Re: Recalled to life
| From: | Nathaniel G. Lew <natlew@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Monday, October 14, 2002, 21:09 |
|---|
On Mon, 14 Oct 2002 00:22:42 -0500, Nik Taylor <yonjuuni@...>
wrote:
I don't, but then again, neither do several major European languages
("you", "vous", "Sie", "vy" (Russ.)). Especially with 2nd-person
pronouns, I figure that number will be clear from context.
Nouns in Bendeh work that way - number is generally picked up from context
(as I understand they are in Japanese), although it is possible to mark it
explicitly to avoid ambiguity -and I like having most of the pronouns work
the same, since I don't in principle distinguish between parts of speech.
One big exception is the 1st-person pronouns. "I" and "we" feel to me
like really different concepts, although I understand that several Asian
languages just pluralize "I" for "we" or, if they have no plural, use the
same word. I guess I am just an individualist anti-communitarian American
conlanger at heart ;-) The other exception is with the third-person non-
human (demonstrative) pronouns. Those are both singular and plural in
lots of languages, but I decided to put the strong (lexical)
singular/plural division in the language there because it was the most
elegant place in the system to put it. Since those pronouns are used as
articles, it makes separate inflection for number unnecessary.
- Nat
Replies