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Re: Verbal system in Itakian

From:Barry Garcia <barry_garcia@...>
Date:Thursday, March 2, 2000, 10:20
CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU writes:
>Destination and source are the only tricky features of this system: they >don't have a spatial meaning, and don't overlap with the dative and >genitive (which by the way is used as well for possession and for origin >of >a gift - like dative is the destination of a gift -). Destination and >source are only a way to name the experiencer and experiencee, that's to >say the object and subject of the sentence "I see a dog". I used them >because in sentences like "I look at the dog", the subject is an agent, >but >the object cannot be considered patient in Itakian (it is not modified by >the action, which is well marked in English by the preposition): it's a >source.
Interesting Christophe! Your system seems very complex (to this casual observer). For me, the name destination implies that the action happens on or at something. It seems similar (by name alone it seems) to the directional trigger I have in Saalangal, which means the action happens on or at something (differentiated from the locative trigger, where the action happens in a place): Kakálawum taw yu sabés. - He wrote on/at the book. (yu is the trigger marker) It doesn't really have to do strictly with a spatial meaning (like "He threw the ball at (towards) her."). It just means the agent is directing an action at/to the patient (I hope I have those terms correct!). Generally the trigger eliminates the use of to/at/on/in etc. I'm not sure if I have this down well or not, but the source trigger would imply to me that the action is coming from something. Do I have it down, or have I just messed up and totally misunderstood everything you have written? =) ________________________________________________ It's worth the risk of burning, to have a second chance...