Re: Missing Words

{This isn't the boldest step in the world, I know, but I thought I'd
bring it up to ask a more general question: what words have other
conlangers felt able to do away with, and why? By 'do away with' I
mean 'not represent, not have exist' as opposed to expressing notions
via cases and whatnot. I suppose definite and indefinite articles are
the most obvious.}

I usually don't put in a grammatical class plural. But then, few
languages do. In Old Sturnan (Sama Sturnan), the word nai "no" was a
prefix to verbs. Now, though, it's a particle for any verb with a
polysyllabic base. It still gives words like naisei "not to be", naihedei
"not to eat".

There isn't a real word for "day" as in "when the sun is above the
horizon", but aheus "dawn" lends itself to the meaning sometimes. You can
also use iluskon, a contraction of iluv "on high" and saluskon "wheel of
the sun" (which itself comes from salus "sun" and kefen "wheel, arch"),
but that is colloquial and can also refer to summer. If you're being
poetic, you can say venat nokwil, "wife of the night", but it's almost
rude to use it in front of ordinary people such as myself. However, all
this comes as a result of my distinguishing between the meanings of "day"
and only giving one word for it (ahuekwe). I can't well make that word
cover both, because it comes from a contraction of aheus "dawn" and
nokwe/nokwi "night".

My, how I ramble!

Chris Wright