Re: a verb aspect--what's it called?
| From: | Sally Caves <scaves@...> |
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| Date: | Wednesday, October 11, 2000, 2:13 |
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Your contemplative actually sounds like a subjunctive,
and hence a mood, rather than an aspect. I've often
wondered why moods and aspects are different categories.
How, for instance, in translation, would you render the
"contemplative"? Can you give us an example? And how
would it seem different from a subjunctive?
Would it be something like: "I would be a mariner, would
that I were a mariner." "Would that I run for election!"
"I should run for election." "I am thinking of running for
election, I may run for election." ???
Let's see. Teonaht has an "inchoative" aspect particle,
and it also has a "modal" that is used to mean hypothetical
or possible action. Let's see what I have there. Okay,
I've come back from my page: adry ennyve, "I am about to
eat," is what I call the "inchoative," action that one
is just starting upon or intending to do. I distinguish
it from the "inceptive," expressed by a modal: y mip ennyve,
"I'm beginning to eat," "I start or have started eating."
Definitely not what you're describing.
"Wemned," another modal, is T's only inclination towards
something like the subjunctive or the conditional: "y wem
ennyve" means "I may/might/could eat," and it seems to be
the closest thing to what you call the "contemplative." Yet
I have no name for it, and it often occurs in a cause/effect
clause: "Y wem ennyve ti tyr ennyve fy" (I may eat if you eat
too.) Not a very efficient system, since it covers too many
subtleties. I suppose it could stand alone, in which case
it means "I'm thinking about eating." Y wem run for election
definitely means "I may run, I'm thinking of running," but
not necessarily "I should run." There is another modal,
"hmened," "to be constrained/obligated to," for that.
There is the desiderative modal: "Y dihs ennyve, dihsry ennyve"
(I want to eat). Hmmm. Is your verb a desiderative?
Sally
Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
> I was hoping to have 3 aspects, no tenses-per-se, for verbs:
>
> contemplative (ad hoc name): an action that hasn't begun or is being
> considered, or wished, or wondered about--something that hasn't
> actually happened
> progressive: an action that's happening or in progress
> completive: an action that's been completed and tied off
>
> (Well, I guess the use of "is happening," etc. is deceptive.
> Theoretically I'd like these to be useable in past, present or future.
> Meep isn't intended to be a practical artlang, just whimsical.)
was happening... will be happening. That's doable.
>
> I tried looking up a website article on aspects:
>
http://www.rick.harrison.net/langlab/aspect.html
>
> which is great in that it has a lot of neat examples (a number of which I
> stole for Chevraqis), but couldn't find anything that corresponds to
> "contemplative" (I thought it might be inchoative, but it seems not).
> Does anyone know of an existing name for this sort of aspect, or should I
> just stick with the ad hoc "contemplative"?
>
> YHL, wishing she could pick up Comrie's _Aspect_, except she's *frozen*
> book acquisitions, darnit!