On Fri, 24 Aug 2001 10:08:11 -0700, Donald J. HARLOW <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:


>
>The major problem with Gode's solution, as I suggested earlier, has to do
>with formation of related words in active use of the language. We've
>already discussed "ovario" vs. "oviario" -- it remains unclear to me how,
>as a neophyte, I would know to form "ovario" from "ovo" and "oviario" from
>"ove".



>I would also be confused about the simple adjective form. Because
>we've gone over some of this territory, I would guess, having been
>previously exposed to these forms, that the adjective form of "ovo" would
>be "oval" and that of "ove" would be "ovin"; but why not the reverse? For
>that matter, why not "ovic" or "ovari" for one or both of the two?

-in is standard for animals. The substantialisation -ino typically means
'offspring of', _canino_ 'puppy' etc. There's no reason you shouldn't use
_cattino_ for 'kitten', alongside the dictionary word _catton_. -ari and -al
are close to synonymous, and while dictionary may prefer one or another for
a given word (based on the most widely spread form), switching them is not a
mistake. Of course where the meaning of a derivative isn't a matter of 1 + 2
 = 3 (as in _oval_, 'egg-shaped, semi-elliptical'), the extended meaning
won't attach to an ad hoc formation.

-ic is not commonly used outside scientific terminology.

>How does
>one, unfamiliar with the glorious linguistic heritage of southern Europe
>(true not only of the Asians and Africans but also of the majority of
>WENSA-language speakers) know ahead of time which to form?

By seeing how they are used in other Interlingua words.

>(Bernasconi
>claims some 25 different adjective endings for Interlingua, if I remember
>correctly; I also remember that I thought he was exaggerating slightly, but
>-- from the list he gave -- only slightly. How does one know which form to
>use in any particular case?)

Contrary to popular belief, there are very few complete synonyms among the
Ia affixes. -al/-ari/-ic are very close, as are -itate/-itude/-essa, but
generally the uses are distinct, in active use anyway. Your choice between,
say, -al/-ari/-ic normally depends on context. If you are talking about
banking, say, you'll likely have _bancario_ 'banker' on the tip of your
tongue, and so _bancari_ is a better adjective form than _bancal_. Of
course, _bancari_ covers both _banca_ and _bancario_, but that's no
disadvantage IMO.

>>Small question:
>>
>>May you demonstrate the methodes of Gode(IALA) for
>>next words:
>>
>> cuje
>> cata

Cata may be a prototype, but _cuje_ is straight Latin.The standard algorithm
doesn't produce solutions for a certain number of grammatical particles, so
Gode left the choice open to users. He tended to turn to Latin in those
cases.

Cheers,

Chris