Re: Adunaic case system

[Starting out with a technical issue.  When I receive messages with
quoted material, they come out with different colored bars to the
left of the text.  I was concerned that this wouldn't come through
on the list, so I try to quote manually.  Can people see the part of
my text that was quoted by Roger fine below?  It's the "Problem 1"
sentence.  On my end, it comes out as blue with a blue vertical bar
to its left.]

Roger replied to my original statement:

<<
> Problem 1: What's the difference between a compound expression and
> an "actual" compound!?
Well, in Engl., the stress pattern, I think. láwnmower (device) vs. láwn
mówer (person-- not the best ex., I know); Whíte House vs. whíte hóuse.
 >>

Aren't those two examples different?  That is a "lawn mower" is a
"mower of lawns (human)", where as a "white house" is "a house
that is white".

Roger wrote:
<<
(There might actually be a phrase "the
five pillars of (the) faith" w.r.t. Islam??)
 >>

I don't know the words (well, except for "five"), but it would
be "five pillars the faith".  Ordinarily, "five" would have to
agree in definiteness as an adjective modifying a noun, but in
this case, it must not (ditto with "pillars").

Roger wrote:
<<
Well, there are 3 ways in Kash, too:
1. N-ni N for non-intrisic or figuative possession, usu. restricted to
inanimates;
2. N N-gen for intrinsic possession/ownership, usu. restricted to
animates
3. N N where the 2nd noun is adjectival (and implies some possession I
think).
 >>

See, now *this* makes sense.  In Kamakawi, there are five ways
to do possession, which are:

(1) Product: the book *of* the author
(2) Familial: the sister *of* Alama
(3) Location: a man *from* Hawai'i
(4) Something Owned: the pencil *of* Alama
(5) Part to Whole: wall *of* the house

This is because of how possession is marked (with prepositions).

So I don't think Kamakawi can make the contrast you give in the
example here:

Roger's example:
<<
"ñera puna (wall(s) (of a) house) is(are) usually built of wood" vs.

"ñerani puna yu (wall-of.it house the [specific wall]) was poorly built"
 >>

-David
*******************************************************************
"A male love inevivi i'ala'i oku i ue pokulu'ume o heki a."
"No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn."

-Jim Morrison

http://dedalvs.free.fr/