Re: Construct Case

In my former languages "child" would be the patient and "food" the focus
like in Rick Morneau's stuff.
Also, the location may have different dwellers. "I see the bird in the tree"
could either mean that I am in the tree or the bird is in the tree, or both.
"to be in" is expressed in Khmer with the verb "noeu"--"to locate". "I
locate the tree (and I) see the bird". Or "I see the bird locating the
tree." Or else. And "to" of "give to" is the serial verb "aoy"--grant. "I
give food grant child."
The "to give child food" ambiguity is the reason why many log-, aux- and
pidgin-langs tag the object of the verb on the PNGan model. Esperanto "-n",
Toki Pona "e", Glosa "na", Tunu "nai", etc. It's either that or a construct
case. Or both like in Hebrew.

Tunu works like a bit Vorlin in that respect: There is a tag "rai" that tags
the one who is let do the action of the factitive verb like the Vorlin tag
"re" does. (There is also an agentive tag mai used with the passive.)

taka-buti : child ("person-child")
bita-tumu : food ("stuff-eat")
bai-naki-nai : receive
kai-naki-nai : make-receive-DO = give (something)
kai-naki-rai : make-receive-by = give to (someone)

kai-naki-rai taka-buti inai bita-tumu
to give the kid food

kai-naki-nai bita-tumu irai taka-buti
to give food to the kid

bai-naki : do receive = receive
tai-naki-mai : be-received-by = to be given to (someone)
tai-kai-naki-mai : be made received by = to be given by (someone)
tai-kai-naki-rai : be made received by = to be given to (someone)
bai-kai-naki-mai : be made receive by = to be given (something) by (someone)
etc.

nai, rai and mai can be made prepositions with the circumstancial tag i-:
inai, irai, imai


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Jeffrey Henning wrote:
Right now in Kalisise and Minhyan there is no ambiguous counterpart to this
question.  The noun phrase would modify the verb. A speaker would need to
use a relative clause for the other meaning ("The woman gave the child food
that was in the house").
For Dublex II though I've been thinking of a locative postposition that
makes a noun phrase adjectival.  Something like "woman AGENT child FOCUS
house LOCATIVE-ADJ food PATIENT gave." This would be in addition to a
locative case that described the location of the verb.
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