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Re: The Bitha overview

From:Larry Schelin <lschelin@...>
Date:Thursday, September 30, 1999, 5:59
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Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 01:26:48 -0400
From: Larry Schelin <lschelin@...>
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To: Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Subject: Re: The Bitha overview
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Nik Taylor wrote:

> > So, {g} is a uvular stop? Why not use {q}? That would free {g} up for > /G/.
No, wow that got screwed up... I should have looked more carefully when I pasted it. I'll try it again.. Bilabal | Dental | Alvelor | Velar | Ulvular | Glottal Stop b | - | d | k g | - | ' (?) Nasal m | - | - | ng (N) | - | - Frictive v | th (T) dh(D) | sh(S) zh(Z)| H (x) h(G) | | Affricate |ts (t_s) dz(d_z) | j(d_j) | | | Trill | | r | | gh(R) | Approx. w | | | | | Semivowels | | y(j) | | | What I did (and should have explained earlier, sorry :) was put the IPA character in parenthesis where my symbol was different, so g is a voiced velar stop. Is it clearer now?
> > > Nasal m - - ng > > No /n/? That's rather unusual.
Yeah... it seems like I always use /m/ and /n/, I wanted something a little diffrent, so I dropped the /n/.
> > > > i uu(y) EH(u") u > > e > > a OO(9) ah(A) > > What {EH} exactly? Is it an unrounded /u/? Quite an unusual system.
Oops, more explanation here too... I did the same thing with the vowels, yes, {EH} is an unrounded /u/ I had the same problem, I kept using the same vowels, switched to something diffrent this time.. I ended up doing a lot of that here.
> > > > vidh present tense > > > > vith past tense (basic past, can be any time in the past, no specific > > moment) > > bith (one minute ago) > > dith (one hour ago) > > ngith (yesterday) > > tsith (one week ago) > > jith (one month ago) > > gith (one year ago) > > Hmm, I'd say that it was time-i-tense, that is b = one minute, d = one > hour, etc., and -dh = present, -th = past, -sh = future. How do you > handle "ten minutes ago"? Is that "dith"? >
Yes, for now, but your comments make me wonder if perhaps I should create some sort of modifier to be more specific. I'll have to think about it some more.
> > > Must -uh- > > Absolutly have to -ugh- > > Interesting.
Thanks...
> > > > II v+(infix)+dh(th, sh, etc...) > > Accidentally -ija- > > Purposfully -ira- > > Repeatly -atsi- > > Once -itsa- > > Definatly true -edzi- > > Probably true -adzi- > > Probably false -eshi- > > Definatly false -ashi- > > Let me see if I've got this straight, "one minute ago, definitely true" > would be "bedzith"? Can these be combined? Can you say "once, > definitely true"? >
Sure... why not, it would make the tense markers longer, but that's ok..
> > > A little bit "trickle" jia- > > Some "flow" za- > > A lot "gush" tse- > > A whole lot "flood" gu- > > I don't understand these at all. Please explain. >
Here are some examples... radzi (verb- to rain) gaghu (pronoun- somewhere/everywhere) Gaghu _jia_mithi radzi vidh. It's beginning to sprinkle. Gaghu _za_mithi radzi vidh. It's beginning to rain. Gaghu _tse_mithi radzi vidh. It's beginning to pour. Gaghu _gu_mithi radzi vidh It's beginning to rain cats and dogs. Does that make it clearer? It's an intensity prefix
> > > (Noun-subject) mi (Verb) (Noun- Indirect object) vidh (Noun- direct > > object) > > Interesting. "Mi" can, of course, be "ngi", etc. also, yes?
Absolutly, I just use mi as the general form.
> > > > I see you (pl.) > > Ju mi eri vidh vithu. > > Would "I don't see y'all" be: > > Ju ngi eri vidh vithu? >
Perfectly right...
> > Pretty interesting language, over all. >
Thanks... I've only been working on it for about a week, so there's some big holes of missing grammar (like the pronouns, which I have worked out, but didn't include), numbers, etc. I was working on relative clauses today at work, I think I've almost got it worked out, I'll post it if you're intrested... Joe --------------B1A7AC8D3BD3ADD6390448AC--