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diff --git a/2004-en/ithkuil-ch9-syntax.htm b/2004-en/ithkuil-ch9-syntax.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..902b681 --- /dev/null +++ b/2004-en/ithkuil-ch9-syntax.htm @@ -0,0 +1,685 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<title>A Philosophical Grammar of Ithkuil, a Constructed Language - Chapter 9: Syntax</title> +<META name="resource-type" content="document"> +<META name="description" content="A constructed philosophical language design showing NOT how artificial languages do function, but rather how they COULD function."> +<META name="keywords" content="constructed language, conlang, philosophical language, hypothetical language, fictional language, artificial language, constructed languages, conlangs, philosophical languages, hypothetical languages, fictional languages, artificial languages"> +<META name="distribution" content="global"> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> +<!-- +//--> +</script> +</head> + +<body> +<div align="center"><font color="#999999" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Ithkuil: + A Philosophical Design for a Hypothetical Language</strong></font><br> + <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Title-Script5.gif"><br> + <br> +</div> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td width="9%" height="25" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="1"><a name="menu"></a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a></font></div></td> + <td width="37%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch5a-verbs.htm">5a + Verb Morphology </a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch9-syntax.htm">9 + Syntax</a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-intro.htm">Introduction</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch5b-verbs-contd.htm">5b + Verb Morphology (continued)</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch10-lexicosemantics.htm">10 + Lexico-Semantics</a></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch1-phonology.htm">1 + Phonology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch6-moreverbs.htm">6 + More Verb Morphology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch11-script.htm">11 + The Script </a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch2-morphophonology.htm">2 + Morpho-Phonology</a></font><font size="2"> </font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7a-affixes.htm">7a + Using Affixes </a></font></font></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch12-numbers.htm">12 + The Number System</a></font></font></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font size="2"> </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch3-morphology.htm">3 + Basic Morphology</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">7b + Using Affixes (continued) </a></font></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-lexicon.htm">The + Lexicon</a></font></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">4 + Case Morphology </a></font> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch8-adjuncts.htm">8 + Adjuncts</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Ilaksh_Intro.html" target="_blank">Revised Ithkuil: <font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">I</font>laksh</a></font></td> + </tr> +</table> +<h2 align="center"> </h2> +<h2 align="center">Chapter 9: Syntax</h2> +<div align="center"> + <table width="37%" border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td width="280"><font size="2"><a href="#Sec9o1">9.1 Word Order</a></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><font size="2"><a href="#Sec9o2">9.2 Semantic Focus and Pragmatic Relations</a></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><font size="2"><a href="#Sec9o3">9.3 Morpho-Semantic Considerations</a></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="17"><font size="2"><a href="#Sec9o4">9.4 The “Carrier” + Root</a></font></td> + </tr> + </table> +</div> +<p align="justify"><br> + Syntax refers to the rules for sequencing the order of words + within a phrase or sentence, including rules permitting more than one possible + sequential ordering of words. To understand the following discussion of Ithkuil + syntax it is necessary to have a cursory understanding of the notions of <em>semantic + role</em>, <em>pragmatic role</em>, and <em>grammatical</em> (or <em>syntactical</em>) + <em>relations</em>:</p> +<div align="justify"> + <ul> + <li><strong>Semantic role</strong>: This refers to the underlying semantic + function of a particular word, irrespective of overt morphological category. + We have already seen how Ithkuil marks its noun cases to reflect semantic + roles, not grammatical relations. Such roles include Agent, Patient, Experiencer, + Recipient, Instrument, etc., as previously explained in <a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">Section + 4.1</a> et seq.