a verb from a noun?  Or an
adjective from a verb?  Or . . . well, you get the idea.  Also think
about compounds--do you have compounds like "water-bearer," or do you
require a phrase for that?

Syntax:  This is the most fun.  How do you form relative clauses?  Time
clauses?  If-then sentences?  Rhetorical questions?  Etc, etc.


> Maybe a couple of grammaticaly really advanced sentences that I can
> use to test the grammar?
Here's one: After I had broken my nose, I had to breathe through a nose
emulator until the doctor, who looks just like my uncle Frank, ordered my
replacement like I had asked him three times.

You can come up with similar examples on your own, I'm sure.


Jesse S. Bangs     Pelíran
jaspax@ juno.com
"We couldn't all be cowboys
Some of us are clowns" --Counting Crows