Re: How to...

En réponse à The RipperDoc <ripperdoc@...>:

> 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?
Testing! (though it's a method I should also use for myself :)) . A case
of: "do as I say, don't do as I do" :))) )

Well, if you can handle sentences like "Marlo eats food", try to complicate
them. Can you do sentences like "Marlo gives food to the dog", " Marlo says to
John to give food to the dog", questions, relative clauses, subordinate
clauses, if-then constructions (they don't need to be subordinate clauses. In
Moten, if-clauses are independent clauses with a special verb form, and in
Chasmäöcho, it's the then-clause which is the subordinate, not the if
clause :) ), factitive constructions ("Marlo makes John give the food to the
dog"), etc...?

> Maybe a couple of grammaticaly really advanced sentences that I can use
> to
> test the grammar? Which steps do you follow in the creation process (of
> the
> grammar)?
Well, I usually go this way: phonology (what sounds are possible), morphology
(what sound series are possible), phrase syntax (how does the noun work, how
does the verb work, how do I handle adjectives, adverbs, are compounds
possible, etc...), simple sentence syntax (how does a simple sentence with one,
two, three participants work, how do I add circumstances, how do I handle
questions, negations), complex sentence syntax (how do I handle relative
clauses, subordinate clauses, if-then clauses, indirect speech, etc...),
paragraph syntax (how do sentences run in speech or in writing), real speech
(greetings, interjections, pauses, etc...), and finally writing and conculture
(if I want a writing system different from my romanization, and if I want any
conculture).

Of course, this order can be changed depending on the language itself, and
things are not independent from each other.

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

Take your life as a movie: do not let anybody else play the leading role.