<br> + </li> + <li><strong>Pragmatic role</strong>: This refers to the function of a word + or phrase in relation to its predicate or the rest of the sentence in terms + of whether and how it represents “given” versus “new” + information, i.e., whether or not the word or phrase represents background + information already known to the addressee, or whether it represents new + information previously unknown to the addressee. Three such roles or relations + are generally delineated: <strong>topic</strong>, <strong>comment</strong>, + and <strong>focus</strong>. The <em>topic</em> of a sentence is the word + or phrase about which the speaker has been asked or is expected by the addressee + to talk about. The <em>comment</em> is the information (usually a predicate) + given by the speaker about the particular topic. The term <em>focus</em> + refers to whatever information in a sentence is new to the addressee, (i.e., + not previously known), and has been discussed in detail in <a href="ithkuil-ch3-morphology.htm">Sec. + 3.5</a>. To illustrate these concepts, consider the sentence <em>I can see + why Mary’s angry, but what about Bill?</em> (i.e., <em>What happened + to make Bill angry, too?</em>). In the hypothetical answer <em>Bill (or + He) is angry because he lost his keys</em>, ‘Bill’ (or ‘he’) + is the topic, ‘is angry because he lost his keys’ is the comment, + and ‘he lost his keys’ is the focus.<br> + </li> + <li><strong>Grammatical </strong>(or<strong> syntactical</strong>)<strong> + relations</strong>: the arbitrary word-ordering rules of a language, irrespective + of semantic or pragmatic roles, e.g., the subject of the sentence in English + normally precedes the main verb and the direct object normally follows the + main verb.</li> + </ul> +</div> +<p align="justify">In general, the syntax of a language either (1) establishes + the permissible grammatical relations of the language, (2) reflects and/or reinforces + semantic roles, (3) reflects and/or reinforces pragmatic roles, or (4) any combination + of these. As one might surmise from the above, English syntax is weighted heavily + toward establishing grammatical relations at the near-total expense of identifying + semantic roles. As for pragmatic roles, English rarely reflects these in its + syntax (one exception is the strong tendency for placing <em>wh</em>- question + words in sentence-initial position in specialized questions, even if they represent + a direct object, e.g., <em>What have you done?</em> or <em>Who[m] are they talking + about?</em>), however, such roles do tend to be marked “supra-segmentally” + by inflection of vocal pitch and tone of voice. </p> +<p align="justify">We have already seen the extreme to which Ithkuil marks semantic + roles morphologically as opposed to syntactically. And since grammatial relations + in and of themselves are relatively arbitrary within language, Ithkuil uses + pure word order constraints only to an extent necessary to ensure avoidance + of ambiguity in determining which nouns belong as participants to a verb, which + nouns lie in apposition to their head, and which words of a compound sentence + lie within a case-frame as opposed to outside the case-frame. As for pragmatic + roles, we have already seen that semantic focus and optional topicalization + are accomplished morphologically in Ithkuil (see <a href="ithkuil-ch3-morphology.htm">Sec. + 3.5</a> and the TPF affix in <a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">Sec. + 7.7.13</a>). As a result, Ithkuil has relatively free word order which, subject + to a few constraints, is manipulated for euphonic and phonaesthetic reasons. + Those constraints on word order which do exist are explained below.</p> +<p> </p> +<table width="97%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><p><font size="4"><strong>9.1 WORD ORDER<a name="Sec9o1"></a></strong></font></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">The highly inflected nature of Ithkuil morphology allows the + order of words within a sentence to be quite flexible. Nevertheless, two neutral + or “default” patterns exist, one for main clauses, the other for + case frames. </p> +<h3 align="justify"><br> + 9.1.1 Word Order Within Main Clauses</h3> +<p align="justify">The default word-order for a main clause is as follows: </p> +<div align="justify"> + <blockquote> </blockquote> +</div> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify"><strong>Nt1/R (Nt2) (Na) (Ns) (A) (Cv) (Co) Vb</strong>, + where:</p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify"><strong>Nt1/R</strong> = first transrelative participant or + a personal reference adjunct<br> + <strong>Nt2</strong> = second transrelative participant<br> + <strong>Na</strong> = attributive/associative/adverbial nouns<br> + <strong>Ns</strong> = spatio-temporal nouns<br> + <strong>A</strong> = aspectual adjunct<br> + <strong>Cv</strong> = conflation or valence adjunct<br> + <strong>Co</strong> = other adjuncts (e.g., affixual adjunct or combination + adjunct)<br> + <strong>Vb</strong> = verb</p> +<p align="justify">Thus we see that a main clause normally starts with the highest-order + transrelative noun (see <a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">Sec. 4.2</a>) + or any personal reference adjunct, followed by any nouns in lower-order transrelative + cases, followed by nouns in non-transrelative cases. The last part of the clause + consists of the verb in final position preceded by any aspectual adjunct, conflation + (or valence) adjunct, and combination or affixual adjunct, in that order. As + for “higher-” versus “lower-” order transrelative nouns, + this refers to the hierarchy or sequence of transrelative cases in which certain + cases take precedence over others. This hierarchy is as follows:</p> +<p align="justify"><font size="2">ERGATIVE <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> + EFFECTUATIVE <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> + INDUCIVE <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> ABSOLUTIVE + <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> DERIVATIVE + <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> <br> + SITUATIVE <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> + AFFECTIVE <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> + DATIVE <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> INSTRUMENTAL + <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/arrow.gif" width="17" height="9"> OBLIQUE</font></p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<h3 align="justify">9.1.2 Word-order within Case-Frames</h3> +<p align="justify">Within a case-frame (see <a href="ithkuil-ch5b-verbs-contd.htm">Section + 5.7</a>), a different default order is used in order to identify the clause + as a case frame:</p> +<p align="justify"><strong>Vc (A) (Cv) (Co) (Na) (Ns) (Nt2) Nt1/R</strong>, where:</p> +<p align="justify"><strong>Vc</strong> = verb inflected for case-frame<br> + <strong>A</strong> = aspectual adjunct <br> + <strong>Cv</strong> = conflation or valence adjunct<br> + <strong>Co</strong> = other adjuncts (e.g., affixual adjunct or combination + adjunct)<br> + <strong>Na</strong> = attributive/associative/adverbial nouns<br> + <strong>Ns</strong> = spatio-temporal nouns<br> + <strong>Nt2</strong> = second transrelative participant <br> + <strong>Nt1/R</strong> = first transrelative participant or a personal reference + adjunct</p> +<p align="justify">This is nearly the reverse order of the main clause, with the + case-marked verb appearing initially within the case-frame followed by its attendant + adjuncts, then any secondary nouns, followed by any transrelative nouns with + the highest-order transrelative noun or any personal reference adjunct in final + position within the case-frame. Additionally, the last noun within the case-frame + will usually take one of the <strong>–V<font size="1">1</font>’</strong> + suffixes (see <a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">Sec. 7.7.13</a>) + signifying the end of the case-frame unless this is clear without the suffix + (e.g., because the case-frame is in sentence-final position). </p> +<p align="justify"></p> +<p align="justify"></p> +<h3 align="justify">9.1.3 Flexibility and Constraints in Word Order</h3> +<p align="justify">Despite there being a normal word-order for main clauses and + case-frames, these are by no means grammatically required. In general, the order + of most words can be changed for purposes of euphony. Nevertheless, Ithkuil + word order is not completely free. The following word-order constraints exist + in order to avoid potential ambiguity or semantic incoherence.</p> +<div align="justify"> + <ul> + <li>Nouns in Attributive, Associative and Adverbial cases (see <a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">Secs. + 4.3</a>, <a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">4.4</a> and <a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">4.5</a>) + which are dependent on, or in apposition to a “head” noun, must + immediately precede or follow that head noun, unless the relationship between + the two nouns is readily ascertainable without the two being in apposition.<br> + </li> + <li>Sentences containing case-frames are most likely to follow the default, + normal word-order, in order to avoid ambiguity as to which formatives and + adjuncts belong to the main clause and which to the case-frame. Case-frames + especially often reflect a verb-initial pattern, in order to easily signify + the beginning of the case-frame.<br> + </li> + <li>A case-frame cannot be broken apart into segments within a main sentence, + i.e., the case-frame must constitute a single cohesive clause and not contain + elements of the main clause within it. It is possible to “nest” + a second case-frame within a case-frame, similar to the way in which subordinate + or relative clauses can be nested in English and other Western languages, + e.g., <em>[Despite owning a Picasso [that comes from his Blue period] [of + which I, [a mere student,] am fond,]] Joe is actually a very humble person</em>.