Re: Cases and adpositions

#
# Hey, how do you like that: I just found out that Hungarian has 20 (+?)cases.
# Lots of local cases.


Hungarian has:

        "from"  "stationary"    "to"
"in"    -bol    -ban            -ba
"on"    -rol    -n              -ra
"at"    -tol    -nal            -hoz

and you could probably also include

"from, of"      -i
"up to, till"   -ig

i think -i can also attach to a handfull of words as "at, in"

-val, -va,


# Now I wonder: is there a way to make a system of many many cases without
# most of them being locative cases? What other things could be indicated on a
# noun?
# You've got your subject-object / agent-patient relationship,
# instrumentality, indirect object or "recipient", genitive / possessive...
# I'm trying to think how one would add more non-locative concepts to a big
# list of cases.
#

Ive been trying to hammer out a lang with polarity as a noun case..

anjoja  = tree (objective)
anjojali = not tree (objective)

ebjeis  = father (subjective)
ebjeisi = not father (subjective)

it makes for some interesting combinations like, especially combined
with subjective and objective focusing suffixes on verbs.

ebjeis gjonin anjoja = "father sees a tree"
ebjeis gjon anjoja = "a tree is what father sees"
ebjeis gjonin anjojali = "father doesn't see a tree" (he sees something else)
ebjeisi gjon anjoja = "father doesn't see a tree" (but someone else might)
ebjeisi gjonin anjojali = "father doesn't see a tree" (he simply doesnt see it)
ebjeisi gjon anjojali = "a tree is what father doesnt see" (he simply doesnt see it)

im thinking that if only one positive noun exists in a frase, then it
must have focus, so the following would be impossible:

*ebjeisi gjonin anjoja
*ebjeis gjon anjojali


-tim
http://www.zece.com/conlang/