Re: THEORY: Use of Ligatures and the Trigger System in Tagalog

Chris Bates/Christophe Grandsire wrote:



>What do you mean by Ligatures? I remember the many discussions about >the
>trigger system, but I can't remember talking about ligatures in that
>context. Can you explain a little what they are? (if only to cure
>what may
>be temporary amnesia...)
Well, if he's referring to Tagalog, he must mean things like
bahay na maganda
house linker beautiful = beautiful house

~ magandang bahay
beautiful-linker house = beautiful house

and other usages.

I have a paper on the subject by Tagalog speaker/teacher/PhD linguist, Paz
Naylor; it's in a tightly bound book and might not xerox successfully but I
could try.

Or with access to a rilly good Library--

Naylor, Paz B. "Relation-Marking and Tagalog Syntax" (pp. 33-50) in

"Austronesian Studies: papers from the 2nd Eastern Conf. on Austronesian
languages", Paz Naylor, ed.  Michigan Papers on S&SE Asia, Center for S&SE
Asian Studies, U.Michigan, No. 15, 1979

But the various Tag. grammars would probably go into the subject as well. If
no Tagalog, try Bisayan grammars.  Old Javanese also used a linking /N/
though I don't recall the details, something like "iki" 'this' > iking +Noun
'this Noun'.   If OTOH he is interested in a conlang approach, that's
another matter.....

Reply