<br> + </li> + </ul> +</div> +<h3 align="justify"> 9.1.4 Phonotactically-Induced Syntactic Modifications </h3> +<p align="justify">As mentioned above, word-order can shift in an Ithkuil sentence + to accommodate phonotactic or phonaesthetic ends, i.e., for purposes of euphony. + This is because suffixes on a formative, as well as morphemes associated with + categories of Bias and Mood, can be transformed into autonomous adjuncts (see + <a href="ithkuil-ch8-adjuncts.htm">Secs. 8.3</a>, <a href="ithkuil-ch8-adjuncts.htm">8.4</a> + and <a href="ithkuil-ch8-adjuncts.htm">8.6.2</a>). As + was described in <a href="ithkuil-ch1-phonology.htm">Sec. 1.4.5</a>, words + of six syllables or more are generally undesirable, therefore any formative + with numerous affixes is potentially subject to having several of its morphemes + redistributed to adjuncts. As an example, the word <strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">umreiquçî<img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/Qv.gif" width="10" height="18" align="absmiddle">îmšën</font></strong> + ‘series of bombs’ can separate out two of its four suffixes into + a separate word <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>çu’’î<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/Qv.gif" width="10" height="18" align="absmiddle"></font></strong></font> + to give the form <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>çu’’î<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%201/Symbols/Qv.gif" width="10" height="18" align="absmiddle"></font></strong></font><font color="#FFFFFF">_</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>umreiqîmšën</strong></font> + whose morphological structure is <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%209/9-1-4.gif" width="331" height="21" align="absmiddle">.</p> +<p align="justify">When ordering such phonaesthetically-induced adjuncts, it is + important that they can be easily associated with the formative to which they + apply. Generally, this means that they will be adjacent to the formative, or + occur on either side of other adjuncts associated with the formative.</p> +<h3 align="justify"><br> + 9.1.5 Iconicity </h3> +<p align="justify">English and other languages generally display phrase-structure + patterns and word-order patterns which reinforce, or even reflect, a cognitive + understanding of what is being described, i.e., the order of the words themselves + reflects information about how we are to understand the utterance. Such a phenomenon + is known as <strong>iconicity</strong>. In English and other Western languages, + the most common way in which iconicity is manifested is what is termed “sequential + order iconicity,” the idea that the actual sequential order of words in + a phrase or sentence reflects the sequential order of the events they describe. + For example, the phrases ‘eye it, try it, buy it,’ ‘I came, + I saw, I conquered,’ or ‘dine and dash’ describe sequential + events where the sequence of the words reflect the sequence of the events. What + is most important is that re-ordering of the words either changes the meaning + of the phrase or leads to semantic nonsense, e.g., ‘buy it, eye it, try + it’ implies that a different sequence of events actually takes place than + ‘eye it, try it, buy it.’ This can be more dramatically illustrated + with the following pair of sentences.</p> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify">1) <em>Jane got married and had a baby.</em><br> + 2) <em>Jane had a baby and got married.</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify">In English, the ambiguous word ‘and’ is interpreted + as connecting a sequence of events, i.e., ‘and’ is interpreted to + mean sequential ‘then’ (= ‘and following that,’ ‘then + next’ or ‘then later’). As a result, the meanings of the two + sentences imply very different social interpretations about Jane.</p> +<p align="justify">Besides the reflection of sequential order, other types of + word-order iconicity are possible. For example, compare the subtle difference + in meaning between the following two sentences:</p> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify">3) <em>Sam painted the fence white.</em><br> + 4) <em>Sam painted the white fence.</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify">In the first sentence, we do not know what color the fence + was prior to being painted, or even if it was a new fence that had never been + painted before. In the second sentence, not only do we know what color the fence + had been, but also that it was not previously unpainted, however, we do not + necessarily know what its new color is. This sort of iconicity is used to convey + a resultative state of affairs, i.e., by placing the adjective ‘white’ + after the word ‘fence’ (seemingly in violation of the usual adjective-before-noun + word order used in English), we describe a resulting state of affairs.</p> +<p align="justify">Yet another type of word-order iconicity is displayed in comparing + the following two sentences.</p> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify">5) <em>Loretta gave Sue a wedding gift.</em><br> + 6) <em>Loretta gave a wedding gift to Sue.</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify">Most grammar textbooks would state that these two sentences + are semantically equivalent, the first employing a “ditransitive” + pattern (i.e., juxtaposing an indirect object ‘Sue’ with a direct + object ‘wedding gift’), while the second uses a “complement” + pattern in which the indirect object follows the direct object and is changed + to a prepositional phrase using ‘to.’ However, there is a subtle + semantic distinction between the two sentences. The first strongly implies that + the wedding gift is for Sue, i.e., Sue is the bride and intended recipient. + The second sentence, however, invites the possibility that Sue is only a temporary + or circumstantial goal for the act of giving, but not the bride and intended + recipient. For example, if Sue is merely a guest at the wedding and Loretta + needed Sue’s help carrying an armload of wedding gifts, she might give + a wedding gift <em>to Sue</em>, but that does not mean she would <em>give Sue</em> + a wedding gift. This type of iconicity distinguishing a recipient from a directional + goal is an example of what is termed “distance iconicity,” because + the two linked words are made more “distant” from each other in + the sentence as a reflection of their more circumstantial association.</p> +<p align="justify">Ithkuil does not display iconicity. While the order of words + in an Ithkuil phrase or sentence may coincidentally reflect a temporal or causative + sequence of events, this is not by syntactic design. Because of the myriad means + available in Ithkuil to morphologically distinguish sequence, cause-and-effect, + resulting states, and the distinction of recipients from directional goals, + no iconicity patterns are required.</p> +<p align="justify">For example, we saw in sentences (1) and (2) above how English + ‘and’ can be used to convey not just mere coordination, but also + a sequencing function. In <a href="ithkuil-ch7a-affixes.htm">Sections + 7.7.3</a> and <a href="ithkuil-ch7a-affixes.htm">7.7.4</a>, we saw + that Ithkuil has no less than thirty-six suffixes (four suffix categories, each + with nine different degrees) which convey various coordinative and sequencing + patterns with great specificity. Thus, Ithkuil has no morpheme directly equivalent + to the ambiguous English word ‘and.’ There is an affix corresponding + to ‘and’ in its use as a mere additive listing device (e.g., ‘pears + and apples and bananas’), another corresponding to its use as an indicator + of simultaneity (e.g., ‘I clenched my fists and scowled’), another + corresponding to its use as an indicator of additional information (e.g., ‘The + clown likes children and loves to eat’), another to its use as an indicator + of parallel description or activity (e.g., ‘We went dancing and so did + they’), and yet another as a temporal sequencing indicator (e.g., ‘I + went to the window and looked out’).</p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<table width="99%" border="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> + <tr> + <td><p><font size="4"><strong>9.2 SEMANTIC FOCUS AND PRAGMATIC RELATIONS<a name="Sec9o2"></a></strong></font></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">We first discussed semantic focus in <a href="ithkuil-ch3-morphology.htm">Section + 3.5</a>, describing it as a means to distinguish new from background information + in a sentence. In languages like English, such distinctions are generally accomplished + syntactically by means of word order, as illustrated by the distinction between + <em>The clown selected a redheaded girl from the audience</em> versus <em>It + was a redheaded girl the clown selected from the audience</em>. Because semantic + focus (along with optional topicalization) is shown morphologically (with affixes) + in Ithkuil, word order changes are not necessary to distinguish new from background + information in a sentence. Comparison between the word-order based system of + English and the morphology based system of Ithkuil is analyzed in Sec. 9.2.1 + below. Additionally, while Ithkuil’s system for indicating topics and + semantic focus does not require changes in word order <em>per se</em>, it does + allow for significant word deletion, creating abbreviated sentences which, in + effect, modify the default word order of a sentence. Such word deletion is analyzed + in <a href="#Sec9o2o2">Sec. 9.2.2</a>.</p> +<h3 align="justify"><br> + 9.2.1 Using Focus and Sequencing Affixes in Lieu of Word-Order Changes</h3> +<p align="justify">Focus, in conjunction with the sequencing affixes described + in <a href="ithkuil-ch7a-affixes.htm">Sec. 7.7.3</a>, can be used + to subtle effect in Ithkuil, providing semantic nuance. For example, compare + the following English sentences:</p> +<div align="justify"> + <ul> + <li><em>After I shopped, I went home.</em></li> + <li><em> I went home after I shopped.</em></li> + <li><em> I shopped before I went home.</em></li> + <li><em>Before I went home, I shopped.</em></li> + </ul> +</div> +<p align="justify">All four sentences indicate two sequential events: shopping, + then going home. The difference between them is one of focus and viewpoint. + In the first two sentences, going home has semantic focus, as that is the new + information being conveyed, while in the latter two sentences it is shopping + that has focus. The first and third sentence have a “prospective” + viewpoint in that the sentence conveys the events in the same sequence in which + they occurred, looking upon the events from the viewpoint of the one that occurred + first. However, the second and fourth sentences have a “retrospective” + viewpoint, conveying the two events in a reverse order from how they occurred, + looking back on the events from the viewpoint of the event which occurred last.</p> +<p align="justify">In Ithkuil, the distinction in focus and viewpoint in these + four sentences would be accomplished morphologically, not syntactically. Positive + Focus would be used to identify those parts of the sentence which present new + information, while the two viewpoints would be accomplished using the aforementioned + sequencing suffixes.