Questions tagged [semantics]
The semantics tag has no usage guidance.
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What languages prefer the shortest sentences?
I read somewhere that Chinese prefers short sentences while English prefers longer ones. I don't have great examples of this, yet.
This is particularly problematic in legal texts where an English ...
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1
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How to structure verb phrases (as opposed to noun phrases)?
In my question about formal vs. casual noun phrases, I got to the point of distinguishing between causal and formal nouns.
Notice that the noun phrases all end with -a, the noun-creator affix. That ...
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Designing realistic pragmatics, particularly with respect to answering questions
Coming up with new kinds of pragmatics is sort of fun, but it's hard to tell when an idea is incompatible with how people work psychologically.
For instance, what are the limits or universals around ...
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How could a conlang enforce subjective idealism in a constructed world
Subjective idealism is the monistic metaphysical doctrine that only minds and mental contents exist. It entails and is generally identified or associated with immaterialism, the doctrine that material ...
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Should Auxlangs have metaphors?
Auxlangs are meant to be easily learnt/understood by the entire populace of the world, no matter their native language. So, they are constructed to be unambiguous and it's reference should have a one-...
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What is the difference between tense and aspect?
Many conlangs contain tense, some contain aspect as well or instead, and much of the recommended reading for conlangers assumes that you know what tense and aspect are and what the difference between ...
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Are there any grammatical aspects which do not have parallels in natural languages?
In Describing Morphosyntax, Payne uses a number of diagrams for visually explaining aspects and what they say about actions relative to time.
Payne outlines the following, all of which occur in ...
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Is there a practical lower limit to the number of morphemes required in a language?
Many conlangers have tried (and occasionally succeeded in) creating oligomorphemic¹ languages. What are the most minimalistic successful attempts?
From this, can we extrapolate a lower bound?
¹also ...
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