Re: Unilang: the Grammar

Hi!

Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...> writes:
> > So, you can freely combine "come" or "go" optionally with a direction,
> > or a mode of motion, or both.  I 've never thought about it before, but
> > this system seems rather neat and elegant to me. Anywyay, just thought
> > I'd share.
> >
>
> What a neat system!!! I love it! Maybe I'll borrow it for a future conlang of
> mine? :))
I like that too.  I'm still thinking about how to make it nice in
Tyl-Sjok which does not allow compositions like that.  You need to
use auxiliaries for place, time and manner.

Currently, `to walk' translates `move use foot'.  And `Peter runs into
the house' would be `Peter fast move use foot arrive-at X interior'.
But that's so long!  Probably `move' would be dropped, but that
doesn't help too much.  Furthermore, it's a but inconsistent to allow
`fast' direct modification, but not `foot'.  Hmm...

I don't know how my language works.  I need more investigation. :-(

> BTW, is Chinese as strict as Japanese when it comes to choose between "come" and
> "go", or is it more liberal like English or French?
Hmm.  What do you mean?  Like using `go' not for the mere action but
for the result?

   I go to the cinema.

This isn't possible in Chinese.  You'd say:

   wo3 qu4 kan4 dian1-ying3.
   I   go  watch film.

The direct translation,
   wo3 qu4 dian1-ying3-yuan3.
   I   go  cinema.

would mean to go there, but not implying to watch a film.

But the other usages I found quite the same as in English:

   ni3 gen3 wo3 lai2!
   you with me come
   Come with me!

   ni3 dao4 wo3 zhe4-li3 lai2!
   you to   me  here     come.
   Come to  me!

   ni3 dao4 ta1     na4-li3 qu4!
   you to   him/her there   go.
   Go to him!

   wo3 qu4 guo4  tai2-wan1.
   I   go  EXP   Taiwan.
   (EXP is an aspect marker for a completed action and a completed result)
   I (once) went to Taiwan.

   wo3 lai2 le0   tai2-wan1.
   I   go   PERF  Taiwan.
   (PERF is an aspect marker for a completed action but a non-completed result)
   I've come to Taiwan.

I hope I made no mistakes...

?? Or was the question about something completely different? :-)

**Henrik

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