<strong><font color="#FF0000"></font></strong><br> +</p> +<p align="justify"></p> +<h3 align="justify">9.2.2 Abbreviated Sentences Using Focus and Topicalization<a name="Sec9o2o2"></a></h3> +<p align="justify">Focus and topicalization allow Ithkuil, as with other languages, + to provide abbreviated sentences in direct answer to commands, the equivalent + of questions (see <a href="ithkuil-ch5a-verbs.htm">Sec. 5.1.6</a>), + or to comment on a topic already under discussion. Because the topic is already + known within the contextual discourse, only the portion of the new sentence + carrying semantic focus need be spoken. Similarly, the <a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">topicalization + suffix</a> in conjunction with the <font size="2"><a href="ithkuil-ch5a-verbs.htm">INTERROGATIVE</a></font> + illocution affix, allows for abbreviated inquiries within a known contextual + discourse, similar to such abbreviated sentences in English, e.g., ‘and + Bill?’ in lieu of the full sentence ‘Comment on how this applies + to Bill.’</p> +<p> </p> +<table width="99%" height="23" border="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> + <tr> + <td height="19"> <p><font size="4"><strong>9.3 MORPHO-SEMANTIC CONSIDERATIONS<a name="Sec9o3"></a></strong></font></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">It should be noted that when structuring an Ithkuil sentence, + particularly when translating from other languages such as English, care must + be given to avoid capturing irrelevant semantic information reflected by the + morphology of the source language and trying to find an equivalent or parallel + way to reflect those irrelevancies in the Ithkuil sentence. This can have a + profound effect on the morpho-syntactical structure of the resulting Ithkuil + sentence.</p> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<h3 align="justify">9.3.1 Arbitrary Delineations of Perspective or Point of View</h3> +<p align="justify">One area where word-choice in English and other Western languages + arbitrarily affects sentence structure is in the unintentional schematicization + of a particular perspective or point of view. For example, consider the following + pair of sentences in English.</p> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify">1) <em>The path climbs steeply out of the canyon.</em><br> + 2) <em>That path descends steeply into the canyon.</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify">Both of these sentences are describing the same property of + the path — its steepness. The distinction in the sentences comes from + the point of view being reflected by the speaker. In sentence (1) the implied + point of view is from the bottom of the canyon upward, while in sentence (2) + the viewpoint is from the top of the canyon downward. What is important is that, + semantically, the point of view is of no relevance to the steepness of the path + <em>per se</em>. So if the cognitive intent of the utterance is simply to describe + the vertical gradient of the path within the canyon, there would be only one + Ithkuil translation for both of these sentences, eschewing the point of view + entirely and restating the sentence to read: </p> +<div align="justify"> +</div> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%209/9-3a.gif" width="443" height="108"> + <br> + <font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Sound_Files/Ch-9-1.mp3"><font color="#FFFFFF">_</font>Listen!</a> + <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Sound_Files/Ch-9-1.mp3"><img src="Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font> + </p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify"> </p> +<h3 align="justify">9.3.2 Masking of Semantic or Participatory Roles</h3> +<p align="justify">Similarly, care must be made, when comparing Ithkuil sentence + structure with other languages, to note that Ithkuil grammar allows for a more + overt reflection of the underlying semantic roles inherent in a given sentence. + As a result, sentence structures in Western languages which “mask” + potentially anomalous semantic structures are avoided in Ithkuil. For example, + compare the following pairs of sentences.</p> +<div align="justify"> + <table width="88%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td width="4%"> </td> + <td width="50%">3a) <em>He supplied a report to the analyst.</em></td> + <td width="46%">4a) <em>She applied a solvent to the stain.</em></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td>3b) <em>He supplied the analyst a report.</em></td> + <td>4b) <em>*She applied the stain a solvent.</em></td> + </tr> + </table> +</div> +<p align="justify">The syntactical patterns of these two pairs of sentences are + identical, yet the word-order in sentence (4b) is ungrammatical (as indicated + by the asterisk), while the same word-order in sentence (3b) presents no problem. + The underlying reason for the difference is one of semantic role. While ‘analysts’ + can function in the role of Recipients, ‘stains’ cannot (they are + merely directional Goals, i.e., where the solvent gets applied). Cognitively, + stains cannot “possess” a solvent the way analysts can “possess” + a report. In Ithkuil, the semantic roles would be clearly defined by the case-markings + of the participants. Therefore, syntactically inconsistent pairs such as (3b) + and (4b) do not occur.