Time words and that ZBB game (was Re: Reviving an old tradition)

On Thu, 09 Feb 2006 22:06:48 -0500, Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>
wrote:

> On 2/9/06, tomhchappell <tomhchappell@...> wrote:
>> Also, "terms like" wouldn't necessarily be translations, would they?
>> The traditional Japanese time-words, for instance, divide the period
>> of daylight into six, instead of twelve, roughly-equal parts; these
>> are about two hours long.  If a conlang has terms for, say, fourths
>> or sixths or eighths of a daylight-period, or for sixteenths or
>> twentieths or twenty-fourths of a daylight-period, those will count
>> as "terms like ... hour", right?
>
> I would certainly say so!  Whether you use "hours" of which there are
> twelve in a day or twelve in a nycthemeron, whether the hours are
> truly equal in time or follow the sun, whether they are divided into
> 60 "minutes" or 100 "centons" or 1080 "parts", they're all in the same
> category.
I just want to throw in my Br'ga words for measuring time, which are
divisions of "daytime" or "nighttime" into fractions of 1/2^n, each
derived regularly from the ordinal n in question. I haven't yet got all
the number words straight, but several of the systems are more or less
described.

Here's a thought: I'll throw open the floor to anyone who wants to play
that ZBB game with Br'ga. I need roots, with syllable shape CV(C) of up to
three syllables, where

V is one of /a A Q e 7 o i M u a: A: Q: e: 7: o: i: M: u: @/

and

C is one of /b B\ tS d r f g R\ h k l K L\ n p s S t cC v\ w x j s_m/

Note that //n// assimilates POA to the following consonant, even through a
vowel. Word-final //n// assimilates to the preceeding consonant. Thus,
//dineL\// becomes /diNeL\/ and //wAna:n// becomes /wAma:m/. I wouldn't
know what to do with a word where the only consonant was //n// but my gut
says it'd default to /n/. If it matters, you can use Quenya or Latin
stress rules to imagine the sound of a word.

I'll probably use them for number words in some way or another, or
appropriate them for some other purpose if they really seem suitable for
that purpose.

So far, I have:

0 /nil/
1 /cCQ/
2 /s_m7n/
3 /fu:v\/
4 /R\u/
100 /sento/
1000 /mil/
a few /KuNig/

suffixed particles:
nth /ku/
(last - n)th /dan/
1/n /x@deL\/
1/2^n /So:jM/



Paul

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