What did you accomplish today? [2011–2019]

[mbrsart]

I was wondering how the heck a simple verb root like nal could mean only to conceive a child. So I added half a dozen senses:

1. to do something
2. to make or assemble something
3. to conceive (a child)
4. to create something
5. to think something up, get an idea
6. (Magic) to conjure something

On another note, anybody know how common it is to have discrete verbs for do/make? Pretty much every natural language I've studied conflates them, except English. I'd do my own research, but I'm lazy.

[Creyeditor]

I think David Gil has done some research (or cited some research) on it, and it seems there's a bunch of languages that distinguish them and a bunch that don't.

[Ahzoh]

Ah, so it's not just a Romance thing.

Vrkhazhian conflates doing with performing and starting/initiating.

[KaiTheHomoSapien]

But even in Latin, there's agō and faciō. While faciō can mean "do" or "make", agō could also mean "do" in the sense that agō is kind of an "all-purpose" verb (like English "do") and has many more meanings than faciō, all relating to the general idea of action itself (hence the word "action" lol). Though I'm not sure if the difference between agō and faciō is much like the difference between do and make. Their meanings seem to overlap a bit.

[Khemehekis]

Added a list of glossing abbreviations at the end of my Kankonian grammar:

1e - first person excerptal
1p - first person plural
1s - first person singular
2e - second person excerptal
2p - second person plural
2s - second person singular
3e - third person excerptal
3p - third person plural
3s - third person singular
ADV - adverb
ALT - alternative question
APPOS - appositive
CNTR - contrastive
COMP - comparative
COMPCOMP - increasing comparative or contrastive
EXCPT - excerptal
FRAC - fractional part
FUT - future tense
IMPRTV - imperative mood
LOC - locative
NEG - negative
ORD - ordinal number
OSH - osh-particle (repeated adjective)
PL - plural
PREP-ADV - prepositional adverb
PROG - progressive aspect
PRS - present tense
PST - past tense
PSV - passive voice
Q - question
QR - question-relative
RECP - reciprocal
REFL - reflexive
REL - relative
REL-ACC - relative (object)
STAG - stagnative tense
SUBL - sublative
SUPL - superlative
VA - va-particle
VOC - vocative

[Ahzoh]

I fleshed out the basic derivation system of Proto-Haxyakian:

Verb: dāsar - to do, to act, to perform

Agent Noun: dāsuárē (agent)
Tool Noun: dāsárūē (tool)
Action Noun: pādāsárē (task, action, performance)
Agitator Noun: dāsdāsárē (activator, trigger, switch)

Patient Noun: dāsiárā (patient)
Place Noun: dāsárīā (field)
Object Noun: mādāsárā (object)
Status Noun: dāsarsárā (focus)

[Egerius]

I've been constructing fonts lately (using a computer program and a few manuscript photos). It took me forever finding the two hands I'd be pleased with, but I think I found the perfect match (a textura used in the Hatton Gospels, ca. 1160, Kent and a proto-gothic minuscule used in the Textus Roffensis, ca. 1120, Kent). They're both for a private project.

Maybe I'll share the fonts with anyone who wants them.

[Thrice Xandvii]

@Khemehekis: excerptal!?

[Iyionaku]

I eventually managed to take it back to my big project of a LateX grammar of Yélian (thanks to vo1dwalk3r, how somehow returned me my motivation ).

So first, I finally finished the first (actually the fourth) chapter: numerals. It can be found with this link here. It's in German, so most of you won't be able to read it; however, I'd be very pleased if y'all could have a look anyway and tell me how the formatting looks for you (especially tables, spacing and paragraphs; the code examples are made with the xlist package so obviously they look good). For my German speaking fellows, of course you are primarily invited.

[Khemehekis]

Iyionaku, that looks great in terms of format, and you seem to have all the bases covered with numbers.

@Khemehekis: excerptal!?

