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Re: [engelang] Xorban: Termsets



On Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 4:10 PM, Mike S. <maikxlx@gmail.com> wrote:
Sorry for all the long posts which amount to me thinking out loud on the thread.  Here's what I think looks pretty good, is grammatically unambiguous, and includes all three types of tree-like constructs:

Sentence := P | Formula

P[arenthetical] := IllocutionaryOperator Interjection? Formula | Interjection

Formula := CoreFormula | ForeTree P? Formula | Formula AfterTree

ForeTree := he | Term P? ForeTree | Coordinator P? ForeTree P? ForeTree

AfterTree := hi | Term P? AfterTree | Coordinator P? AfterTree P? AfterTree

CoreFormula := SimpleFormula | Term P? CoreFormula

Term := UnaryOperator | ComplexBinder P? Formula | Coordinator P? Formula

ComplexBinder := Binder | BinderCoordinator P? (UnaryOperator P?)* Binder P? (UnaryOperator P?)* Binder

BinderCoordinator := he'e | he'a | he'o

SimpleFormula := ( C C C* | q ( C? V? )* q ) Desinence

UnaryOperator := ( b | f | d | m | n ) Desinence

Binder := ( l | r | s | x | g ) Desinence

Coordinator := j Desinence

IllocutionaryOperator := c Desinence

Interjection := w Desinence


Desinence := V (k V)*

V := ( a | e | i | o | u ) ( ‘ V )?

C := b | c | d | f | g | j | k | l | m | n | p | r | s | t | v | x | z
 
Some initial comments.
 
1. I don't see a good rationale for having a load of special rules to accommodate parentheticals -- at least not when Xorban is trying not to be more complicated than it needs to be.
 
2. It would be good to adopt a sounder less improvised formalism, separating syntax from phonology, and able to accommodate phonologically-null and semantically-interpreted syntax. What we have at present is a constituent structure imposed on a phonological string -- everything wrong with Lojban pseudogrammar is wrong with this, albeit to a far lesser degree.
 
3. It would be helpful for the rules for binding to be made explicit. Do the rules for binding remain the same as they are for basic Xorban?

--And.