What did you accomplish today? [2011–2019]

[Xing]

I see your point, but Pazmat tends to view things in terms of "patient" and "agent", not "object" and "subject". To a native speaker that sentence wouldn't be viewed as an Absolutive object and an Ergative subject.

The distinction between "patient" and "agent" is a semantic one, while the distinction between "object" and "subject" is (primarily) a formal/syntactic one. These two distinctions thus concern different "levels" of analysis.

When you say that the Pazmat don't tend to view things in terms of "object" and "subject", do you intend to say that the very between subject and object does not exist/does not make sense in Pazmat?

[Chagen]

What I mean is that in passive sentences, the subject of the sentence is marked with the absolutive because they are still the patient. Likewise, the agent is marked in the Ergative because they still are the one who did the work ("Ergative" even comes from the Greek word for "work"), or performed the action.

That's why the argument marked in the nominative in the active voice is marked for the ergative in the passive, and the argument marked in the accusative in the active is marked in absolutive in the passive.

[mbrsart]

Well, Tuesday night, I created a script for Ponese, which I would describe as an unholy union between an abugida and an alphabet, which wants to act like a logographic script but can't do it right. Today, I actually tried it out. I think it looks pretty nice written with my annoying pain in the butt fountain pen. I'm going to start tweaking it somewhat, since I don't like half of the consonants, but c'est la vie.

I have yet to explain how earth-ponies could hold a writing utensil other than in their teeth. Unicorns? Pshh, magic. Pegasi? Feather dexterity. But yeah, gripping the utensil with one's teeth...I should get a brush and try it. (When next I have monies.)

[Ànradh]

I have yet to explain how earth-ponies could hold a writing utensil other than in their teeth. Unicorns? Pshh, magic. Pegasi? Feather dexterity. But yeah, gripping the utensil with one's teeth...I should get a brush and try it. (When next I have monies.)

I once met an artist with no arms who painted by holding the brush in his teeth, though he did need his father to help him with a bunch of things, like opening pots, for example.

[Demino]

My current constructed language, Cretheon, will be written completely from a historical view point. This allows me to write in a manner that is both culturally rich and fairly accurate, hopefully.

[silvercat]

Being productive today!

Changed some affixes because they sounded too similar. Created a bunch of words, mostly by derivation. Filled in the lexicon for others.

jatrio - juicy, watery. Derived from 'jio' water.
ratryyko - hairy, furry, fuzzy. From 'ryko' hair, fur.
tya - rock, stone, pebble
zywizatomu - lid, cover. Literally 'it is put over something'
tiββiɒ - corner, point
katyβtɯ - circle. Literally, no corner
zatyβtɒ - square. Literally, four corner
zytyβjɯl - triangle. Literally, well, guess.
jionufjio - liquid. Literally, 'water not water'
wyfiyk - box, hard container
jimat - to pour. 'Water pours'
Jizochmat - pitcher. 'Pour bowl'
zajvyk - bowl

[Micamo]

It sounds to me like Chagen's pazmat is actually using something more like a Hierarchical system. It might be better to give them the following names instead:

Nominative - Proximate Agentive
Accusative - Obviate Patientive
Ergative - Obviate Agentive
Absolutive - Proximate Patientive

In transitive clauses at least, it's clear that the difference between the two "voices" in practice is pragmatic focus. The weird thing in Pazmat is that whether the clause is agent-focused or patient-focused is triple marked: Both on the nouns, in the word order, and on the verb. Double marking of this is just fine (and rather common) but mandatory triple marking seems overkill. Also, that the inverse form of the verb is be + a participle form.

The unanswered questions are twofold: In what instances are these markers allowed to be used on obliques/non-arguments, if any? (For example, possible instrumental uses of the ergative.) How do these markers behave in intransitive clauses?

[Chagen]

Just a note: the clauses aren't triple-marked. Pazmat has free word order except the verb must go last..

These both mean "I see you":

Wen Faz thi.
1SG 2SG.ACC see-1SG

Faz Wen thi.
2SG.ACC 1SG see-1SG

While these two both mean "You are seen by me".

