Re: confession: roots

Rik Roots and others wrote:

>> Muke Tever wrote:
>> > And there's a question for the list, which I forgot if I've asked
already.  Is
>> > there a simple active verb in English meaning 'to be born' ?
>>
>> Not that I know of, but I have heard constructions like "borning cry" to
>> mean "a child's first cry after being born", essentially treating "born"
>> as an active verb, but I don't know if that's an exception or a
>> preservation of an archaic verb.
>>
>In polite society, people tend to "have" babies in hospitals.
>
>More colloquially, mothers will "sprog" when the time comes.
>
>"sprog" also acts as a euphamism for "kid", but is less pleasant.>
Is this too obvious:  _to bear, bore, borne_?  Presumably "born" is the same
root?


ObConLang:  Not very originally, Kash _kamon_ is also passive in meaning
(but note the causative form):  to be born (e.g. makamonsa I was born...);
yukamon gestate, develop (of foetus); añukamon gestation; gestation period
(approx. 280-90 days for humans);  rungamon to give birth (to-- may be used
intrans.); kamoñi ~ angamon birth; kangamon midwife; cakamon (of a woman,
dat.) to mis-carry; (of a child, nom.)  be still-born; lero kamon day/date
of birth (officialese);  lekramon birthday (what you celebrate).......
Notes:  1. añukamon is basically a medical term, one does not usually form
nominals from derived verbs.
2. kangamon ought properly to mean 'one who gives birth', but that's inde
'mother'.
3. Whether rungamon may truly be used intransitively or not is debatable;
perhaps the obvious object ana 'child' has simply been deleted.

'Newborn' (noun) however is anamelu, a slightly irreg. compd. of ana and
velu 'new'.  It could be a medical term too, neonate (ugly word),
anamelukale 'neonatal'; the colloq. nursery terms are meme ~ veve.

Replies