Random ideas: Morphosyntax

[HolyHandGrenade!]

New noun class idea: passive vs active vs reactive. That seems confusing but it’s completely separate from grammatical voice. Passive nouns are things that don’t really move or act, such as most inanimate objects and abstract nouns. Active nouns are things that autonomously and constantly move and act, such as most animate objects, rivers, the wind. Reactive nouns are things that move and act in reaction to other things, such as fire, passive or stative nominals, and some abstract nouns relating to reaction or violence.

[TBPO]

New noun class idea: passive vs active vs reactive. That seems confusing but it’s completely separate from grammatical voice. Passive nouns are things that don’t really move or act, such as most inanimate objects and abstract nouns. Active nouns are things that autonomously and constantly move and act, such as most animate objects, rivers, the wind. Reactive nouns are things that move and act in reaction to other things, such as fire, passive or stative nominals, and some abstract nouns relating to reaction or violence.

What with people?

[HolyHandGrenade!]

New noun class idea: passive vs active vs reactive. That seems confusing but it’s completely separate from grammatical voice. Passive nouns are things that don’t really move or act, such as most inanimate objects and abstract nouns. Active nouns are things that autonomously and constantly move and act, such as most animate objects, rivers, the wind. Reactive nouns are things that move and act in reaction to other things, such as fire, passive or stative nominals, and some abstract nouns relating to reaction or violence.

What with people?

People are active, with the exception of words like “observer” and “thinker” which fall into the “passive or stative nominals” category I mentioned and are therefore reactive. If the conculture has slavery, then “slave” could be in the reactive class derogatorily. If someone is sleeping or dead they are in the passive class. A word like “sleeper” could be in the active class to show one is trying to sleep or reactive class to show one fell asleep.

[Omzinesý]

Reactive nouns are things that move and act in reaction to other things, such as fire, passive or stative nominals, and some abstract nouns relating to reaction or violence.

What does it mean that 'fire' act in reaction to other things?

[HolyHandGrenade!]

Another important aspect of active vs reactive is that active things are always constantly acting in some way, while reactive things only act occasionally or when acted upon. Fire must be created, and cannot spread without fuel. It also cannot hurt someone unless they go in it or stick part of their body in it, aka it reacts to their action of moving into it.

[Omzinesý]

Adposition fot 'outside' is just not + in

[TBPO]

Language based on lambda calculus. Work in progress.

[Creyeditor]

There are probably already some engelangs based on that.

[TBPO]

A particle that used to simply negate the sentence, but now indicates that the action is happening in the Internet.

[HolyHandGrenade!]

A particle that used to simply negate the sentence, but now indicates that the action is happening in the Internet.

Sly winky face negation

[Creyeditor]

I always wanted to include an irrealis article in some conlang. It apparently exists in some natlangs, including Biak, where it is used in the scope of negation, e.g. "I never saw [a boat] here." and in hypotheticals, e.g. "If I had [an apple], I wouldn't be hungry."

[Omzinesý]

I always wanted to include an irrealis article in some conlang. It apparently exists in some natlangs, including Biak, where it is used in the scope of negation, e.g. "I never saw [a boat] here." and in hypotheticals, e.g. "If I had [an apple], I wouldn't be hungry."

Isn't the Basque partitive like that?

[Creyeditor]

I don't know. How does it work?

[Omzinesý]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_grammar

The article -(r)ik, traditionally called a partitive suffix (cf. French de), replaces -a, -ak in negative-polar contexts, especially with indefinite noun phrases in negative sentences. It is never treated as grammatically plural.

etxerik 'any house(s)'
Ba al daukazu etxerik? 'Have you got a house?'
Hemen ez dago etxerik. 'There is no house here, There aren't any houses here.'

[Creyeditor]

Does it also occur in other contexts?

[Omzinesý]

I am no expert of Basque. It appears in question and negative cluases. I don't know if it can be used in other irrealis contexts.

[HolyHandGrenade!]

I don’t know how common this is but my conlang has a closed class of prepositions which combine with nominal proclitics.
For example: sor “place” + or “at/on” = sor’or “in”

[Creyeditor]

These (nominal forns) are often called relational nouns. Indonesian has them (very productively and regularly):

di mobil
at car
'in/at/on/by/ the car'

di dalam mobil
at inside car
'in the car'

di atas mobil
at top car
'on (top of) the car'

[HolyHandGrenade!]

Verb agreement agrees with the subject normally, but agrees with the object in imperative.

[Creyeditor]

Because there is no overt subject in imperatives?