Re: Introducing Paul Burgess and his radioactive imagination!

----- Original Message -----
From: "BP Jonsson" <bpj@...>

> At 11:04 8.3.2003 -0500, Sally Caves wrote:
>
> >The
> >problem with thinking and talking in Teonaht is that it violates the
syntax
> >I'm used to, and you have to think of the object first.  Even if you
front
> >the subject.  That's the problem with analytic languages of unusual and
> >twisted syntax.  Writing is easier.
>
> Same thing with Sohlob.  Its WO is VPA (Verb-Patient-Agent) which is of
> course quite sensible for an ergative language, and works fine when I
> write, but as soon as I try to speak/think without writing I slip into VAP
> -- not that bad considering that there's case marking, but to a putative
> native speaker it'ld sound like I was emphasizing the agent all the time,
> which is not the correct idiom.
Well exactly... when I speak Teonaht, it turns into an SVO language in my
mouth.  Which sounds to the Teonim like a subordinant clause. (well,
actually, a subordinant clause has VSO structure in T.)

Sally Caves
scaves@frontiernet.net
Eskkoat ol ai sendran, rohsan nuehra celyil takrem bomai nakuo.
"My shadow follows me, putting strange, new roses into the world."





>
>
> / B.Philip Jonsson B^)
> --
> mailto:melrochX@melroch.net (delete X!)
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> No man forgets his original trade: the rights of nations and of kings sink
> into questions of grammar, if grammarians discuss them.
> -Dr. Samuel Johnson (1707 - 1784)
>