The excerptal form of a noun expresses "one of". For instance, "hayazet" means "one of the stars". To form the excerptal, cut off everything (if anything) after the terminal vowel of the plural form and add "t":

sharas (daughters) -> shara + t = sharat (one of the daughters)
likakes (necks) -> likake + t = likaket (one of the necks)
varis (plants) -> vari + t = varit (one of the plants)
garakhien (garakhien) -> garakhie + t = garakhiet (one of the garakhien)
zherdu (brothers) -> zherdu + t = zherdut (one of the brothers)

The excerptal is used for body parts a person has more than one of when they appear with a possessive:

Fas aas e bwolwut na is.
something COP-PRS in eye-EXCPT of 3s
There is something in my eye.

Amerina khafarkhen dumat na wan.
Amerina scratch-PST thumb-EXCPT of 3s
Amerina scratched her thumb.

This also applies to clothes of which more than one is usually worn:

Agrat na Keisha shehe*en ukh ye.
sock-EXCPT of Keisha fall-PST off PREP-ADV
Keisha's sock fell off.

Av Kankonikes emen in tzataki bikuren ash fega, mem ubasen os az famoi dehoyenen tzatakat na wan am az buhangem en er kalis.
when Kankonian-PL see-PST one shoe hang-PST on tree 3p believe-PST NEG that someone lose-PST-PST shoe-EXCPT of 3s but that buhangem PST LOC process
When Kankonians saw one shoe hanging in a tree, they believed not that someone had lost his or her shoe, but that the buhangem was at work.

The singular rather than the excerptal is used when which one of your eyes, legs, feet, etc. you are talking about is specified:

Is apsithien pumus utshi na is.
3s raise-PST hand left of 3s
I raised my left hand.

Nor is the excerptal used when there is no possessive:

Ar wahazas umbe ufoyan zeksisites oba eueras hekhio!
2s be_able_to-PRS now change channel-PL without move-PRS finger
Now you can change channels without moving a finger!

When an adjective describes both/all of the nouns referred to by an excerptal, the adjective comes after the excerptal noun. When the adjective describes only the one of the nouns referred to by the excerptal, it comes before the noun. So, "one of my blue eyes" would be "oimonet wowum" (both of the speaker's eyes being blue), but if the speaker had heterochromia iridum and wanted to say "the blue one of my eyes", he would say "wowum oimonet".

Excerptals (usually "met") also translate the pronoun "one" in sentences like "I want the red one":

Is fuiras gudum met.
3s want-PRS red 3e
I want the red one.

Ar as almonas deyit mui wan as wanzasha deyit.
2s PRS smart 2e and 3s PRS sweet 2e
You're the smart one and she's the sweet one.

Is as almonas wit mui wan as wanzasha wit.
3s PRS smart 1e and 3s PRS sweet 1e
I'm the smart one and she's the sweet one.

If you need to make the singular of a plural noun that doesn't have a singular, turn it into an excerptal: homoses (parents) -> homoset (parent).

[Ahzoh]

I believe that case is known by more common names: either singulative (as opposed to collective) or partitive

[Khemehekis]

I believe that case is known by more common names: either singulative (as opposed to collective) or partitive

But those are cases.

In Kankonian, excerptal is treated as a numerus. The other two numeri, of course, being singular and plural.

Kankonian doesn't have nominative vs. accusative cases. No genitive case (na or ad for that), no dative case (ad for that), zha for vocatives, zash for appositives, id for the object of a gerund, etc. If the excerptal were treated as a partitive case, then Kankonian would have only two cases: partitive and everything else. That would be extremely odd, typologically.

[Thrice Xandvii]

@Iyionaku: Is Table 4.1 supposed to be almost totally broken into two parts? Because it looks a bit like the lines joining them in the first column might not be intentional... or maybe that break itself wasn't purposeful? I'm not sure.

@Khemehekis: I don't believe that Singulative is a case, but rather a grammatical number and seems to work similarly to what you are proposing above. The only caveat is that Kankonian doesn't seem to have every unmarked noun automatically in a Collective number. But, that seems a small matter to me. One could likely use that term, whose meaning is much more easily deduced, with little trouble.

[Ahzoh]

Yes, singulative is a number and does not need to exist with collective number.

[Iyionaku]

@Iyionaku: Is Table 4.1 supposed to be almost totally broken into two parts? Because it looks a bit like the lines joining them in the first column might not be intentional... or maybe that break itself wasn't purposeful? I'm not sure.

