Re: Circumfixes?

hi when im allowed to freely answer to your mail , which i read with
interest.
i think as well that VSO is a more natural syntax, since the verb is
the most important part usually. i know that pushing the verb to the
end of a sentence will make it less readable.
however i hear that some linguists think of SVO as most natural syntax.
also placing the adjectives behind a noun i think is more natural way,
following the rule again: the most important words come first, and in
this case nouns are more important than adjectives.

regards,
c.s.

DW> Well my work on Tech is going great for once, after years of being stuck on
DW> phonology and culture.  Borrowing mostly from Egyptian and Semitic, I'm coming
DW> up with a crude grammar.  Features will include: prepositional case formation,
DW> suffixal possessive and object pronouns, VSO word order (subject pronouns, used
DW> only for emphasis, precede the verb), dual number, two types of plural (sound or
DW> "small", and broken or "great"), adjectives following noun except for
DW> demonstratives and numbers, adjectives agreeing with antecedents in number, case
DW> and gender, direct genitive formation (the-noun the-adjective = the adjective
DW> noun), and verbal nouns.

DW> One of the features of the language will be the use of the "circumfix", which is
DW> really the addition of a preposition to a noun bearing a case suffix (which are
DW> used to indicate nominative, accusative/ergative and genitive, at least for
DW> now).  This creates a "compound" case, and a change in the case ending changes
DW> the meaning of the prepositional phrase.  So some possible local cases:

DW> "at" + noun-nom = adessive "at, on"
DW> "at" + noun-acc = allative "onto"
DW> "at" + noun-gen = ablative "from"
DW> "in" + noun-nom = inessive "in"
DW> "in" + noun-acc = illative "into"
DW> "in" + noun-gen = ellative "out of"

DW> English does this too, just with compounded prepositions like "onto", "out of",
DW> "upon".

DW> Anybody else use circumfixes or circumpositions in their conlang, or a
DW> dual-morpheme case marking system?

DW> ~DaW~


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