Re: Gender in conlangs (was: Re: Umlauts (was Re: Elves and Ill Bethisad))
| From: | Costentin Cornomorus <elemtilas@...> |
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| Date: | Sunday, November 2, 2003, 1:09 |
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--- Remi Villatel <maxilys@...> wrote:
> My conlang has only 2 genders: "subjective" and
> "objective". Everything is
> "objective" except the persons, the pets and
> the spirits.
What exactly do you mean by "subjective" and
"objective"? I am sure most of us understand
those terms to refer to noun cases. That is, the
nominative case is the "subjective" case; the
accusative and other oblique cases are the
"objective" cases.
What it looks like is your conlang has animate
and inanimate genders. So does my Talarian,
though the gender is grammatical more than
natural.
> The spirit and the
> person is one single "subjective" thing but the
> body is an object, a tool of
> the mind to interact with the material world.
> The body without the spirit
> which turns it into a person will be described
> by an "objective" pronoun.
Makes sense. The body is not the person - that's
a well known precept in Telerani spirituality!
I don't think I have a Talarian word for corpse
yet, but of course, its gender will be dictated
by etymology and may well be animate. :)
Daine languages have genders (but I'm not exactly
sure how they function). I do know they too would
consider the dead body as inanimate, or not a
person.
Padraic.
=====
To him that seeks, if he knock, the door will be opened;
if he seeks, he shall find his way; if he searches for a way, he shall find his path.
For though the Way is narrow, it's wisdom is written in the hearts of all:
if ye would seek and find Rest, look first within! [The Petricon]
--
Ill Bethisad --
<http://www.geocities.com/elemtilas/ill_bethisad>
Come visit The World! --
<http://www.geocities.com/hawessos/>
.
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