Re: Gevey (Part 1): Verbs - long

En réponse à Rik Roots <rikroots@...>:

> I have just revised the Gevey verbs. The new setup is described below
> (best viewed with a fixed-width font). Comments are always welcome...
>
Then I'll give some :) .

>
> Modes and voices
> ----------------
> For principle verbs, Gevey has two modes and three associated
> voices:
>
> Descriptive mode: Descriptive voice
>
> Interactive mode: Active voice
>                   Incidental voice
>
> The descriptive mode is used to describe the scene in which the
> action is to take place. To do this, principle verbs will use the
> descriptive voice.
>
Strange "moods" and "voices". But I am quite a lover of strange terminologies so
It's okay by me :) .

> Active and incidental voices
> ----------------------------
> The interactive mode is used to describe the action which occurs
> in a scene. To achieve this, principle verbs will use the active
> and incidental voices.
>
> In Gevey, the active voice is used to describe the actions taking
> place in a scene, while the descriptive voice is used to describe
> the scene itself. The incidental voice is used to describe a sort
> of halfway house, detailing actions occuring in a scene which are
> not central to the main action itself. The incidental voice is
> also often used to describe actions not set in motion by the main
> players in a scene, but to which they will need to react.
>
Sounds like the perfect language for poets, dramaturges and writers :) . Are
your confolks rather cultural-minded? (going very much to the theater, reading a
lot of poetry, etc...)

>
> Gevey has a basic philosophy that an action in the past will
> directly affect actions in the present and future. The historic
> tense is used for unalterable, unavoidable or unchangable actions
> - in effect destiny, while the past tense is used for actions
> whose repercussions, whilst unavoidable (depending upon the
> clause's voice), can be altered by later actions.
>
Nice distinction. Sounds like it could be part of their mentality, or of their
religion(s), with accent put on Destiny, but also with the fact that you're
always the master of your own future.

> Principle verb aspects
> ----------------------
> Principle verbs also take a number of verb aspects, which qualify
> the action of the verb:
>
>   Completion aspects
>   Condition aspects
>   Emphasis aspects
>
What are the different aspects found in those categories? I'm especially
wondering about the "condition" and "emphasis" aspects.

[snip of lots of interesting conjugation stuff]

>
> Verb class
> ----------
> All verbs in Gevey are divided into one of two classes:
>
>   Transitive verbs
>   Intransitive verbs
>
> Transitive verbs in Gevey are verbs whose actions are normally
> translated directly to its direct object. Intransitive verbs in
> Gevey are verbs whose action on the direct object are normally
> modulated by use of a preposition, which can either be attached
> at the front of the verb, or will instead attach itself to the
> direct object (the rule is that if the verb has no direct object,
> or the verb is in primary focus, or the direct object is in
> primary or clear focus, then the preposition is attached to the
> verb; otherwise the preposition will attach to the direct
> object). Occasionally, there will be two forms of the verb - one
> transitive and one intransitive - where in English one verb will
> do both jobs.
>
Does it mean that intransitive verbs can take an object anyway, with the help of
a preposition, like French so-called "indirect transitive verbs" (like "penser
à": to think about)? If so, then it's a strange way of defining intransitive,
but I like it :) .

>
> Compound verbs
> --------------
> Compound verbs are constructed by combining an auxillary verb
> (the equator verb ën to be, the descriptive auxillary verb ben to
> have, and the passive auxillary verb sen to be) with the
> appropriate secondary verb design. In particular, participle
> design secondary verbs are used with ben and sen to form the
> descriptive voice and passive voice compound verbs.
>
I thought Gevey did without passive voice? Or did you just mean that it was
rendered periphrastically?

>
> Using secondary verb designs
> ----------------------------
> The infinitive verb design is used with certain verbs which
> require a second verb to enhance or qualify the description of
> their action. Examples of such verbs include tokan to like, vijan
> to prefer, lougzan to enjoy, and neefan to love. In these cases,
> the second verb will use the infinitive subsidiary design, and
> will usually follow the main verb, or be placed in weak focus at
> the end of the clause.
>
> For example:
>
>   Te lugzhese ïst'yuu dhoun
>   I swim in the river
>
>   Te lugzhese ïst'yuu dhoun vijan
>   I prefer to swim in the river
>
>   Te lugzhese lougzan ïst'yuu dhoun
>   I enjoy swimming in the river
>
Very nice! So it means that while in English the real action is rendered through
the secondary verb (infinitive or gerund) while the principle verb gives the
feeling of the subject about it, in Gevey it is the contrary? Neat!

>
> {{{Thanks for taking the time to read}}}
>
You're welcome, it was really interesting.

Christophe.