[YG Conlang Archives] > [ceqli group] > messages [Date Index] [Thread Index] >
I'm puzzling over a set of compounds and I'm afraid I may be importing English peculiarities into Ceqli. val - worth, worthy fey - can, able to tan - tends to bon - good Now, "kom" means 'eat', and "ciba" means 'this' Ciba komval - this is worth eating Ciba kombon - this is good to eat Both of which describe something that is being eaten Now, Ciba komfey - this is capable of eating Ciba komtan - this tends to eat, is hungry. And these describe something that -does- the eating. Is this a flaw, or just the semantic requirements of val, tan, bon and fey? If the latter, the other roots can have the be- passive particle added to change the meaning: Ciba komfey - This can eat. Ciba bekomfey - This is edible (this can be eaten) Ciba komtan - this tends to eat, is hungry Ciba bekomtan - this tends to be eaten, is popular as a food. Final question - is the "bekomfey" form the way to go, or should I have an ending that works like the English -able? I've already proposed 'fye,' as sort of a reverse of 'fey,' with that meaning. Go kanfey. I can read, am literate. Da kanfye = Da bekanfey - It is readable, legible. -- Rex F. May (Baloo) Daily cartoon at: http://www.cnsnews.com/cartoon/baloo.asp Buy my book at: http://www.kiva.net/~jonabook/book-GesundheitDummy.htm