Re: Verbs in Finlaesk

Philip Newton skrev:
> On 9/26/07, Paul Bennett <paul.w.bennett@...> wrote:
>> How much borrowed structure would seem naturalistic?
>
> The first thing I thought of was Michif, whose "verb phrase phonology,
> lexicon, morphology, and syntax are from a southern variety of Plains
> Cree" and which "is unusual (and possibly even unique) among mixed
> languages, in that, rather than forming a simplified grammar it
> developed by incorporating the most complex and demanding elements of
> the chief languages from which it was born. French origin noun phrases
> retain lexical gender and adjective agreement; Cree origin verbs
> retain much of their polysynthetic structure."
>
> So, ANADEW.
>
> Cheers,
Remember the dictum of Roger Lass, which goes something
like this: languages don't take measures to avoid that
sound changes create a mess in their lexicon and morphology,
they clean up the mess after the soundchange (i.e. through
analogy, loan, compounding, grammaticalization...)


/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch atte melroch dotte se
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)