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

From:Carlos Thompson <carlos_thompson@...>
Date:Sunday, October 3, 1999, 15:58
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