Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: Noun and noun or noun

From:Steg Belsky <draqonfayir@...>
Date:Thursday, May 20, 1999, 20:23
On Thu, 20 May 1999 10:58:07 -0700 Matt Pearson <mpearson@...>
writes:
>And Joshua asked: >>Is there a present-tense or future-tense analog of the aorist past, >in Tokana >>or linguistics in general?
>I don't know about natlangs. There is a contrast in the present tense >which >is similar to, but not quite the same as, the past/aorist contrast in >the >past tense: Tokana distinguishes a simple present tense (usually >called >"simple") and a present progressive tense (usually called "present"): >The >latter is used to denote an event which is going on at the moment of >speaking, while the former is used to denote habitual, generic, or >'timeless' events:
Rokbeigalmki also has this....i call it the "present-routine" and "present-immediate" tenses: (to use your examples) Jan oza-manoi = John is eating (at the moment) Jan ozoi-manoi = John eats (in general) By compounding tenses Rokbeigalmki can also describe an aorist/past distinction: Jan ozuza-manoi = John was eating (at that moment) Jan ozuzoi-manoi = John ate (in general) although the common, simple past just means that the action is finished, without an immediate/routine difference: Jan ozu-manoi = John ate And one of my favorite tenses, the immediate-immediate compound: Jan ozaza-manoi = John is eating right now at this moment, and might finish by the time i finish talking The only verbs which have "simple" present forms without needing to specify immediate or routine are the two "completely disappearing" verbs: tezat (be) , netz (be at) . (not including: mwe (go) , waz (do) . ) Jan (oz) o-mald = John is a man Jan (oz) ta'wajhwa = John is at (lit. "in") home The "partially disappearing" verbs need a full subject-tense complex: Jan oza: wa'wajhwa = John is going home (right now) _waz_ usually needs a context, such as the following conversation: "ha'Jan ozoi-bolok sha'wajum?" = Does John build houses? "Ozoi:." = He does. (in general) -Stephen (Steg) _ , bre'davidh ktish-a tze-a, ozii-elyeb, ozii: i ozii-dagair amsh ,. _
>------------------------------------ >Matt Pearson >mpearson@ucla.edu >UCLA Linguistics Department >405 Hilgard Avenue >Los Angeles, CA 90095-1543 >------------------------------------
___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]