</p> +<p align="justify">Sometimes, rather than semantic role, it is a participant’s + relationship to an underlying clause that presents the problem. For example, + <em>He’s a tall president</em> means ‘He’s a president who + is tall.’ So why doesn’t <em>He’s a likely president</em> + mean ‘*He’s a president who is likely’? The reason is that, + while ‘tall’ describes its adjacent referent ‘president,’ + ‘likely’ does not describe its adjacent referent. Rather, ‘likely’ + describes an underlying process in which that referent is or will be engaged, + i.e., ‘running for president.’ Therefore, while these two sentences + are morpho-syntactically identical in English, their Ithkuil translations are + quite different from one another morpho-syntactically: <br> +</p> +<blockquote> + <p><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%209/9-3b.gif" width="520" height="112"><br> + [literally: <em>There is much height to him who formally presides</em>.]<font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Sound_Files/Ch-9-2.mp3"><font color="#FFFFFF"> + _______</font>Listen!</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Sound_Files/Ch-9-2.mp3"><img src="Audio_icon.gif" width="19" height="16" border="0" align="absbottom"></a></font></p> + <p></p> + <p><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%209/9-3c.gif" width="322" height="102"><br> + [literally: <em>He is one who probably will begin to formally preside</em>.] + </p> + <p> </p> +</blockquote> +<h3>9.3.3 Negation</h3> +<p align="justify">Negation is another morpho-semantic area where translation + from English or other Western languages can be tricky. Consider the English + sentence <em>Shelly doesn’t think they like her cooking</em>. Note this + sentence does not mean what a literal word-for-word analysis implies, i.e., + ‘That they like her cooking is not something that Shelly is thinking.’ + Rather, the correct meaning is ‘Shelly thinks that they don’t like + her cooking.’ Ithkuil is very precise in specifying exactly what components + of a sentence are to be negated. Use of the four affirmation/negation affixes + from <a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">Sec. 7.7.9</a> (<img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%209/9-3d.gif" width="154" height="25" align="absmiddle">) + in conjunction with a formative carries very specific information as to what + morphological components of a sentence are being affirmed or negated and to + what degree. Using these four affixes alone, Ithkuil can distinguish between + the following four sentences without any syntactic rearrangement of the words:</p> +<blockquote> + <p align="justify"><em>I don’t want to begin singing.</em></p> + <p align="justify"><em>I’m beginning to not want to sing.</em></p> + <p align="justify"><em>I want to not begin singing.</em></p> + <p align="justify"><em>I’m beginning to want to not sing.</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p align="justify">Thus when translating negative sentences into Ithkuil, care + must be taken to not syntactically “rearrange” a sentence as with + <em>Shelly doesn’t think they like her cooking</em>. Additionally, Ithkuil + makes a morpho-semantic distinction not found in Western languages: the difference + between <strong>absolute negation</strong> and <strong>relative negation</strong>. + Absolute negation implies that the non-existence or non-occurrence of an entity, + state, or event is due to contextual inapplicability, while relative negation + indicates that the non-existence or non-occurrence is circumstantial. This distinction + is illustrated in the two sentences below:</p> +<p><br> + <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%209/9-3e.gif" width="340" height="27"><br> + <em>The girl doesn’t sing</em> [because she can’t, i.e., she is + mute].</p> +<p><br> + .<img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022300id_/http:/www.ithkuil.net/Images/Ch%209/9-3f.gif" width="338" height="26"><br> + <em>The girl doesn’t sing </em>[even though she can, i.e., she chooses + not to].</p> +<p> </p> +<table width="98%" border="0" cellpadding="0"> + <tr> + <td bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <p><font size="4"><strong>9.4 THE “CARRIER” + ROOT</strong></font><a name="Sec9o4"></a></p></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p align="justify">Since the Ithkuil declensional and conjugational system is + based on predictable multi-level patterns of consonant and vowel mutation, proper + nouns such as personal and place names, as well as non-Ithkuil words from other + languages are by nature morpho-phonologically incompatible with such as system. + Nevertheless, such words can be declined or conjugated like any other Ithkuil + formative by means of the “carrier” root <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>k-r</strong></font>. + In addition to this use, the carrier root is employed in certain other contexts + as well, as described below.