Search found 803 matches

by Xephyr
Fri May 04, 2018 2:03 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Languages without Quantifier Hopping?
Replies: 14
Views: 9979

Re: Languages without Quantifier Hopping?

An example: In hell, Satan only allows conlangers to write auxlangs. This could have four meanings, depending on what "only" is taken to modify: (Only conlangers) can write auxlangs Conlangers can write (only auxlangs) Conlangers can (only write auxlangs) (as opposed to doing anything else) Only (c...
by Xephyr
Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:48 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Relative clauses: cross-linguistic comparison
Replies: 23
Views: 12899

Re: Relative clauses: cross-linguistic comparison

Hopi has something called the "subject constraint" which says that a relativized noun can't be the subject-in-the-main-clause unless it's also the subject-in-the-relative-clause. So sentences 1, 3, and 4 are permissible in Hopi, but not 2.
by Xephyr
Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:47 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: I've just discovered the Nuxalk language
Replies: 6
Views: 3177

Re: I've just discovered the Nuxalk language

(Don't take this personally, Jonlang, but:) I hate that example sentence. It's a meme. It's the only thing anyone ever says about Bella Coola. Sure, whatever, it's technically a licit word in the language (Nater, Bella Coola Language , page 5)-- I don't care, but it's not at all representative of th...
by Xephyr
Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:50 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: What language is this?
Replies: 12
Views: 4282

What language is this?

Does anybody know what language this song is in? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UINOS-L3oVU At first I thought it was Irish. I asked Yat who knows a little Irish-- she said she didn't think so, but didn't sound entirely sure. Cornish would be "more" "historically" "accurate" to King Arthur, I suppo...
by Xephyr
Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:18 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Greek and Roman gods names
Replies: 18
Views: 6354

Re: Greek and Roman gods names

Mars, Vulcan and Saturn might be others that people are still more familiar with the Roman names? I dunno, man, maybe my experience doesn't track with others since I grew upon Herc 'n Xena in the 90s, but I certainly don't see that for Mars and Saturn. Maybe for Vulcan, just because it sounds like ...
by Xephyr
Sat Apr 22, 2017 2:35 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Greek and Roman gods names
Replies: 18
Views: 6354

Re: Greek and Roman gods names

Mars, Vulcan and Saturn might be others that people are still more familiar with the Roman names? I dunno, man, maybe my experience doesn't track with others since I grew upon Herc 'n Xena in the 90s, but I certainly don't see that for Mars and Saturn. Maybe for Vulcan, just because it sounds like ...
by Xephyr
Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:07 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Greek and Roman gods names
Replies: 18
Views: 6354

Greek and Roman gods names

In Pope's translations of Homer, the king of the gods is called "Jove". It's the same in Samuel Butler's 1900 translations. By at least 1938, Rouse was calling him "Zeus" and as far as I know it's been that way ever since. You see this also in movies. I can't think of an easy example off-hand except...
by Xephyr
Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:22 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Digital Voice Synthesizer
Replies: 6
Views: 2815

Re: Digital Voice Synthesizer

An excellent addition to my torture chamber.
by Xephyr
Thu Mar 02, 2017 5:00 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Are Classical languages harder?
Replies: 14
Views: 5100

Re: Are Classical languages harder?

Deutscher is being rather disingenuous here. If he wants a scientific proof, he shouldn't be looking in "introductory textbooks". Where on earth do you get the idea that he's only been looking in introductory textbooks? He's citing Fromkin/Rodman as an illustrative example of the meme he is trying ...
by Xephyr
Wed Mar 01, 2017 8:29 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Are Classical languages harder?
Replies: 14
Views: 5100

Re: Are Classical languages harder?

Lemme play devil's advocate for a minute. Ask Joe the Plumber, Piers the Ploughman, or Tom the Piper's Son what sort of languages the half-naked tribes in the Amazonian rain forest speak, and they will undoubtedly tell you that "primitive people speak primitive languages." Ask professional linguists...
by Xephyr
Fri Feb 03, 2017 2:34 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2
Replies: 812
Views: 202722

Re: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2

The second word is also uttered once in the episode by one of the actors (who from her pronunciation I think might know the language irl) in a bit of code-switching: "This is a decision for iskwewak." ( -ak = plural suffix) I was curious how well the subtitler handled this line, and sure enough, he...
by Xephyr
Thu Feb 02, 2017 8:07 pm
Forum: None of the above
Topic: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2
Replies: 812
Views: 202722

Re: Linguistic Quackery Thread, take 2

Not quite linguistic quackery, but linguistic underperformance: Been watching the new Netflix series "Frontier" about the trials and travails of the Hudson's Bay Company in 18th c. Canada. One episode is named "Mushkegowuk Esquewu", which I was able to surmise is somebody's attempt at spelling Cree ...
by Xephyr
Mon Dec 19, 2016 1:20 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