It is/was, kinda. I wanted to have a free row rather than two separate tables bordered by horizontal lines. I did not intent, however, that the only column of that line would not adjust to the table but to the first column. I still struggle with some of the formatting, especially tables.

[mbrsart]

I haven't worked out the morphology yet, but I decided to slaughter a pair of auxiliary verbs and turn their reduced forms into markers for the inchoative and cessative aspects in Łoresla. I'm probably also going to take the word for "again" and use a reduced form as a habitual aspect marker.

[Parlox]

I have been rewriting Pod's grammar, and have started work on a new, vaguely Swahili based conlang.

[Ahzoh]

I focused on the syntax of Haxyakian:

The morphosyntactic alignment is... Split-S?... and the word order is Agent-Patient-Verb-Oblique.
Ǧī́ ācál.
1s-A PST-see
I saw.

Nṓanib ācál.
3fp-P PST-see
They were seen/Something saw them.

Ǧī́ nṓanib ācál.
1s-A 3fp-P PST-see
I see them.

Ǧī́ nṓanib nòkimā mī́ā dā̀wwiā āmā́vōt śuācál.
1s-A 3fs-P REL-PL-FEM that-PL place-P-FEM PST-walk IRR-PST-see
I would have seen them who walked there.

Sentences involving modal verbs are expressed as a serial verb construction:
Ǧā́il ōsuqù ōdil.
3ms-A NPST-want NPST-dig
He wants to dig.

Ǧā́il əz seídiē āsuqù ādil.
3ms-A the soil-P-MASC.SG PST-want PST-dig
He wanted to dig the soil.

Sentences involving an infinitive have it relegated to an oblique argument, which is placed before the verb if the patient is absent but place after the verb if the patient is present:
Moċtì sī ōdéǧō əz qéxerūñ āxixíñ.
1p for INF>separate<INF the dirt-GEN.FEM.PL PST-scrape.hard
We scraped hard to remove the dirt.

Moċtì əz ċā́ṡāxiē āxixíñ sī ōdéǧō əz qéxerūñ.
1p the vessel-P-MASC.SG PST-scrape.hard for INF>separate<INF the dirt-GEN.FEM.PL
We scraped the pot hard to remove the dirt.

[Parlox]

I have started work on a new conlang(again).

[Khemehekis]

@Khemehekis: I don't believe that Singulative is a case, but rather a grammatical number and seems to work similarly to what you are proposing above. The only caveat is that Kankonian doesn't seem to have every unmarked noun automatically in a Collective number. But, that seems a small matter to me. One could likely use that term, whose meaning is much more easily deduced, with little trouble.

I've gathered all the uses of excerptal in my grammar (except the ones I've shown already) and pasted them here, to give an idea of exactly how excerptal can and cannot be used.

First, just some more uses of the excerptal with body parts, in a spoiler:

Spoiler:

Wan steanen houmiel meshudzen is, do is emiyain ad wan az demoi en bikhat na is.
3s wonder-PST QR-what bother-PST3s so 3s tell-PST to 3s that answer PST knee-EXCPT of 3s
She wondered what was bothering me, so I told her it was my knee.

Is betzithas dzhiu mead angat na is dyu thothu na is.
3s love-PRS rub against leg-EXCPT of 3s by cat of 3s
I love it when my cat rubs against my leg.

Stivet na ar as ash ad adist nekaktel.
shoulder-EXCPT of 2s PRS on for lean nice
Your shoulder is nice to lean on.

Zhani arksasen ad tetetza hel pumat na wan shil tuthel.
Zhani reach-PST to butterfly with hand-EXCPT of 3s as open
Zhani reached for the butterfly, her hand open.

Is daitrokos oba baloubos kraviket na is.
1s walk-FUT without stub-FUT toe-EXCPT of 1s
I shall walk without stubbing my toe.

Now, the rest of them:

Since "wit", "deyit" and "met" are pronouns, they can also translate "you", "he", "she" or "it" when what was previously referred to is an excerptal:

Beinet harshamen ad is. Met envwetzen hakamar wowum mui engumen bomires.
boy-EXCPT wave-PST at 3s. 3e wear-PST T-shirt blue and wear_on_the_foot-PST sandal-PL
One of the boys waved at me. He was wearing a blue T-shirt and sandals.

