--- David Zitzelsberger <DavidZ@...> wrote:
> Had an interesting thought.
>
> Are the dishes clean?
>
> pl pl
>
> Is this stuff clean?
>
> si si but implies plural
>
> How do other languages handle the pluralness of
> nouns that represent a
> plural idea (inherently mass).
>
> I can think of three solutions to this:
> 1. It's singular so use singular verb
> 2. It's a mass so use plural verb
> 3. It's a special case so use a separate case
>
> My American uses number 1. Do any other languages
> (NAT and CON) use the
> other two?
The confusion extends to this which are not strictly
"mass" but are made up of discrete components. Even
in English we can't decide whether to say "The
committee HAVE decided..." or "The committee HAS
decided..."
This is one of those cases where one might wish for an
imaginary community of speakers of the conlang so one
could listen in and let their (its?) usage dictate
what is "best".
What we need is something like "Sim City", a computer
program that could be programmed to simulate a bunch
of little people running around speaking our conlang
so we could watch evolve for a few simulated
centuries. ;-)
--gary