Re: Strategies for disambiguating ad*

>Yahya Abdal-Aziz <yahya@...> wrote:
>*** ObConLang, two questions for you:
>A.  Do you have any conlang in which adverbs and adjectives may
have >the same form, as in Malay?

>B.  If so, what strategies do you use to help listeners decide
>whether a given word functions as an adjective or as an adverb in a
>given utterance?
In Senjecas the word order (SOV) is rather strict: attributive
adjectives precede the nouns they modify.  They agree with their
noun in class only:

âle fââfles - the white butterfly

Since predicative adjectives are placed before the verb, they agree
with their nouns in class, case and number so as to show the
connection:

fââfles âles êsa - the butterfly is white.

Adverbs are formed in 3 ways:
1.) -s is added to cardinal numbers to form adverbs of frequency:

ôi, one; óis, once - dû, two; dús, twice.

Note also that, whereas adjectives have primary pitch, adverbs have
secondary pitch.

2.) Adverbs formed from postpositions change the final -a to -u:
âna, up; ânu, upwards - épa, after the manner of; épu, -wise.

3.) Adverbs formed from adjectives add the suffix -(ë)vi:
fêêcis, efficacious; fééxvi, efficaciously -
gêlvis, smooth; gélvëvi, smoothly.

Charlie