Re: Missing Words

OOPS! I sent this directly to Matthew Bladen..instead of to the list..

Here it is again:

> Matthew Bladen <matthew.bladen@...> writes:
>
> > My main conlang, Tismira, lacks the word 'and', at least when used in
> > a connective sense. This was originally because I forgot to invent a
> > word for 'and', but I've since decided to keep the omission as an
> > exercise to see how far I can get away with it. ('So' or 'therefore'
> > are used to indicate a consequence, and 'then' when indicating a series
> > of actions in time... if you see what I mean... I use the English
> > words because I don't yet have the Tismira ones; reinvention and all
> > that :)
> >
> > 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'm not really sure if this falls into the first category "not represent" or,

if this is "cases and whatnot"...but, in Silindion, I dont really have a word

for "without". The concept is expressed with the phrase:

_vanka emme_ which means "when not-there-is".

An example sentence would be:

ahwili i lavando ivanna vanka emme i lavanta oni.

"the hunter came back home without catching an animal"

Interlinear:

a-hwil-i i lavando ivan-na vanka en-me

P-come-P DA hunter home-ALL when not-EXIST

i lavat-na o-ni

DA catch=animal-GER him-DAT


or

Came the hunter home-to when not-there-is the caching him-to.

hmmm...although, after some thought, i suppose one might also say:

_awhili i lavando ivanna ellavanta_

Without any need for the construction at all, since
ellavanta means "not-catching-animals"

Elliott Lash