Re: Adjectives, Particles, and This ( etc ), and Conjunctions...

On Thu, 18 Jan 2001 08:57:49 -0700 dirk elzinga
<dirk.elzinga@...> writes:
> [SNIP]
> Shoshoni
> has a highly articulated demonstrative system; here's how it
> works.
>
> Demonstratives consist of two parts, a proximal prefix and a
> demonstrative stem. Most prefixes come in pairs, one with an
> initial s- and one without. The s- forms are more definite and
> are used for previously mentioned referents. Each pair shows
> relative distance--spatial, temporal as well as psychological.
> Here are the prefixes with the demonstrative stem -tyn (/y/ is a
> high central unrounded vowel):
>
>         si-, i- 'near' (sityn 'this')
>         se-, e- 'not quite so near' (setyn 'this')
>         sa-, a- 'far, but in sight' (satyn 'that')
>         su-, u- 'not in sight, usually far' (sutyn 'that')
>         ma- no distinction (matyn 'this, that')
>
The Czechs have 7 demonstratives, all of which are perhaps best
translated into English as "that". (Maybe they figure that, if
something's close enough to touch, there's no need to indicate where it
is, so there's no need for a word that means "this".)

3 of the demonstratives (TEN, TENTO, TOTENTO) are for things in the near
distance (spatially or psychologically) and 3 (TAM, TAMTO, TOTAMTO) are
for more-distant things.

TENTO isn't used unless TEN has already been used in the conversation to
refer to another item of the same sort, TAMTO isn't used unless TAM has
already been used in the conversation to refer to another item of the
same sort, TOTENTO isn't used unless TEN and TENTO have already been used
in the conversation to refer to other items of the same sort, and TOTAMTO
isn't used unless TAM and TAMTO have already been used in the
conversation to refer to other items of the same sort.

So, in Czech, it's possible to differentiate among up to 6 items of the
same sort (be they rocks or men or whatever) by just using those 6
demonstratives.

Their 7th demonstrative is TO, but no sense of distance is attached to it
(and it isn't used for differentiating among items of the same sort).

-- Tommie