Walb Fuub thi'ibus ya.
1SG.ERG 2SG.ABSOL see-PTCPL.TRANS be

Fuub Walb thi'ibus ya.
2SG.ABSOL 1SG.ERG see-PTCPL-TRANS be

It'll take me some time to answer your other questions, sorry. I normally don't think this hard about my langs @_@

[Keenir]

I have yet to explain how earth-ponies could hold a writing utensil other than in their teeth. Unicorns? Pshh, magic. Pegasi? Feather dexterity. But yeah, gripping the utensil with one's teeth...I should get a brush and try it. (When next I have monies.)

didn't Swift say how his talking horses (houyahins?) could write without Gulliver's help?

[bororo]

I wanted to simplify the syllabic structure of my main conlang, and ended up changing a lot more...

Biggest change is a system of verbal infixes which bear some similarity to the affixes of malay/indonesian, I think.
For example based on the word for "knowledge" (xya, /ʃja/) :
- xípan : knows (has-knowledge)
- xíkal : teaches (gives-knowledge)
- xísal : studies (takes-knowledge)
- xítan : understands (does-knowledge - awkward in English, but well...)

Here is a small sample of the new version (the "one ring" inscription) :

Vu cös mômun táköl pyan fespyun,

Spoiler:

/vu tsøs 'mømun 'takøl pjan fɛs'pjun/

vu cös 0-môm-u-n tákö-l 0-pyan fespyu-n,
ring giving_goal.PSV by-COMPL-someone-NVOL gives_rule.SUB-VOL to-3.PL having_no_one_missing-NVOL

Vu cös mômun vútol pyan,

Spoiler:

/vu tsøs 'mømun 'vutol pjan/

vu cös 0-môm-u-n vúto-l 0-pyan
ring giving_goal.PSV by-COMPL-someone-NVOL does_discovery.SUB-VOL to-3.PL

Vu cös mômun zúkal pyan fespyun,

Spoiler:

/vu tsøs 'mømun 'zukal pjan fɛs'pjun

vu cös 0-môm-u-n zúka-l 0-pyan fespyu-n,
ring giving_goal.PSV by-COMPL-someone-NVOL gives_direction.SUB-VOL to-3.PL having_no_one_missing-NVOL

Wa nil saspyen fökul pyan

Spoiler:

/wa nil sas'pjɛn fø'kul pjan/

wa nil 0 saspye-n föku-l 0-pyan
and gives_place.PSV by_place_DEF having_no_light-NVOL gives_tie.SUB-VOL to-3.PL

[Creyeditor]

I have yet to explain how earth-ponies could hold a writing utensil other than in their teeth. Unicorns? Pshh, magic. Pegasi? Feather dexterity. But yeah, gripping the utensil with one's teeth...I should get a brush and try it. (When next I have monies.)

didn't Swift say how his talking horses (houyahins?) could write without Gulliver's help?

Houyhnhnms do not have a script, unfortunately

[zee]

Today, I made lots of changes in Ejnoq!

List of biggest changes

• Changed the pronoun roots from {d-, v-, b-, g-, dj-, l-, pf-} to {j-, p-, b-, g-, dj-, m-, pf-}
• Removed the locative case
• Changed the articles {al, an, as, ar, ad} to {el, en, es, er}
• Changed <ø> to <œ>
• Removed umlauts and replaced them with preceeding <j>
• Changed present verb conjugation to allow pronoun dropping
  • elfœri jel > elfœri (I like)
  • elfœri pel > elfœrem (you like)
  • elfœri bel/gel > elfœreg (he/she likes)
  • elfœri djel > elfœrut (we like)
  • elfœri mel > elfœribli (you [all] like)
  • elfœri pfel > elfœren (they like)
• Changed past verb conjugation
  • elfœredj jel > elfœrine (I liked)
  • elfœredj pel > elfœremet (you liked)
  • elfœredj bel/gel > elfœreget (he/she liked)
  • elfœredj djel > elfœruten (we liked)
  • elfœredj mel > elfœriblire (you [all] liked)
  • elfœredj pfel > elfœrenet (they liked)
• Changed noun pluralisation from -er to -or
• Changed <sj> from /ç/ to /ɧ/
• Changed questions from altering word order to preceeding word sjev
• Changed possessive pronoun ending from -ar to -in
• Changed relative clause connector from das to dit
• Changed future verb conjugation
  • elfœrepf jel > elfœrince (I will like)
  • elfœrepf pel > elfœremce (you will like)
  • elfœrepf bel/gel > elfœregce (he/she will like)
  • elfœrepf djel > elfœrulce (we will like)
  • elfœrepf mel > elfœriblice (you [all] will like)
  • elfœrepf pfel > elfœrenece (they will like)

