Re: Typologic survey, part II

On Tue, 30 Jan 2001 22:08:51 +0100 taliesin the storyteller
<taliesin@...> writes:
> Name of the participating conlang:
-

Rokbeigalmki

> 2: Order of genitive (G), and noun (N)
-

NG.
Method 1: Shown by using the prefix _tza'_ on the G.
ex. _amalm tza'ya~mil-a_, "lands of'north-the" [amalm= (ts)a?ja::mil?a]
Method 2: Compounding into one word, with lengthened stress on final
syllables of each part:
ex. _^amalei^ya~mil-a_, "^lands^north-the" [ama'le:jja::'mi:l?a]
(notice that in plural Ns, the _m_ plural-marker becomes _ei_)

> 3: Order of adjective (A) and noun (N)
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Adjective and noun order is free, although when adjectives follow the
noun they must agree with the noun in whatever it is marked - person,
time, gender, number, and/or definiteness. (and definite nouns always
take their adjectives afterwards)
ex.
suddimwa i-yebm / i-yebm i-suddimwam = silent female elephants
i-yebm-a i-suddimwam-a = the silent female elephants

Adjectives take the prefixes _sud_ (simple adj.), _sad_ (comparative),
and _sid_ (superlative).
A copula based on the verb _tezat_ "to be" is not necessary for "this =
that" statements of being, but is needed when semantically the adjective
requires one of the four tenses, or compounds of them.  In 'timeless'
statements the relevant pronoun is placed by itself at the end of the
sentence (like the tense'd versions).
ex.
sudgoiyat az. = i['m] tall.
sudgoiyat azá. = i'm being tall. (present-immediate tense)
sudgoiyat azóí. = i'm usually tall. (present-routine tense)
sudgoiyat azú. = i was tall. (past tense)
sudgoiyat azíí. = i will be tall. (present tense)

There are also adjectives that take the suffix _ki_.  These have to do
with an 'intrinsic quality' such as that of nationality, ethnicity, or
material.  when talking about people of a certain nation or citizenship
(where they belong to now, not necessarily an ancestral or ethnic
identity) the agentive noun-marker _dh_ is added.  adding the 'proper'
adjective marker _sud_ gives a "similar to" meaning, like doubling the
prefix on normal adjectives does.
ex.
aza-guvdhab ya'lesna-a rokbeigalmki-a. = i'm speaking the rokbeigalmki
language
u-yeb-a dhaz-a pyetki uz. = this (inanimate) elephant is of stone.
stíígiyus anduwihnkidh oz. = Stygius is a member of the Anduin people.
manoi sudzhonki = Chinese-style food.
sudsudrigma kerbala = (a) reddish body

There's also a class of words called "Adjective-Verbs", which *describe a
noun on the basis of a time-specific action*.  The prototypical example i
use for this is the name of the Rokbeigalm's creator-deity:
khada-a OOLU-KABAK dwim-a sudglendm-a
"the one WHO FOUNDED the great waters"
"ool_-" prefixes take the same tense-marking vowels as verbs.
The adjective-verbs formed by this process always follow their noun
(which is commonly definite, although AVs are *never* definite), and
agree with the noun in number.  If the noun is plural, the marker _m_ is
inserted after _ool_ and before the tense-marker vowel.



i hope i explained it not too confusingly,


-Stephen (Steg)
 "Elinor, at yafa kemo mal'akh, ufanayikh ya`idu kakh..."
     ~ _Eleanor_, by Eyal Golan & Etnix