Re: Grammar-holes: secondary predication

Hi,

On Tue, 5 Jun 2007 13:17:19 +0200, taliesin the storyteller <taliesin-
conlang@...> wrote:

>"We spent all night talking about I can't remember what."
>"She bought I lost count how many kinds of cheese."
I'd split these sentences:

  We spent all night talking about something which I can't remember.
  She bought (so) many kinds of cheese I lost count about them.

In German I'd say

  Wir haben die ganze Nacht über irgendwas geredet, an das
  ich mich nicht mehr erinnern kann.
  "We have the whole night about something talked, of which
  I cannot remember me any more."

  Sie hat so viele Sorten Käse gekauft, das ich aufgehört
  habe, zu zählen.
  "She has so many kinds of cheese bought that I stopped
  have to count."

>"They eat fish raw" = they eat fish, the fish being raw as they eat it
>"They eat fish naked" = they eat fish, they are naked while doing so
Ayeri:

  Sira kondiyatang inunin alautisoy.
  The fish, they eat it unfried.

  Sira kondiyatang tehau inunin.
  The fish, they eat it nakedly.

  Sira kondiyatang inunin atehau
  The naked fish they eat.

>"Jane cooked the chicken hot" can mean:
>
>"Jane was hot while cooking the chicken" (depictive, subject)
>"The chicken was hot while Jane cooked it" (depictive, object)
>"The chicken became hot as a result of Jane cooking it" (resultative)
  a. Mamayaiye matikan ang Jane luga maersiyeang vipinaris.
     PST.feel.3s:f hot AGT:Jane while PST.cook.3s:f.AGT bird.PAT
     Jane felt hot while she cooked the bird.

  b. Ang maersiye in Jane vipinaris amatikan.
     TRG:AGT PST.cook.3s:f TRG:Jane bird.PAT PAT.hot
     Jane cooked the hot bird.

  c. Isa maersiye in Jane vipinaris amatikan.
     TRG:CAU PST.cook.3s:f TRG:Jane bird.PAT PAT.hot
     Due to Jane's cooking the bird is hot. (using the causative)

>Is this a hole in your grammars also?
I fear so. There are ways to get around this, though, as you can see above.

Regards,
Carsten

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