Re: Translation pattern of `to have'?

Henrik Theiling <theiling@...> writes:

> Hi!
>
> Considering various possibilities in my new conlang, the lack of case
> marking, etc., and the verbs that already exist in my language, I
> decided to use the locative verb:
>
>    book be-at I.
>    AGT        PAT
The verb "to be at" is as stative as any verb can be, it is the
prototypically stative verb, so I don't see why the subject is marked as
AGT.  If you intend your language to have active alignment, it should
mark its subject as PAT, and the possessor with an oblique case,
probably dative or locative:

   book be.at me.
   PAT        DAT/LOC

> But it may be logical to not speak of place, but of time:
>
>    book happen-when I.
>    AGT              PAT
The same point could be made about this one.  While "to happen when"
might not be as archetypically stative as "to be at", it does not imply
any kind of "action" from the book.  It is a non-active event verb and
should thus mark its subject as PAT (and "I/me" as LOC) as well.  I also
think that a SAP pronoun is a pretty peculiar specification of time ;-)
The "book be-at me" construction seems more logical to me, anyway.

Jörg.

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