Re: Multiple forms possible in morphology

Quoting Philip Newton <philip.newton@...>:

> In a recent comment on a LiveJournal entry of mine, Paul Bennett mused
> about what a cognate of Latin "bonus" would look like in German and
> came up with " *das Zwenn (-es, -e) ".
>
> One of my reactions was that I'd probably say "des Zwenns" rather than
> "des Zwennes" -- but that I wouldn't consider the latter wrong: it'd
> merely sound formal or maybe stilted or archaic.
>
[snip]
> That made me think about conlangs, though.
>
> Do any of you have words which have more than one permissible form?
> Differing, perhaps, in formality or style, with one being a bit more
> stilted, or seeming a bit archaic?
>
> I'm mostly looking for endings where one was simplified from the
> other, rather than deliberate distinctions such as Japanese or Korean
> honorific forms, or T/V distinctions, or the like.
Meghean has something of the sort with certain optional contractions. Eg. the
preposition _ne_ "by" + the pronominal ending _-es_ "me" can give either _nehes_
['ne.es] or _nes_ [nes] "by me". The longer form is more formal.

In that case both forms are considered acceptable. In the similar case _torohes_
"around me" only the pronunciation ['to.ro.es] is considered proper, but in
colloquial speech one not uncommonly hears ['to.rojs]. Better don't spell it as
_torois_, though, if you care for your social standing as a literate!

                                                    Andreas