NatLang/ConLang: question forms & semantic transparency
| From: | Jonathan Chang <zhang2323@...> |
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| Date: | Thursday, September 21, 2000, 19:51 |
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Interesting thing in _some_ pidgins and creoles is semantic transparency,
i.e. question forms:
from Chinese Pidgin English (CPE)
forms analysis
WHO who-man who-person
WHAT wat-ting Q- thing
WHEN wat-taim Q- time
WHERE wat-said Q-side = place
WHY wat fo Q- for
HOW how fason how fashion
wat fason Q- fashion
More typically one finds mixed transparent forms:
forms
WHO who-man
WHAT what thing
WHEN when time
WHERE where part/place
WHY why reason
HOW how make
what way
In Viivo, semantic transparency is my model. In a whimsical fashion, I
use the word _quiz_ as the question form word:
forms analysis
WHO Quiz-pesona Q-person
WHAT Quiz-:cosa Q- thing
WHEN Quiz-tempo Q- time
WHERE Quiz-spazii Q-space = place
WHY Quiz-:cognii Q- reasoning
HOW Quiz-modda Q-style/like/mode
Also interesting is how SeaSpeak (the internationa maritime English)
phrases sentences giving reasons. Normal everyday English (ok, Standard
English...) has connectives like "since", "because", "in", "in order
that/to", "so that", etc.
But in SeaSpeak, only the word "reason" is used:
"I intend to enter stern first, reason: my port thruster is damaged.
Over."
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I was wondering if semantic transparency is part of anyone's ConLangs?
And to what degree?
just curious,
czHANg