Re: PoS & heretics (was: Cases and Prepositions (amongst others))

At 07:37 PM 6/21/2000 -0700, Barry Garcia wrote:
>Something interesting in Tagalog is, Nouns can be preceeded by adjectives
>or vice versa:
>
>Wikang Pambansa - National Language
>Pambansang Awit - National Anthem
>Tanikalang Ginto - Golden links (tanikala - chain, ginto - gold)
>
>Which is something I like, and will probably add into Saalangal  (as it
>is, adjectives preceed nouns, right now, but this way, it adds
>flexibility, and also can make things sound better)
The ability for adjectives to either precede or follow the nouns they
modify is something I try to incorporate into all my conlangs if at all
possible.  The basic idea is that if the adjective is being used
contrastively, it should follow the noun; otherwise, it should precede.
(I understand that at least some of the Romance languages do this with
some adjectives; I try to do it with all adjectives.)  The details of
how it works vary with the general typology of the conlang.

Does the variation in order have a pragmatic function in Tagalog?

- Tim

------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Smith

"To live outside the law you must be honest."
        -- Bob Dylan