Re: Langauge Constets (was Natural Semantic Metalanguage)

--- MorphemeAddict@WMCONNECT.COM wrote:

> In a message dated 11/21/2007 7:08:49 PM Central Standard Time,
> fiziwig@YAHOO.COM writes:
>
>
> > I have a syntax I worked out some years ago that
> > allows building sentences of arbitrary complexity, and which is capable (I
> > believe) of translating any English sentence into that syntax, and yet has
> > only
> > three parts of speech (A, B, and C) and three rules:
> >
> > [AB].B  (An A followed by a B can play the role of B)
> > [BC].C  (B followed by a C can play the role of C)
> > [BCC].C (B followed by two consecutive Cs can play the role of C)
> >
> > D is a primitive.
> > B uses its meaning to modify the meaning of one or two Cs.
> > A uses its meaning to modify the meaning of B, which can then modify the
> > meaning of one or two Cs.
<snip>

> What are the parts of speech?  How do you know what part of speech a word
> belongs to?
>
> stevo   </HTML>
C is a person, place, thing, name of a concept, state or condition. Any word
which is not used to modify the meaning of another word. Some single names are
made up of more than one word, but in this syntax such multi-word names can be
considered to be single words as in "pocket-knife", or such words like "pocket"
can be defined as being either C or B, so that "pocket-knife.C" or "[pocket.B
knife.C].C" are acceptable.

B is any word that modifies a C, conventionally called "verb", "adverb",
"adjective", etc. In "[runs.B John.C].C" B-word "runs" modifies "John" by
imparting motion to it.  In "[quickly.B [runs.B John.C].C].C" "quickly"
modifies the compound C "runs John" by making it quick. In "[red.B
balloon.C].C" the B-word "red" modifies the C-word "balloon" by giving it
"redness".

A is any word that modifies a B, like "very" modifies "quickly" ("quickly" is B
because it modifies a compound C like "John runs.") as in "[[very.A
quickly.B].B [runs.B John.C].C].C"

Some B words can also join two C words or compound Cs together as in [threw.B
John.C ball.C].C. or [Threw [the boy] [three [red [balloons]]]].

--gary