Re: describing names

On Sun, Aug 04, 2002 at 01:44:39PM +0200, Majken M wrote:
[snip]
> 1. Her name is Mary
> 2. Her name is beautiful
>
> The first sentence tells me her name, while the second
> only describes it. But the only difference is the last
> word. There is no way to be sure that she isn't called
> Beautiful, except that is an unusual name. How do
> other languages solve this problem?
[snip]

This isn't really a problem in Ebisedian. Proper names always bear a
proper name prefix, whereas adjectival nouns don't. Furthermore,
adjectival nouns often occur with different noun cases. For example:

1) "Her name is Mary."
        ni jobu' d3 g3mi' `ymarii'.     [ni dZo"bu d@\ g@\"mi Hyma"ri:]
        -  (rcp) -  (loc) (loc)
        "[The] to-her name [is] Mary."

Here we have a locative-locative construct, which implies equivalence:
_g3mi'_, loc. of "name", _`ymarii'_, feminine proper name (the prefix _`y_
is the feminine singular proper name prefix which occurs on all feminine
proper names).

2) "Her name is beautiful."
        ni jobu' d3 g3m0' d3m3'l.
        -  (rcp) -  (org) (cvy)
        "[The] to-her name [is] pretty." Literally, "From the to-her name
        [there is] prettiness".

Here we have a completely different construct: _g3m0'_, originative of
_g3mi'_, "name", with _d3m3'l_, conveyant of _dami'l_, "pretty". The
originative-conveyant construct indicates an "expressed attribute". You
might think of it as, the quality of beauty metaphorically emanating from
her name.

3) "Her name is Beautiful."
        ni jobu' d3 g3mi' `ydami'l.
        -  (rcp) -  (loc) (loc)
        "Her name is Beautiful."

Here, we have again a locative-locative construct, which indicates that
"Beautiful" is actually her name, not an adjective. Notice that
"beautiful" here occurs as _dami'l_ (locative case) and not _d3m3'l_.
Furthermore, the presence of the feminine proper noun prefix _`y_ makes it
clear that it is a name and not an ordinary adjective.


T

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programmer is a device for turning spaghetti into computer programs.

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