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Sinthrax=> Lingu Frakas...question re: TMA (tenses,mood & aspects)

From:Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Date:Saturday, May 13, 2000, 23:57
Jonathan Chang wrote:
> _mito-xi_ - "remote/mythological perfective past tense" > _anci-xi_ - "ancient historical or distant perfective past " " > _xi_ - perfective past tense (combinable with words denoting > seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.) > _xe-xi_ - incomplete/unfinished past tense > _s'xa_ - progressive > _xa_ continuative > _xe_ potential or irrealis
I could see this happening if the substrate language used those tenses, but the forms seem implausible (particularly, mito- and anci-), IMO. First, where does _xi_ come from? My suggestion would be something like (using English words): very-long-time-finish long-time-finish finish was (?) be [what exactly is the distinction between "progressive" and "continuative"?] maybe From what I understand of creoles, gramatical markers tend to be taken from the lexifier, so whatever the lexifier is, you could take the equivalents of. -- "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God!" - Ralph Waldo Emerson ICQ: 18656696 AIM Screen-Name: NikTailor