Examples of sentences before and after changes
Before: Faurad dal an Prins das elføradj val
be-PRES 1SG-NOM DEF-ACC dog REL like-PAST 2SG-NOM
After: Fauri en Prins dit elfœremet
be-1SG DEF-ACC dog REL like-PAST.2SG
English: I am the dog that you liked

Before: Verfantapf dal van!
eat-FUT 1SG-NOM 2SG-ACC
After: Verfantince pen!
eat-FUT.1SG 2SG-ACC
English: I will eat you

[Ànradh]

I just spent several hours working on Iriex today... on the pronouns. Just the pronouns. O_o

I also finally found a political organisation that shares many of my priorities and views... a great pity that they're essentially hardcore racists to a man. I feel sullied. :|

[ol bofosh]

Last night I did a lot of work on my postpositions. Today I thought of getting rid of word differences between "look" and "see", "listen" and "hear", and perhaps "touch" and feel", and something with postpositions. It would work like...
I see to a book = I look at a book
I hear to a song = I listen to a song

I'd have no need for "look" and "listen".

[kiwikami]

I touched up on ???'s verb conjugations. (This language has no name, and I don't think it'll ever have a name, so it gets question marks for now.) I now have such things as:

(from d-r-b-s, to obey)

Dirbz. Dirobz. Diribzádh.
I obey. I have obeyed. I will be able to obey.

Durbz. Durbjocsó. Durubaznyu.
We (exclusive) obey. We begin to be obeyed. We obeyed each other.

Dórbz. Dórébzelc. Dórábz. Dóraróbz!
You obey. In the distant past, you obeyed yourself. It is prophesied that you will obey. Obey!

Dorbz. Dorbzasi. Doribzádhdzav.
You (PL) obey. You want to obey. You don't think you will be able to obey.

Derbz. Derelbislzhed. Derbzus.
He/she obeys. He is probably obeying perpetually. He must obey.

Darbz. Driobzjub. Drubeps.
It obeys. It will have been allowed to obey. It obeyed for a short time.

Dárbz. Dárbabas. Dárobzóchs.
They (animate) obey. They often obey. They have stopped obeying.

Now the word "obey" looks ridiculous. I keep wanting to pronounce it /'ʔo.bi/...

[Lambuzhao]

For some reason, your new verb d-r-b-s makes me think of these guys -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/ ... 081_v2.jpg

Dóraróbz!
{*I will never obey!*}

[Chagen]

I altered Pazmat's participles in a very minor way--they can now modify pronouns directly, which English cannot do.

[ol bofosh]

@kiwikami, I love that system.

@Chagen, you have me stretching my English brain seeing how it works. "I saw a sleeping him" (I saw him sleeping), "I saw an eaten it"(I saw it eaten/I saw it was eaten/I saw it being eaten)?

[Chagen]

To make it short: A Pazmat translation of "I was sleeping and missed the game." would literally be something like "The sleeping I missed the game."

And yeah, Pazmat would say "I saw a sleeping him" for "I saw him sleeping".

[Xing]

I altered Pazmat's participles in a very minor way--they can now modify pronouns directly, which English cannot do.

Is this the case with other kinds of modifiers too? Or only participles?