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Date:         Mon, 20 Dec 1993 16:21:37 GMT
Reply-To: Colin Fine <C.J.Fine@BRADFORD.AC.UK>
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From: Colin Fine <C.J.Fine@BRADFORD.AC.UK>
Subject:      POssessives
To: Erik Rauch <rauch>
Status: RO
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X-From-Space-Date: Mon Dec 20 16:21:37 1993
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More thoughts on possessives:

I know my previous mail was a bit of a flame, and I respect Bob's
wish not to get into argument. I also accept that possessives are
something we have, and I'm not seriously pushing to get away
from them.

But it suddenly occurred to me to wonder how Loglan would have
turned out in this regard if JCB and the rest of us had all been
speakers of an NG language like French instead of a predominently
GN one like English? Would we have felt the need for preposed
genitives? Or would they be restricted in some way to personal
pronouns (as in French, where

        le le ctuca ku mlatu
comes out as
        le chat de la professeur
ie with the structure
        le mlatu pe le ctuca

but
        le mi mlatu
is still
        mon chat
)?

An idle speculation, nothing more.

        Colin

noi lidne finti lo lidne galfytergerna no'u zoi gy preposed relatives gy