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Cases

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 3:42 am
by Sadâmânyuck
I am creating a conlang and i said to myself "you know, four cases aint enough. Either you have a lot of 'em or you have none". I do not know why my inner self speaks like a cowboy :-D . But help me.

Re: Cases

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 9:39 am
by Vijay
My heritage language has seven or maybe eight. Maybe that could help.

Re: Cases

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 10:17 am
by Hallow XIII
The usual way this works in eurasian languages is that you have a smallish list of core cases that have historically fused with postpositions to create a larger list of cases. Examples exist in Uralic (mostly Finnic but I think some of the eastern ones do this too), Tsezic and some of the lesser IE langs (Baltic, Tocharian, Ossetian).
If by "lots" you mean eight or so you can just copy one of the more eastern Turklangs or Mongolian and skip the entire farting about with etymologies. That should give you a good feel for how case systems can work too. I suspect that you're new to conlanging, so I recommend that you look at Australian case systems if you have the opportunity, because they're really weird, and then not attempt to recreate them for the same reason.

Re: Cases

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 12:10 pm
by WeepingElf
Check out this one! It has a kind of case construction kit, which is used to build 56 local cases from just 11 suffixes. And it is not the only language of that kind in the Caucasus; many other Northeast Caucasian languages work the same way.

Re: Cases

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 10:46 pm
by ˈkuː.ɑːnˠ001
I agree with the cowboy. Go big or go home.. :wink:

Re: Cases

Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:56 am
by Sadâmânyuck
Hallow XIII wrote:I suspect that you're new to conlanging.
If by new you mean trying to finish one, yes