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--- In ceqli@yahoogroups.com, Rex May - Baloo <rmay@m...> wrote: > on 1/20/04 7:49 PM, HandyDad at lsulky@r... wrote: > > > I suggest a short word to mean 'an average amount of'. > > > > tawil = tall > > potawil = short > > vertawil = neither particularly short nor tall > > > > Alternatively, "tawil" could mean simply the concept of height (as in > > vertical extent, not altitude), without indicating tallness or > > shortness. Then: > > > > tawil = of some height; (colloquially, average in height?) > > vertawil = of average height > > gatawil = tall > > pitawil = short > > I like the first system better, tho this is intriguing. The root will be > the positive quality, the po- form the opposite, and the ver- form the > neither/nor form. > > To verkolorpelo se jo. The man with average-colored hair. > What should be the positive quality for hair colour? Blonde, brunette, or red? :-) More to the point, how do we decide which is the positive quality that should inform the base morpheme? Tall or short? Plump or slender? I guess the one that trends away from zero in some "size" sense would be the one to pick. Anyway, the same question could be asked in the alternative system I proposed: why "much height" instead of "much shortness"? So I guess I'm cool with the scheme you've laid out. The main thing is, it's a scheme. On a broader note: I'm fighting my tendency towards paralysis by analysis, so I'm being especially keen to come to decisions and move on. We may make mistakes, but I think it highly unlikely that the choices being made at this point could undermine Ceqli's foundation, or cause serious ripple effects. If, for example, the letter names don't work out so well, they'll change. How, and by whom? Doesn't matter, as long as they obey the fundamental morphology and phonology, which is pretty easy to do. ---larry