Re: idea: environment pronoun

> From: Garrett Jones
>
> i have this idea for Minyeva (my conlang) for what i will
> call an "environment pronoun". I am going to describe it
> here, and i was just wondering if anyone's seen anything
> similar in a natlang or conlang.
>
> In english the equivalent meaning is realized as 'it'. In
> esperanto, it is realized as a null subject.
>
> examples:
>
> -"it" is hot.
> -"it" is raining.
This is handled in amman iar using an "ambient" voice operator. In
ambient constructions the underlying S-function argument of an
intransitive predicate is demoted and may not be expressed leaving no
arguments, i.e. the context is universal (ambient) rather than
particular.

From the active expression that has a pronominal reference to some
specific patient that is hot

Active
        it is hot (i.e. something is hot) = anal arunar

        \f it is hot
        \t (elieth)                anal          arunar
        \m el-        -i    -eth   an  al   -0   0-      aruno  -a   -r
        \p mood-      -asp  -tense ptp pron -abs voice-  v      -val -vc
        \g assertive- -perf -past  pat 3per -[S] active- be hot -pat
-proc
        \x is                          it        hot

We derive the ambient expression

Ambient
        it is hot (i.e. null subject in English) = lasarunar

        \f (it) is hot
        \t lasarunar                  (elieth)
        \m las-     aruno  -a   -r    el-        -i    -eth
        \p voice-   v      -val -vc   mood-      -asp  -tense
        \g ambient- be hot -pat -proc assertive- -perf -past
        \x          hot               is

The 'it' in the English translation of the ambient expression is a
surface element only. In the amman iar expression here is no 'it' of
which the predication is made.

Stay curious,
David

David E. Bell
The Gray Wizard
www.graywizard.net
AIM: GraWzrd

"Wisdom begins in wonder."