Newsgroups: sci.lang.translation,sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!udel!news.sprintlink.net!news.indirect.com!bud.indirect.com!stevemac
From: stevemac@bud.indirect.com (Pascal MacProgrammer)
Subject: International Language.
Message-ID: <D2494s.4nF@indirect.com>
Sender: usenet@indirect.com (Internet Direct Admin)
Organization: Grammar 'R' Us 
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 02:19:39 GMT
Lines: 41
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu sci.lang.translation:549 sci.lang:34070

Not so very long ago, rcpj@panix.com (Pierre Jelenc) said...

>The rule is that, starting from the rightmost element, one finds
>grammatical endings, then the fundamental root of the word, then
>modifiers. 
>
>In "patrino", the fundamental root is "in", and it is modified to the
>extent necessary and sufficient by what comes before. So the analysis is
>not ((male + parent)turned-female) but (female that is (human + parent)),
>the "male" component being dropped as being contradictory to the essential
>meaning of "in". In other words, "patrino" is a derivative of "ino", not
>of "patro". 
>
>Thus, Esperanto is not symmetrical, but it is parsimonious.
>
>(Note that such an analysis is not accepted by many who cling to the 
>prefix/suffix description of traditional indo-european linguistics, but 
>it is the oly one that does not require acrobatics.)

  Aha!  Thank you for the parsimonious explanation!
  I'm one of those who use the traditional prefix/suffix description, and 
don't mind the acrobatics.  But that doesn't mean that I don't =accept= 
the one you've given; I see it as an equally valid one.
  I have no problem with multiple explanations of the same phenomenon.  
Consider the concept of "voice" in grammar.  Chinese has none; most 
languages I'm familiar with have two:  active and pasive; Greek adds 
middle voice, and has three.
  I've been studying Hebrew, and have noticed that its voice-system can be
described in at least four ways. 
  0) No voices; the verb for "to love" has no passive voice, but there's a
separate (etymologically related) verb with the meaning "to be loved".
  2) Active and passive, like English.
  3) Active, passive, and reflexive.
  7) Pa`al, niph`al, pi`el, pu`al, hiph`il, hoph`al, and hithpa`el.  
(Pilpel and hishtapa`el don't really count.)

-- 
         ==----=    Steve MacGregor     {GCS$(AT) -d+ !H s:++ g++ p2+ au 
        ([.] [.])     Phoenix, AZ       a49 w+ v+* C+++ U P? !L N+++ !W
-----oOOo--(_)--oOOo----------------    M? po+(++) Y+ t-(+) 5++ j+ R(-) 
%pbm++++$ G' tv++ b+++ !D B- e++ n+ h+ f+ r+>+++ n- %eo+++ y++++<->+++}
