Joshua Shinavier wrote:
> > Genitive chains, e.g. "the king's messenger's horse's hoof's shoe's n=
ail"
> > vs. "nail of shoe of hoof of horse of messenger of king". I like the =
1st,
> > can't tolerate the 2nd, so it has to be GN ... then that drags the
> > adjectives leftward as well, though some natlangs do have GN with NA =
order.
>=20
> Ah, I see we have opposite tastes in genitive (<=3D=3D> adjectival) cha=
ins!
> I like putting the "root" of the whole construction first and letting t=
he
> modifiers trail after, for the reasons that
> a) it seems natural to put the most essential part of the chain first=
, and
> b) putting the modifiers after the root means you can elaborate on th=
e root
> as much as you want without having to decide upon your description
> beforehand, e.g. "the lake blue and calm and relecting the mountai=
ns and
> the clouds like a giant silver mirror, etc.", rather than "the blu=
e...
> calm... lake, which reflects the mountains and the clouds like a g=
iant
> silver mirror." You see, you're forced to put any longer descript=
ions
> after the noun anyways, even in English.
> c) adjectives and verbs are the same thing in Arov=EBn; the shift fro=
m verb
> to adjective and back is simply a shift of focus -- so it's reason=
able
> to have adjectives follow the noun if verbs do. Inversion is poss=
ible
> in both cases, but it's more common for verbs.
Adjectives seem to come from both genitives and verbs,
or sometimes just from vague randomness. They can take cases,
plurals, tenses, degrees ... What can't they do?
The only limit is that they are "secondaries", not primaries
like nouns and verbs, not tertiaries like adverbs.
That is my best understanding of this enigmatic species.
> > But I've been putting adjectives-with-objects to the right of the nou=
n,
> > e.g. "bona minfemo vadia xolo =3D pretty little-girl going-to school"=
,
> > which is likely incorrect or inoptimal in 12 different ways. Also
> > I end up compounding in modifier-modified order, maybe not so good.
> > It's a sort of relexed New Jersey 1960's English after all.
>=20
> So 'vadia' is thought of as an adjective rather than a progressive verb=
?
Right.
> In Arov=EBn:
> Tinv=EByl g=EBle vrinda by=EBlvi=F1en. (vrindo as verb)
> Tinv=EByl g=EBle vrinde by=EBlvi=F1ayne. (vrindo as adjective)
>=20
> But so do I compound in modifier-modified order -- that's what distingu=
ishes a
> modifier in a compound from an adjective modifier:
> v=EByl tinde -- tindye v=EByl -- tinv=EByl ( =3D tind-v=EByl)
> > Tinv=EByl g=EBle vrinde by=EBlvi=F1ayne. (vrindo as adjective)
>
> Oops: by=EBlvi=F1ayn=EF, not that anyone noticed ;)
Wrong.