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BestATN@hidden.email wrote:
>
> Maybe my use of 'mnemonic' is different. In any case, other words
> that have the same sort of 'empty' mnemonic semi-morphs are: ponusya,
> dolasya, metabyo/metanto, and kofiswa.
>
I use the word "mnemonic" with the following sense: ANYTHING that will
act as a memory aid, even the sound or a common written form. Words
similar to "centigrade", "dollar", and "coffee" are used in many
languages, and using their sounds is, in my opinion, much more
productive than trying to come up with a combination of semi-morphs that
suggest their actual semantics. For example, what semi-morph
combinations do you think would be necessary to suggest the meanings of
'dollar' and 'pound'.
[By the way, "ponusya" may be a bad choice for an entirely different
reason. What should I use for the units of currency such as the British
or Turkish pound?]
>
> [Regarding "sesya"]: It just seems like a good cover term for words
> like "dolasya", and it might be useful in creating other words or
> terms for national currencies, rather than a new word for each
> currency.
>
Hmmm. You may have just answered the above question. How about
"posesya" for the currency unit (British, Turkish, etc) and "pofusya"
for the unit of weight? In addition, we could use "sya" without a
"type" semi-morph for metric units. In other words, metric would be the
default. For example, we would continue to use "mosya" for 'meter'
rather than, say, "metemosya", but we would use "xxxmosya" for 'inch',
'foot', and 'yard'. However, we might want to keep "dolasya" for
'dollar' simply because it's universally known.
Comments, anyone?
>>
>> I don't understand. The concept 'well-known' is not a modality. Can
>> you provide examples?
>>
> It seems to pass the test for (epistemic) modality that is presented in LS
> 16.5 ARE THERE OTHER MODALITIES?
>
Offhand, I would say that this is an oddball quirk of English syntax.
However, if you use "know" instead "well-known", it fails test 3:
Everyone knows that he left early.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are other oddballs that pass the test
even though they're not modalities. Keep in mind that a modality must
be an impersonal judgement of an event, and "knowledge" is definitely
not a judgement. Because of this, I never would have even considered
applying the test to a concept like 'well-known'.
Perhaps the tests should disallow the use of passive forms. If so, then
"unexpectability" is not a true modal either, but is actually a
derivation of the high inevitability modal "xenube". I'll have to give
this more thought.
Regards,
Rick Morneau
http://www.srv.net/~ram
http://www.eskimo.com/~ram