Verb-initial languages
| From: | Herman Miller <hmiller@...> |
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| Date: | Friday, March 14, 2003, 3:51 |
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I'd like to look at some verb-initial languages to give me some ideas to
help out with some aspects of Lindiga grammar. The only ones that I'm
vaguely familiar with are Welsh and Irish. I'd especially like to look at
some that don't have articles, especially ergative ones. What would be some
good languages to look at?
In particular, right now I'm trying to figure out what to do with "to be".
Currently I have a copula that goes between the nouns, as in "kichrsa lérru
linet" [kiXs`A leru lin@t]
kichrsa -Ø lé-rr-u lind-Ø
goldfinch-ABS 3s-is-PF bird-ABS
Een putter is een vogel.
But I'm thinking that the copula should go first, like other verbs: "lérru
kichrsa linet".
Zharranh, on the other hand, uses a pair of particles "mi" ... "ka".
mi nythi ka mirra [mi neTi kA mirA]
(the closest Zharranh equivalent to "a goldfinch is a bird")
And Jarda uses a transitive verb, "yoe" [j2].
"yoe cirr'ra tir" [j2 cirr\a tir\]
yoe cirr -ra tir -Ø
is finch-ERG bird-ABS
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