Re: Conlang test sentences
From: | Roger Mills <rfmilly@...> |
Date: | Friday, June 25, 2004, 5:44 |
Trebor wrote:
> << Does anyone know of a good list of sentences that one could test their
> conlang's grammar on?>>
>
There's the "Bongo-Bongo" sentences which I posted a year ago (Listerv
archive #91476 6/23/03) originally from the Spanish Ideolengua Yahoogroup;
but they're few, quite silly and hardly representative. And oops, in
Spanish.
Just offhand, based on my own experience, one wants:
--simple declarative, intrasitive S+V and transitive S+V+O(+IO)
--examples of N+Adj (how many adjs. permitted?) and verb+adv.
--questions, yes-no as well as WH-
--imperatives (singular and plural subjects)
--negative sentences
--relative clause constructions
--active/passive, if relevant
--prepositional phrases
--adverbials
--comparatives, superlatives
--numerals and other quantifiers
--sentence complements "think/say THAT..." etc.
--infinitive complements "want to..." etc.
--word order or emphatic variations, if relevant
--use of cases, if present; use of tenses, if present
--derivations of nouns and verbs/adjectives, if relevant
--subordinate clauses "when..., after..., because..., since..." etc.
--conjoined sentences-- and, but, or
Consider intonation, but it's hard to discuss........
Check out various peoples' websites. That should get you going.:-))
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