Re: Irregularity in human languages (was Re: irregular conlangs)

Don Blaheta wrote:

> Hypothesis: the restricting factor on which verbs are irregular are
> "those verbs which are used often around children, and which children
> themselves use often".  Thus I wouldn't expect, for instance, "compute"
> or "automate", whereas I would expect "fall", "run", "sneak", "jump",
> "dive", etc.
[...]
> This has a lot of relevance (if true) for the people doing human
> conlangs---it's not *just* the frequency of a verb, but also its
> likelihood of use around kids, that makes it a good candidate for
> irregularity from the normal paradigms.  Maybe other people can support
> my claim with reference to other languages?
After looking at a list of irregular Spabish verbs I conclude:

Most irregularities are either sound changes (like {e} -> {ie}), phonetic
changes (like  {c} -> {zc}) or some diferent paradigms (I will call a sou=
nd
changes those which are not predictable in present language but obey a ru=
le
in old Spanish or Latin, while a phonetic change are those you can predic=
t
in present language).

The main diferent paradingm are the -uv- paradigm in the preteritum and
subjunctivs in certain verbs like _estar_ (copula), _andar_, and the root
change (same tenses) in verbs like _tener_ (and derivates), _poner_ (and
derivates), _poder_.

Of those, probably _andar_ is the most tricky and the one most people tre=
at
as regular, not because is not a children verb, but because the full
paradigm is rare among children is my guess.

Another set of irregular verbs are verbs like _saber_ and _caber_, which
have a root change when endings begin with back vowels (like present
subjunctive or 1st singular of present indicative).  Most of those change=
s
are phonetic, like _poner_ -> _pongo_.  (Saber has a further irregularity=
 in
the first person singular of present indicative _saber_ -> *_sepo_ -> _s=E9=
_.)

So, those you can thing a whole irregular are the copulas _ser_ and _esta=
r_
(to be), the auxiliary _haber_ (to have), the other monosilabic verbs _ir=
_
(to go) and _dar_ (to give), the root changing verbs like _saber_ (to kno=
w),
_caber_ (to fit, to match, to go), _tener_ (to have, to have got), _poder=
_
(can, may), _poner_ (to set, to lay).  And the -uv- verbs _estar_ and
_andar_ (to walk, to go).  Most of those verbs I would say that are commo=
n
in childhood.  Actually, the English counterparts are irregular as well.

-- Carlos Th