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Cân Gert: Difference between revisions
→Proper nouns
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The language is [[a priori]] in the sense that it is not derived from another language by way of regular sound changes and identifiable diachronic grammatical developments. However, as its vocabulary is mostly derived (albeit often in opaque ways) from the [[w:Scottish Gaelic|Scottish Gaelic]] lexicon, it could arguably be described as an [[a posteriori language]], depending on the definition applied. | The language is [[a priori]] in the sense that it is not derived from another language by way of regular sound changes and identifiable diachronic grammatical developments. However, as its vocabulary is mostly derived (albeit often in opaque ways) from the [[w:Scottish Gaelic|Scottish Gaelic]] lexicon, it could arguably be described as an [[a posteriori language]], depending on the definition applied. | ||
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==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
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{{:Cân Gert/Vowels}} | {{:Cân Gert/Vowels}} | ||
Permissible diphthongs are /aɪ/, /aʊ/, /ɛɪ/ | Permissible diphthongs are /aɪ/, /aʊ/, /ɛɪ/ and /ɔɪ/ | ||
===Consonants=== | ===Consonants=== | ||
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* /ɛ/ adjacent to /a/ or /aː/ → /e/ | * /ɛ/ adjacent to /a/ or /aː/ → /e/ | ||
* /ɔ/ adjacent to /a/ or /aː/ → /o/ | * /ɔ/ adjacent to /a/ or /aː/ → /o/ | ||
This is not indicated in the orthography. | |||
====Iotic epenthesis==== | ====Iotic epenthesis==== | ||
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As in English, proper nouns are distinguished through capitalisation. Proper nouns can be borrowed through a number of mechanisms: | As in English, proper nouns are distinguished through capitalisation. Proper nouns can be borrowed through a number of mechanisms: | ||
* '''Borrowed names''' are proper nouns that are not broken down into further meaning. These are usually borrowed from Gaelic or, failing that, English, without being reduced to monosyllables like roots are. E.g. ''Alabâ'', "Scotland", from Gaelic ''Alba'', and ''Colôn'', "Cologne", from the English. | * '''Borrowed names''' are proper nouns that are not broken down into further meaning. These are usually borrowed from Gaelic or, failing that, English, without being reduced to monosyllables like roots are. E.g. ''Alabâ'', "Scotland", from Gaelic ''Alba'', and ''Colôn'', "Cologne", from the English. | ||
* '''Translated names''' are proper nouns that are translated into Cân Gert. E.g. ''Êndînta | * '''Translated names''' are proper nouns that are translated into Cân Gert. E.g. ''Tormuintîr Êndînta'', "United Nations". | ||
Due to Cân Gert's nature, translated proper nouns can often be broken down into far lower-level transparent morphemes than their English equivalents. For the above example: | Due to Cân Gert's nature, translated proper nouns can often be broken down into far lower-level transparent morphemes than their English equivalents. For the above example: | ||
* ''Tormuintîr'' – "nations" | |||
** ''tor'' – "many, [plural]" | |||
** ''muintîr'' – "nation" | |||
*** ''muin'' – "(a) people, tribe, cohesive social group" | |||
*** ''tîr'' – "country, land" | |||
* ''Êndînta'' – "unified, united" | * ''Êndînta'' – "unified, united" | ||
** ''êndîn'' – "unification, unity" | ** ''êndîn'' – "unification, unity" | ||
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*** ''dîn'' – "action, creation" | *** ''dîn'' – "action, creation" | ||
** ''-ta'' – perfective participle{{ref|pn1|note}} | ** ''-ta'' – perfective participle{{ref|pn1|note}} | ||
<small>{{note|pn1|Note}} The ''-ta'' suffix obviates the need both for the general-purpose adjectival suffix ''-al'' and for the verbal clitic ''ni'' that would occur at the beginning of ''niêndîn'' to mean "unify, unite". That suffix tends to form adjectives with a more active/progressive meaning, somewhat like a gerundive; ''êndînal'' would mean "unifying, uniting" rather than "unified, united".</small> | <small>{{note|pn1|Note}} The ''-ta'' suffix obviates the need both for the general-purpose adjectival suffix ''-al'' and for the verbal clitic ''ni'' that would occur at the beginning of ''niêndîn'' to mean "unify, unite". That suffix tends to form adjectives with a more active/progressive meaning, somewhat like a gerundive; ''êndînal'' would mean "unifying, uniting" rather than "unified, united".</small> | ||
