A place to propose and discuss whatif situations for conlanging. Maybe better for ones based on natlangs, but I don't see why that would be a limiting factor. To start:
What if, in a language based on Japanese, instead of the n-irregular verbs turning into "yodan" verbs (and later godan), they were instead bolstered by verbs ending in -mu (and possibly -bu and/or -dzu) becoming something like a "nasal" set of verbs?
Conlang whatifs
Re: Conlang whatifs
I'm not quite sure what you mean. There were only ever two n- irregular verbs in classical Japanese, and only one of them survived into modern Japanese. The one that survives patterns after -mu and -bu verbs forms.
Also, there were no yodan verbs ending in -dzu, which is why you find no modern godan verbs like that either. All -dzu verbs were kami- or shimo-nidan, meaning they all became modern ichidan verbs, e.g.:
todzu → tojiru
medzu → mederu
What kind of change are you imagining?
Also, there were no yodan verbs ending in -dzu, which is why you find no modern godan verbs like that either. All -dzu verbs were kami- or shimo-nidan, meaning they all became modern ichidan verbs, e.g.:
todzu → tojiru
medzu → mederu
What kind of change are you imagining?
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LinguistCat
- sinic
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- Joined: 06 May 2017 07:48
Re: Conlang whatifs
I didn't mean to imply there were. I was just connecting what are now voiced consonants but were originally prenasalized (and honestly in some dialects still carry some nasalization). I should have also included -gu verbs as well, tho.
Exactly what I had said:What kind of change are you imagining?
shina-, shini-, shinu, shinuru, shinure, shine
uma-, umi-, umu, umuru, umure, ume
toda-, todzi-, todzu, todzuru, todzure, tode
taba-, tabi-, tabu, taburu, tabure, tabe
oyoga-, oyogi-, oyogu, oyoguru, oyogure, oyoge
Not sure where things might go from there, but basically instead of n-irregulars as a class going extinct and the verbs previously in that class becoming godan verbs (of a nasal subtype), a broader nasal verb group forms separately from yodan/godan verbs. Not sure how it would be kicked off, but I'm pretty sure I've seen weirder changes in English within my lifetime. And maybe for realism's sake, a few of these verbs would remain in their original conjugation patterns instead, ironically becoming irregular verbs themselves.