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Re: THEORY: Xpositions in Ypositional languages {X,Y}={pre,post}

From:David J. Peterson <dedalvs@...>
Date:Saturday, September 22, 2007, 20:25
Ray wrote:
<<
Yes, personally I doubt such an animal exists. Suprafixes/ superfixes
are attested in natlangs. But it seems to me that distinguishing
'suprapositions' from suprafixes would require some very pedantic slight
of hand.
 >>

If it were to exist at all, I wager it'd have to work something like
this (unmarked tones are low; /1/ = high tone):

mako = bucket

mako ala = green bucket

makona = the bucket

makona ala = the green bucket

mako1 = in a bucket

makona1 = in the bucket

mako ala1 = in a green bucket

makona ala1 = in the green bucket

This, however (I bet), would get called a tonal clitic.  And once
you allow for clitics, things become dreadfully confusing.

-David
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