===Compounds=== | === Compounds === | ||
Cân Gert morphology features both [[w:Morphological derivation|derivation]] and [[w:Inflection|inflection]], both of which create compounds. In Cân Gert this is distinguished by whether the compound is a lexeme, or a non-lemma form of an existing lexeme. | Cân Gert morphology features both [[w:Morphological derivation|derivation]] and [[w:Inflection|inflection]], both of which create compounds. In Cân Gert this is distinguished by whether the compound is a lexeme, or a non-lemma form of an existing lexeme. | ||
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If the answer to 1 is "yes" or the answer to 2 is "no", the new word is a lexeme. Otherwise, it is a non-lemma form of an existing lexeme. The process can be done in reverse, by taking away roots from a compound, to determine what form of a lexeme is its lemma form. | If the answer to 1 is "yes" or the answer to 2 is "no", the new word is a lexeme. Otherwise, it is a non-lemma form of an existing lexeme. The process can be done in reverse, by taking away roots from a compound, to determine what form of a lexeme is its lemma form. | ||
==== Example: Derivation ==== | |||
==== Derivation | |||
Appending ''din'' ("person, human") to the word ''bartei'' ("workplace, office", from ''bar'', "work, job" + ''tei'', "house, building, facility") creates the compound ''barteidin'' meaning "officer, official, office worker". | Appending ''din'' ("person, human") to the word ''bartei'' ("workplace, office", from ''bar'', "work, job" + ''tei'', "house, building, facility") creates the compound ''barteidin'' meaning "officer, official, office worker". | ||
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Therefore, this is an example of derivation, and ''barteidin'' is a lexeme, rather than a non-lemma form of ''bartei''. | Therefore, this is an example of derivation, and ''barteidin'' is a lexeme, rather than a non-lemma form of ''bartei''. | ||
==== Inflection | ==== Example: Inflection ==== | ||
Prepending ''tor'' ("many, much") to the word ''bartei'' creates the compound ''torbartei'' meaning "workplaces, offices". | Prepending ''tor'' ("many, much") to the word ''bartei'' creates the compound ''torbartei'' meaning "workplaces, offices". | ||
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Therefore, this is an example of inflection, and ''torbartei'' is a non-lemma form of ''bartei''. | Therefore, this is an example of inflection, and ''torbartei'' is a non-lemma form of ''bartei''. | ||
=== Derivational morphology === | |||
When concatenating substantive and/or functional roots and/or compounds, the first modifies the second. That is: | |||
: ''orn'' ("song") + ''ion'' ("bird") → ''ornion'' – songbird, a bird which sings | |||
But: | |||
: ''ion'' + ''orn'' → ''ionorn'' – birdsong, the song of a bird | |||
This neatly disambiguates the meanings created by compounds from the meanings created by modifier nouns or adjectives. For example, with ''ûn'' "green" and ''tî'' "tea": | |||
* ''ûntî'' – green tea | |||
* ''tî ûn'' – a kind of tea that is green | |||
* ''tî ûnal'' – tea which happens to be green | |||
==Nominal morphology== | ==Nominal morphology== | ||
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===Non-finite verbs=== | ===Non-finite verbs=== | ||
==Adjectival morphology== | ==Adjectival morphology== | ||
The generic adjectival suffix ''-al'' is generally avoided unless it is needed to disambiguate meaning, because adjectives follow nouns, and a noun following a noun is taken to modify that noun much as an adjective would. This is epitomised in the name of the language, which hypercorrectly would be *''Cân Gertal'', but is instead ''Cân Gert''. This could be variously analysed as "short language" or "language of brevity". | |||
Thus for example ''sen'' normally means "age, great age", and ''senal'' would mean "old, aged", but it is perfectly acceptable to use just ''sen'' for "old, aged" if the meaning is clear. For example, to say "I am twenty years old", you would normally say ''Mi fît blîn sen'' rather than ''Mi fît blîn senal''. | |||
=== Adjectives === | === Adjectives === | ||
=== Modifier nouns === | === Modifier nouns === | ||