Re: Typologic survey, part II

taliesin the storyteller <taliesin@...> wrote:
>
> ---- PART II Conlang Typlogic Survey 2001 ----
>
> House-keeping data
>
> Name of the participating conlang:
    Gladilatian

> 2: Order of genitive (G), and noun (N)
>
> Is the order GN, NG or both?
    GN

> How is it shown?
> - With a prefix on the G, the N, both?
    with a preposition on the G -- There are several prepositions which
fulfill the meaning of the English "of".  E.g.
"meMrenep hsta": "Mrenep's foot"
me:     associated with
Mrenep: given name
hsta:   foot

> 3: Order of adjective (A) and noun (N)
    AN

> Does the language have a closed class of adjectives?
> - If yes,
>     - how are they shown? (see question 2 above)
>     - list them
    Gladilatian has a part of speech called an "attribute", which is a
closed class similar to adjectives but syntactically different.  Adjectives,
for instance, are separate words, but attributes are prefixes.  The
attributes are:

  Classificational
sna: intelligent being
he: animal or machine
ho: inanimate object

  Quantitative
zno: one
fsu: two
hrnu: three
sru: four
wfe: five
mu: six
fr: all
fzo: more
hrak: unique
nza: at least
we: more than one
zma: at most

  Temporal
frek: past
fe: present
sre: future

  Relational
fma: my
na: your
nra: this

  Directional
rna: left
zve: right

  Qualitative
lyk: random, arbitrary
nye: child, unfinished
sat: pure, archetypical
snek: small
vek: large
zna: primary, fundamental

  Miscellaneous
mnek: required
mvo: continuing
nmut: meta-, hyper-
nrot: same
rzo: which?
xya: almost

> Regardless of being a separate class or not:
> How are they similar, how do they differ from verbs and nouns?
    There are no verbs.  An adjective always modifies a noun.  However, an
adjective can be converted into a noun with a suffix.  The suffix "ot" is
the abstractor, and the suffix "u" is the nominalizer.  E.g.
fne: black
fneot: blackness
fneu: something black

> Can they take a copula (that is: need/don't need equivalent of "to be")?
    All Gladilatian sentences are copulas.  To simply say that an adjective
applies to a noun a sentence connecting the noun to the nominalized
adjective will do.  E.g.
"Zula fneu.": "The book is black."
zula: book
fne: black

 ===========================================================================

             Dennis Paul Himes    <>    dennis@himes.connix.com
             homepage: http://www.connix.com/~dennis/dennis.htm
        Gladilatian page: http://www.connix.com/~dennis/glad/lang.htm

Disclaimer: "True, I talk of dreams; which are the children of an idle
brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy; which is as thin of substance as
the air."                      - Romeo & Juliet, Act I Scene iv Verse 96-99