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Rex May - Baloo wrote: [...] > You could be right, here. But I feel like we need a short word for 'who'. > Seems like most all languages have one. Hokkien has "what person" (though there *is* a contracted version). Malay has "siapa", which seems linked to "apa", "what". Japanese has "dare", which seems linked to "dore", "which". > "kwasa pe sta dor?' seems too long > to me. Kwape about right. That's really why the compounds in most cases, I > think. Just to keep things terse. Seems reasonable. > What if we eliminated all noun-type compounds except the -vo series? > > Kwavo sta dor? What is at the door? Unlikely meaning. Unless it's a bear. (Of course, in cartoons, even a bear gets to be "who".) The main use for the -vo series would to be for when a specific noun is not appropriate--perhaps unknown, or too limiting. So "kwavo" should, theoretically, be able to replace "kwadiq", "kwape", even "kwajay". Or not? > Probably Who is at > the door. And if that's okay, why not Kwa sta dor? [...] BTW, Japanese has a word, "mono", which can mean either "person" or "(concrete) thing". In writing, different Chinese characters are used, but in speech there is no distinction. No equivalent in Mandarin. And, as you'll find out, Mandarin, like Japanese, has different words for concrete and abstract "things". Would this be a useful distinction for Ceqli? -- Mike Wright http://www.CoastalFog.net _____________________________________________________ "China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese." -- Charles de Gaulle