Odd natlang features thread

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Acid Badger
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Re: Odd natlang features thread

Post by Acid Badger »

Disfixes I guess are odd enough: There is a trend across Central German dialects to lenite certain intervocalic consonants, including combinations of a nasal and a plosive. Morphologically this meant such clusters were lenited in plural forms, where they'd be followed by a vowel, but not in singular forms, where they'd be in word-final position. Together with further sound changes, this created some interesting patterns in various dialects: [hant] vs [hɛn] "hand/s", [gʀɔnt] vs [gʀən] (Luxembourgish); [ʃlɑːx] vs [ʃləi̯], [dɑːx] vs [deː] (also Luxembourgish); [tsant] vs [tsɛŋ] "tooth/teeth", [hant] vs [hɛŋ] "hand/s" (Rhine Franconian); [kɛɪ̯nt] vs [kɛŋ] "child/children", [rəŋk] vs [riŋ] "ring/s", [vaːlt] vs [vɛl] "forest/s" and [ʃux] vs [ʃɔʊ̯] "shoe/s" (Upper Hessian); [kɛi̯nt] vs [kɛŋ] "child/children", [kruːk] vs [kryː] "jug/s" and [ʃtui̯ɐk] vs [ʃtʏr] "stork/s" (Ruhla dialect, Thuringia). Etc.

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kanejam
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Re: Odd natlang features thread

Post by kanejam »

Apparently the Papuan language Berik can inflect its verbs for 3 numbers, 5 tenses, 3 times of day, 2 distances, 3 sizes of object, 2 genders, sometimes 2 heights, as well as a continuous action marker (though not all at once it seems). The phrase kitobana means "he/she gives three large objects to a male in the sunlight". golbilint and terbefe are other forms from the same paradigm.

It also has the famous six vowel system /a e i o u ə/.
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Here's a thread on Oscan.

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Imralu
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Re: Odd natlang features thread

Post by Imralu »

Vijay wrote:I'm actually not sure that's so odd. At least, I know anecdotally that some languages have specialized words for 'to eat'...like 'to eat (anything)' vs. 'to eat a meal', and this distinction is found across a pretty wide variety of languages, too.
It's quite common also for sign languages to use different classifying verbs depending on what is being eaten and how.
Glossing Abbreviations: COMP = comparative, C = complementiser, ACS / ICS = accessible / inaccessible, GDV = gerundive, SPEC / NSPC = specific / non-specific
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Vijay
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Re: Odd natlang features thread

Post by Vijay »

Imralu wrote:
Vijay wrote:I'm actually not sure that's so odd. At least, I know anecdotally that some languages have specialized words for 'to eat'...like 'to eat (anything)' vs. 'to eat a meal', and this distinction is found across a pretty wide variety of languages, too.
It's quite common also for sign languages to use different classifying verbs depending on what is being eaten and how.
Interesting, thanks!

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Re: Odd natlang features thread

Post by Birdlang »

Toda has an unusual vowel system for a Dravidian language, and a lot of articulations.
Source PHOIBLE.
http://phoible.org/inventories/view/1793
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