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Cân Gert: Difference between revisions
→Derivational morphology
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<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=== | ||
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. | |||
When adding a root to a word to create a new compound, the following test can be applied to determine whether the new compound is also a lexeme: | |||
# Does the added root change the lexical class of the word (e.g. a noun into a verb, adjective, or participle)? | |||
# Does the added root always effect the exact same transparent and predictable change in meaning when added to any other word? | |||
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. | |||
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 | |||
==== Derivation example ==== | |||
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'' to just ''bar'' gives ''bardin'' meaning "worker". | |||
While the connection between ''bartei+din'' and ''bar+din'' is somewhat logical (as logic, by creating clarity, is part of Cân Gert's design goals), it is not fully predictable or transparent; adding ''din'' to different words results in the creation of a noun that describes some kind of person, but the way in which it describes that person is not necessarily the same from one word to the next. | |||
Therefore, this is an example of derivation, and ''barteidin'' is a lexeme, rather than a non-lemma form of ''bartei''. | |||
==== Inflection example ==== | |||
Prepending ''tor'' ("many, much") to the word ''bartei'' creates the compound ''torbartei'' meaning "workplaces, offices". | |||
Prepending ''tor'' to just ''bar'' gives ''torbar'' meaning "instances of work, jobs". | |||
This change in meaning is fully predictable and transparent: Prepending ''tor'' pluralises the modified root or compound. | |||
Therefore, this is an example of inflection, and ''torbartei'' is a non-lemma form of ''bartei''. | |||
==Nominal morphology== | ==Nominal morphology== | ||