Some Thoughts on Word Classes
Saul Epstein 
Sun, 16 Aug 1998 12:03:56 -0500

I've been thinking that perhaps it's time we develop some concise
summaries and detailed descriptions of ZC grammar as it may stand
after all the tinkering we've done so far. This is my opening move:

1. Relation
	a. Action
	b. State
2. Entity
	a. Sentient
	b. Non-Sentient

Classes 1 and 2, and their subclasses, are probably only
distinguished due to the Vulcan predeliction for classification.
Considered in terms of grammar, Whl'prahla contains a vast lexicon of
"root" labels, for whom class is determined by role in a sentence --
and not always clearly, at that.

Entities are easy enough to describe. They are things: material or
conceptual, concrete or abstract. Vulcans, intellectually, at least,
distinguish between sentient and non-sentient entities.

Relations are more difficult. Most attempts to describe them wind up
transforming them into entities before too long. (This is true in
English, at any rate. A fluent speaker of Whl'prahla might have no
trouble explaining the difference between relations and entities). In
a sense, a relation is an entity considered from the inside. An
example may clarify.

Whl'prahla includes a word <dhahq>, which means "song" in the sense
of a particular lyric composition or performance. In a sentence, one
may say <th'dhahq> and mean by this either something like "I sing" or
"my song."

The first meaning employs <dhahq> as a relation, and specifically as
an action. If the sentence were no longer than that, this meaning
would be clearly understood: the speaker sings -- not as a matter of
habit, but at the moment of speech.

The second meaning employs <dhahq> as an entity, and would usually
require more to participate in a complete sentence. For instance,
<awle'shroi th'dhahq aqomie> "Terrans are listening to my song." (The
infirm distinction remains, however: this sentence could also be
translated as "Terrans are listening as I sing," or even "I sing;
Terrans listen." There are means of eliminating such ambiguity, and
the Formal Mode requires them.)

A singer, being one who sings, is <v'dhahq> while the whole category
of lyric composition and performance is <dhahqte>.

Summary:
	ROOT		a particular thing, considered from the "outside"
			as a unit entity, or from the "inside" as an
			[action/state] [done by/characterizing] some other
			entity
	v-ROOT	an entity who does the action expressed by ROOT
	vdi-ROOT	an entity characterized by the state expressed by ROOT
	ROOT-te	an entity, the category of such things as ROOT


3. Deixis
	a. Article
	b. Pronoun
4. Quality (I suspect 4 can be folded into 1b...)
5. Quantity
6. Operation
	a. Logic
	b. Syntax
	(6a and 6b may end up being the same...)

--
from Saul Epstein
locus*planetkc,com - www,planetkc,com/locus
"Surakri' ow'phahcur the's'hi the's'cha'; the's'phahrka
     the's'hi surakecha'."
                                        -- K'dvarin Urswhl'at