Cân Gert: Difference between revisions

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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>


===Derivational morphology===
===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==

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