CONLANG Digest - 2 Mar 2000 to 3 Mar 2000 (#2000-64)

> From:    Matt Pearson <jmpearson@...>
>
> Your "titular article" appears to specify that the referent is not only
> uniquely identifiable, but is in fact unique, a one-of-a-kind entity.
Right.  Most of those other cases where a definite article would want use
are served by the (unrelated) demonstrative "jab":'that'.

> From:    Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
>
> > This lang, 'Ptauti' has eight phonemes: p e t a k u sh i
> > CCCCVV syllable structure.
>
> Any restrictions on which consonants can combine?  I must say, that for
> me, that's a hideous syllable-structure.
From what I know, it seems that consonants can't be repeated in-syllable.
(And they don't have to have *all* four consonants...)

It's actually not too difficult, IMO.

Big clusters:
pshkta     [pSkda]      - head
pshashkta  ['pZa Skda]  - sleep
shtpashtpa ['Stba Stba] - health
kt+kt+k    [kt kt 'k]   - pain

Small, easy words:
pe         [me]         - first person singular pronoun
she+shu    ['Ze Zu]     - God
sha+shta   ['Za Zda]    - bed

If it gets too bad I can always pull the 'nonhuman concultural speakers'
card for the shkeshkatai (as they should call themselves...)

Rough scan of alphabet from my notebook:
http://ns.southern.edu/~alrivera//ptauti.jpg
(in same order as listed above, p e t a k u sh i)

[Spring break!  It's spring break!]

    *Muke!