[Re: trQal]

dunn patrick w <tb0pwd1@...> wrote:
> Incidently, some other ideas I've got to trQal that I want to run by
> someone:
> =
> I firmly intend to evolve two other languages from trQal at some point
> namely, Orcish and the Dark Tongue, spoken by a group of "evil" wizards=
> who have rejected society and the tiresome contention of the Chaos Mage=
s
> against the Order Mages in order to pursue their own ends.  Of course, =
I'm
> also going to have to invent a human speech, since Dark tongue will rel=
y
> on that as well.
Just as a matter of quibbliness:  Tolkien made up Orcs.  Everyone who's u=
sed
them since then has been ripping him off.  Do you want to be on that
bandwagon?

Trolls and Goblins, on the other hand, are in the public domain. :)

> I.  Nouns
> =
>     A.  Gender.
Cool.  Like this a lot.
> 3.  The "vowel gender."
>     Includes all things of no significance, animals too small to eat,
> cubs, and inedible plants, as well as small natural objects.  Our
> paradigm noun is stlkHe, meaning "tree."  (Here's an example of how
> tongue-twisting troll can be to the human who has grown
> up speaking a civilized language.  Breaking the word into syllables can=
> help:  "stlk-He"  It sounds a lot like an English speaker
> saying "stalk, huh!".)  Plurality in vowel gender nouns is irregular, a=
nd
> must be learned for each noun.  The plural of stlkHe is
> stlkHu.
Usually irregularity is a matter of degree.  Are there broad patterns wit=
hin
the vowel gender which tend to hold?

Also, usually irregularity is most tolerated among the most-used elements=
 of a
language (e.g words for "be," "have," pronouns, etc).  If the vowel gende=
r is
full of insignignificant items, it seems an *unlikely* place for irregula=
rity
to lurk, unless these items are still talked about a lot by trolls.

> =
> Verbs decline for number and mood, but not for tense.
> =
> Trollish has three moods:  "hungry," "horny," and "satisfied."  (These =
are
> direct translations of the trolls' descriptions of their
> verbal moods)  We might say "forceful imperative/subjunctive," "polite
> imperative/subjunctive" and "indicative."  The three moods
> for each verb are irregular, and must be learned for each word.  The
> declension for number, however, is regular through almost
> all verbs.  Moods are always listed in word lists as satisfied (hungry,=
> horny).
Nifty idea to use their native vocabulary, but you might clarify exactly =
what
you mean by listing the uses for the three moods, not just the grammatica=
l
terms which you might use to classify them.  So, you give commands with t=
he
"hungry" and "horny" moods, and the "horny" is more polite than the "hung=
ry"? =

Is that how it works?

Also, when you say they are "irregular," do you mean that from the form o=
f a
verb in one mood, you cannot predict the form it will take in another?  I=
f so,
you could represent this by saying that the verb has "principal parts" --=
 as a
lexical entry for a given verb, you need to list the minimum number of fo=
rms
you must memorize to be able to use the verb in all its moods (three,
presumably).  Those will be its "principal parts."

> Trollish has only two numbers: self and other.
These are persons, then, not numbers.

> IV.  Adverbs
> =
> Adverbs agree with verbs in mood only.
This is interesting!  I don't know of a language where adverbs have to ag=
ree
with verbs, but then, I don't know that many languages.  Did you take thi=
s
idea from a natlang?

> =
> V.  Postpositions, conjunctions, and particles.
> =
> Trollish indicates dative and instrumental relations by using a very sm=
all
> number of postpositions and relying on context.  An
> almost full list of postpositions follow:
Postpositions tend to exist in OV languages.  Is Trollish OV?  If so, it
probably also consistently places modifiers before heads (e.g. adjectives=

before nouns; adverbs before verbs).

Ed

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