Re: proverbs?

On Wed, 26 Sep 2001 20:52:44 -0700 Heather Rice <florarroz@...>
writes:
> I was just going through my conlang filling in details
> on the grammar, when I chanced to glance at my
> proverbs section.  Now, we all know that pronouns are
> substitutes for nouns or noun phrases, but why not
> have substitutes for verbs or verb phrases.  I call
> these proverbs (I think there is some other term that
> uses the word "proverb", but I can't remember what.)
> Are there languages that have proverbs?  Has anyone
> developed a system of proverbs for their conlang?
> HEather
-

Well, i'm not sure if this is pro-verbs (as opposed to /prav@rbs/) or
not, but this is how Rokbeigalmki conjugates its verbs:

You take a verb-noun root, for instance _manoi_ "eating", and add before
it a 'subject-tense complex' of the subject of the verb and the tense of
the verb:

subjects:
az = i
ez = you
iz = she
oz = he
uz = it
uhz = one/they/ya ('common' genderless animate)
(insert _m_ between the vowel and the _z_ for the plural equivalents)

tenses:
u = past
oi = present routine
a = present immediate
ii = future
e = imperative
(there are also compound tenses made by reduplicating the previous _z_
and adding another tense vowel)

So, for instance there can be:

izu-manoi = she ate
uzoi-manoi = it eats (generally)
aza-manoi = i'm eating (right now)
emzii-manoi = you-all will eat
ozazu-manoi = he just finished eating
uhmziizoi-manoi = they will eat (all the time)

However, you can also create a subject tense complex without a verb.
(they're generally written with an accent over the last tense vowel, but
i'll leave them out since technically they're unnecessary and they might
garble the transmission)
These verbless complexes have a built-in verbal meaning of "do" "go" "be"
or "be at", depending on the context:

"eze-manoi!" = 'eat!'
"azazu" = 'i just did'

"wa'wadh-a iza" = 'she's going to the river'

"trorif ezu" = 'you were a hunter'

"ta'waju uzii" = 'it'll be in the house'


-Stephen (Steg)
 "meep!"