Re: Degrees of comparation

> Reduplication is used simply as part of the tendency to avoid
> root-initial stress.  In some dialects, this is an absolute ban,
> resulting in the few root-initially stressed words to shift stress to
> the second syllable, monosyllables being reduplicated to allow this to
> happen.  Actually, now that I think about it, maybe a *partial*
> reduplication would be sufficient for that.
This is a wonderful idea.  In general, I was fascinated and impressed by
the layered, naturalistic system of reduplication you have for Uatakassí
(sorry about lack of accents and possible misspelling).  It was wonderful
to see your soundchanges, too--what a complex system!  I'm glad to see
that I'm not the only one who creates weird, irreconstructible
proto-languages.

> For d'iá, some dialects also have the form d'iad'iá for simply
> "bad",
> retaining _daiziá_ for "evil", which probably wouldn't even be
> thought
> of as a reduplicated form ... there might even be forms like
> _daiziadaiziá_ "exceedingly evil" :-)
>
> Hmm ... that's something to consider, exceptionally opaque forms
> might
> be reanalyzed as independant words, with new, more transparent,
> reduplications being used for the original word, so that d'iad'iá
> might
> actually exist in the meaning "exceedingly bad"
I especially like this.  All of this gives me a lot to think about as I
begin to work on my next conlang, Hiksilipsi, which I expect uses
adjective reduplication in a way similar to Kash, and which I want to
make contain lots of neat features like this.


Jesse S. Bangs     Pelíran
jaspax@ juno.com
"There is enough light for those that desire only to see, and enough
darkness for those of a contrary disposition."  --Blaise Pascal