The excerptal pronouns can also be used with numbers, so "bam met" means "two of them". Excerptal pronouns are not used with words like "many" or "few", however:

Is abamen lem argas mem.
3s eat-PST too many 3p
I ate too many of them.

Beines na posk geshen ash bakhu mos met hushisen lehesh mui met duesken nephus na met mui bam met wakhiren tzizawa.
boy-PL of band stand-PST on porch while 3e smoke-PST cigarette and 3e have_off-PST shirt of 3e and two 3e drink-PST lemonade
The boys from the band stood on the porch, one smoking a cigarette, one with his shirt off, two drinking lemonade.

Possessives that would be pronouns rather than determiners in English (mine, yours, hers, etc.) require "met" (one) before them when they come after "de" (than):

Karaph na is as re tzmofuz de met na ar.
dog of 1s PRS COMP old than 3e of 2s
My dog is older than yours.

Gaimi na ar as hi dyu nos albevik de met na is.
idea of 2s PRS CNTR by none stupid than 3e of 1s
Your idea is no less stupid than mine.

Etil na is as re rimi de met na Dan.
penis of 1s PRS COMP long than 3e of Dan
My penis is longer than Dan's.

Swiu na muwil as hi debini de met na tei.
tomb of slave PRS CNTR elaborate than 3e of king
The slave's tomb is less elaborate than the king's. / The tomb of the slave is less elaborate than that of the king.

Sia: Ar kuless an hamet teluat.
Manda: O kuless an hamet hielet?
Sia: 2s need-PRS have this-EXCPT adaptor-EXCPT
Manda: one need-PRS have that-EXCPT what-EXCPT
Sia: You need one of these adaptors.
Manda: You need one of those what?

Is os fuiren treth ad amaren daz (1) treth en zufu* (2) bam notat ad is taglisizas dyu dzhevazades (3) thesh id oaupas adnayanas is spei star na blahatz mui (4) asa is uhwenen ad amaren leken.
1s NEG want-PST drive to zoo because (1) drive PST time-consuming (2) two child-EXCPT to 1s frighten-PSV-PRS by rhinoceros-PL (3) hear done_to howler_monkey-PL give_a_headache_to-PRS 1s for rest of day and (4) already 1s go-PST-PST to zoo yesterday
I did not want to drive to the zoo because (1) driving was time-consuming, (2) two of my children are frightened by the rhinos, (3) hearing the howler monkeys gives me a headache for the rest of the day and (4) I had already gone to the zoo yesterday.

The number "one" is usually implied in an excerptal: to say "one of the doors", one would say "kutshat", not "in kutshat". However, if one is contrasted with another number by use of o (or), "in" is used:

Wir fuiros e hesh wasakohir adshmelzas in wit o re argas de in wit aphos phokulet mos triho.
1p want-FUT BE by restroom in_case one 1e or COMP many than one 1e get-FUT diarrhea during trip
We'll want to be by a restroom in case one of us or more than one of us get diarrhea on the trip.

Yakh sharat in o bam ad is blatzos weveng saipos, yau ham os plan das is.
if daughter-EXCPT one or two to 1s stay-FUT single for_life then that FUT fine according_to 1s
If one or two of my daughters stay single for life, that's fine by me.

When you have an excerptal and mention the total number of the nominal in question, the number word goes after the nominal:

Alsazas az *iuwalas en maikrat kyu az torturen ad laniz.
hero-PL REL shine-PRS PST movie-EXCPT five REL win-PST to award
Shining Heroes was one of five movies to win an award.

Is en sharat em.
1s PRS daughter-EXCPT three
I was one of three girls.

Fur ewadat zansem en ab Hita.
eight finalist-EXCPT ten-six PST from Hita
Eight of sixteen finalists were from Hita.

The excerptal number goes before the excerptal nominal in such constructions, even if the nominal is a family member or body part:

Kyu yedet treil utoyen.
five son-EXCPT seven marry-PST
Five of seven sons married.