Minor question about attributive -a-

Started by dky.tehkingd.u, January 23, 2010, 10:19:12 PM

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dky.tehkingd.u

I noticed that the word for "large" is apxa.

In this case, would one even bother with the attributive -a-?


"Fì'u keye'ung lu!"
"Keye'ung? FÌTSENG. LU. SPA'TAAAAAAA!!!"

NeotrekkerZ

The short answer is we don't know for sure.  But Frommer has said that like vowels contract (example:  two children = meveng not me'eveng).  I personally take this same approach when confronting the attributive (apxa not apxaa in your problem), but this is speculative.
Rìk oe lu hufwemì, nìn fya'ot a oe tswayon!

omängum fra'uti

But when the "a" is there conveying the entirety of the meaning, having it dropped seems like it's losing some important meaning.
Ftxey lu nga tokx ftxey lu nga tirea? Lu oe tìkeftxo.
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dky.tehkingd.u

So... basically we're saying here that nobody has ever really used the word apxa for sure and without doubt?  :-\


"Fì'u keye'ung lu!"
"Keye'ung? FÌTSENG. LU. SPA'TAAAAAAA!!!"

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NeotrekkerZ

Quote from: omängum fra'uti on January 23, 2010, 11:17:17 PM
But when the "a" is there conveying the entirety of the meaning, having it dropped seems like it's losing some important meaning.

I don't know, can you think of an instance when you would need to have the extra a in order to figure out what was going on?  The closest I can get is X apxa Ysì where X and Y would both be nouns.  Here it would be ambiguous:  it could be X and large Y or large X and Y.  But in this case why not just move the apxa to the side of the noun you want to attribute it to and make it either X sì Y apxa or apxa X sì Y respectively? 

I definitely agree with you that the meaning itself is the most important thing, but I just cannot seem to find a counter example.  And it just doesn't sound right to me without the contraction, especially if X or Y begin/end with the letter a.
Rìk oe lu hufwemì, nìn fya'ot a oe tswayon!

omängum fra'uti

Tuteru a-apxa tukru lu
The big person has a spear

Tuteru apxa tukru lu
The spear is big to the person.
Ftxey lu nga tokx ftxey lu nga tirea? Lu oe tìkeftxo.
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NeotrekkerZ

That is definitely a counter example.  Thanks.  More thought now required...
Rìk oe lu hufwemì, nìn fya'ot a oe tswayon!

kewnya txamew'itan

Maybe this an instance where we get a y appearing (like s<ei>i -> seiyi)?
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