Re: CHAT: Nakiltipkaspimak

* Daniel Andreasson <daniel.andreasson@...> [001011 01:19]:
> So I thought I'd try creating a language I'm not very used
> to.  It's ergative, agglutinating, noun-incorporating and has
> a very small phoneme inventory. Only NPs in the absolutive can
> be incorporated. This is all very sketchy -- I made it during a
> boring seminar today -- but I thought that I'd show it anyway.
> Perhaps I'll work more on it, but then again, perhaps I won't.
> We'll see.
*grmpf*! One more incorporating language... You're all
thieves! :) What is it with this new batch 'a 'langers... all
incorporatin', all active-systems... Not that you are a newbie
Daniel but geeez... Are "they" putting something into the
water-supply? (Damn can't say that in târuven as there's no word
for "put", but wait...) What will be the next "big minds think
alike" -> "conlangers conlang alike" wave... Matrix-languages? (as
in C. J. Cherry's Chanur-series)

> The most impressive thing about it is probably the fact that
> everything on Pimak (i.e. everything in this mail) is written
> down on a single piece of paper measuring 21x14 cm. On one
> side.
A5? Now that -is- impressive.

[Mucho snippage]

> EVIDENCE
> 1-hand-info   -xa
> hearsay       -li
>
> To mark evidentiality is optional.
So what does it mean when you don't mark evidentiality? That
you're making a claim, that you assume... is non-marked closest
to -xa or -li?

> * EXAMPLES *
>
> By incorporating a noun or pronoun, you can reduce the number
> of arguments by one, e.g. making a transitive predicate
> intransitive. This can be done to show definiteness, but is
> also done for syntactical reasons, since both the morphology
> and syntax is ergative. It's a neat way of forming an
> antipassive without really having an antipassive. I don't
> really know squat about noun-incorporation so please bear with
> me if you think it looks silly or unnatural.
[even more snippage]

> Well. Congratulations to you who made it all the way down here,
> and actually read everything between here and the top as well. ;)
>
> So what do you think?
Strange though that such hurried sketches can be so much more
complete than langs one has worked on for years. Instant
Language(tm), almost instantly usable.

The amount of k's and t's sure gives it a special feel...
inspired by eskimo languages I assume? (note: "eskimo" here used
to cover everything inuit but not aleut. No drawn out discussion
on political correct terms _please_!)

And btw:
ycavvayrge fales
y-     cavvayr            -ge       fal   -es
"they" move.into.position causative water locative
`"they" are putting something into the water-supply.'

Though I definitely need a better way to say "to put, to place",
or perhaps simply "to contaminate"... yup.


t.