Bankan Tey Dogon 1 [counting] tùmá:, [modifier] tùmá (inan.) or tùmǎ-m (anim.) 2 yǒy 3 tà:ní 4 nìŋŋěyⁿ 5 nùmmù̌yⁿ 6 kúròy 7 síyⁿɔ̀yⁿ 8 gá:rày 9 tè:súm 10 pɛ́:rú "A Grammar of Bankan Tey, Dogon of Walo", Jeffrey Heath, 2014 Yanda-Dom Dogon [inanimate/counting] 1 tùmá: 2 yè-nɔ́: 3 yè-tá:ndù 4 yè-cɛ́z...
by Xephyr
Thu Nov 03, 2016 5:10 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

vocalized Sogdian : ēw, (ə)δwa, əθrē~šē, čətfār, panǰ, xušu, əβda, əšta, nəwa, δəsa ("An Introduction to Manichean Sogdian" by that motherfucking P.I.M.P. Prods Oktor Skjærvø) Bactrian ιωγο, λοι, [no 3], σοφαρο, πανζο, [no 6], [no7], αταο, [no 9], λασο (Selected Features of Bactrian Grammar – Saloum...
by Xephyr
Wed Nov 02, 2016 12:07 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

Huave There are four Huave languages: San Francisco del Mar, San Mateo del Mar, San Dionisio del Mar, and Santa María del Mar. The numerals you currently have (from Yasugi 1995 who uses Stairs & Stairs 1981) are from San Mateo del Mar, but they have a formatting error and the "8" is incorrect. The ...
by Xephyr
Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:51 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

Took a look at your Sahaptin. The dialect seems to be that of Umatilla but the orthography is deficient (more fossils from the pre-Unicode days). From "Sketch of Sahaptin, a Sahaptian Language" by Bruce Rigsby & Noel Rude 1996: 1 náx̣s 2 nápt 3 mɨ́taat 4 pínapt 5 páx̣at 6 uyláxs 7 uynápt 8 uymátat 9...
by Xephyr
Tue Nov 01, 2016 9:19 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

Dogon languages: from “A Grammar of Najamba Dogon” by Jeffrey Heath: 1 kúndú 2 nô:y 3 tà:ndî: 4 kɛ́:jɛ̀y 5 nùmî: 6 kúlèy 7 swɛ̂y 8 sá:glì: 9 twây 10 píyɛ́lì from “A Grammar of Tiranige” by Jeffrey Heath: 1 tò:mà: 2 nì:ŋgà 3 tá:ndí 4 cɛ̀:jɔ̀ 5 nú: 6 kùlèyⁿ 7 sɔ́:y 8 sé:lé 9 tó:wá 10 pìyɔ̀lù from “A G...
by Xephyr
Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:00 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

I was only able to find a few of the numbers for Kitsai . From “The Northern Caddoan Languages: Their Subgroupings and Time Depths” (Douglas Parks and Mary College 1979): 1 arísku 2 cásu ~ cúsu From “Kitsai Phonology and Morphophonemics” (Salvador Bucca and Alexander Lesser 1969): 4 kinákt 5 ikstáwi...
by Xephyr
Sat Oct 29, 2016 12:05 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

Gitksan ("A Short Practical Dictionary of the Gitksan Language" by Ronnie Hindle and Bruce Rigsby) 1 (am) k’iy̓ 2 gilbil 3 gwlal̓ 4 tx̱alpx̱ ~ tḵ’alpx̱ 5 xwsdins 6 ḵ’ool̓t 7 t’ipx̱ool̓t 8 g̱andool̓t / k’yuxdaal̓t (see Nisgha errata note B) 9 xwsdimoos 10 xbil̓ Errata for Nisgha A: “ten” <xbil̓> is ...
by Xephyr
Sun Oct 23, 2016 2:35 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Archaisms and curiosities in well-known language families
Replies: 31
Views: 9276

Re: Archaisms and curiosities in well-known language familie

Click consonants in Afro-Asiatic (Dahalo).
Tone contrasts in Indo-European (some varieties of Punjabi apparently?).
Front rounded vowels in a North American language (Hopi).
Sibilants in Australian languages (Kala Lagaw Ya, Mpakwithi Anguthimri).
by Xephyr
Mon Oct 03, 2016 5:15 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Basic distinctions: No word for "eat"
Replies: 11
Views: 4269

Re: Basic distinctions: No word for "eat"

Xhosa has two words for drink: sela 'drink cool beverage' and phunga 'drink warm beverage'. IIRC Yup'ik also has this distinction. Is this more common than having multiple 'eat' distinctions?
by Xephyr
Sat Oct 01, 2016 2:26 am
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Favorite/least favorite features from natlangs
Replies: 59
Views: 14611

Re: Favorite/least favorite features from natlangs

An interesting thing about Manambu I just learned about: verbal cross-referencing for the gender of temporal/spatial extent. From Aikhenvald, 2009: Nouns have two covert genders (feminine and masculine, marked via agreement in singular only) and three numbers (singular, dual, and plural) marked on m...
by Xephyr
Sat Sep 10, 2016 1:00 pm
Forum: Languages & Linguistics
Topic: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated
Replies: 98
Views: 29015

Re: Numbers from 1 to 10 updated

Xincan: Guazacapán [language] ik’alh , piy’ , walh , hirya , pühü , tak’alh ( A Comparative Grammar of Xinkan by Christopher Rogers) Chiquimulilla [language] k’alh , piy’ , walh , hirya , pühü , tak’alh , p’ulhwa , (ünya)? , (ünya)? , pak’ilh ünya means either 8 or 9-- the evidence is not clear. (so...