</p> +<h3 align="justify"><br> + 9.4.1 Words that Cannot Take Affixes or Be Mutated</h3> +<p align="justify">The six primary stems of the carrier root (<strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">kar, + kur, kir</font></strong> and their Form II counterparts <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>kâr, + kûr, kîr</strong></font>) are respectively associated with animate + beings (the two complementary derivatives being humans versus non-humans or + figuratively/metaphorically animate entities); inanimate entities (the two complementary + derivatives being objectively concrete entities versus subjective entities such + as thoughts, emotions, sensations, etc.); and finally intangible abstract referents + (the two complementary derivatives being place names and abstractions). The + carrier stem is placed immediately before the proper noun or foreign word or + phrase, then declined or conjugated normally for any desired morphological categories, + even verbal categories. The proper noun or foreign word or phrase itself is + left unchanged. <br> +</p> +<div align="justify"> + +</div> +<h3 align="justify">9.4.2 Emphasizing or Highlighting a Particular Category</h3> +<p align="justify">Another use of the carrier root is to emphasize or topicalize + a particular affix or grammatical element associated with a word. For example, + in English we can say ‘a <em>big</em> house’ with extra intonation + on the word ‘big’ to emphasize that word. To accomplish such emphasis + in Ithkuil, the carrier root is used with the augmentative suffix in conjunction + with the noun ‘house’ as opposed to simply using the augmentative + suffix on the stem for ‘house.’ No change in vocal pitch or intonation + is required, as the grammatically unnecessary use of the carrier root serves + to accomplish the required emphasis. Any morphological category manifested by + a carrier root rather than an adjunct or mutation serves to emphasize that category. + (It should be noted that the use of optional combination and euphonic adjuncts + do not accomplish such emphasis. Their use versus non-use imparts no difference + in emphasis for the particular morphological categories contained in the adjunct.) +</p> +<p align="justify"></p> +<h3 align="justify">9.4.3 Titles of Address</h3> +<p align="justify">It should be noted that the use of the carrier root in front + of the names of persons serves to function as a title of address corresponding + to English <em>Mister</em>, Ms. or <em>Miss</em>. There is no distinction of + gender or marital status conveyed by the term. </p> +<p align="right"> </p> +<p align="right"><a href="ithkuil-ch10-lexicosemantics.htm"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Proceed + to Chapter 10: Lexico-Semantics >></font></strong></a> </p> +<p> </p> +<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1"> + <tr> + <td width="9%" height="25" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="1"><a name="menu"></a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a></font></div></td> + <td width="37%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch5a-verbs.htm">5a + Verb Morphology </a></font></div></td> + <td width="27%" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch9-syntax.htm">9 + Syntax</a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-intro.htm">Introduction</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch5b-verbs-contd.htm">5b + Verb Morphology (continued)</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch10-lexicosemantics.htm">10 + Lexico-Semantics</a></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font size="2"></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch1-phonology.htm">1 + Phonology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch6-moreverbs.htm">6 + More Verb Morphology</a></font></div></td> + <td valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch11-script.htm">11 + The Script </a></font></font></div></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch2-morphophonology.htm">2 + Morpho-Phonology</a></font><font size="2"> </font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7a-affixes.htm">7a + Using Affixes </a></font></font></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch12-numbers.htm">12 + The Number System</a></font></font></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font size="2"> </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch3-morphology.htm">3 + Basic Morphology</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch7b-affixes-contd.htm">7b + Using Affixes (continued) </a></font></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-lexicon.htm">The + Lexicon</a></font></font></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="26" valign="top"> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch4-case.htm">4 + Case Morphology </a></font> </td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="ithkuil-ch8-adjuncts.htm">8 + Adjuncts</a></font></td> + <td valign="top"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="Ilaksh_Intro.html" target="_blank">Revised Ithkuil: <font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">I</font>laksh</a></font></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<font size="-1">©2004-2009 by John Quijada. You may copy or excerpt any portion +of the contents of this website provided you give full attribution to the author +and this website. </font> +</body> +</html> |