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  1. #1
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    It's interesting how so many conlangs seem to lack an independent "to be" verb. That's the case of mine too, actually. My imaginary people don't even have separate verbal forms, they just have words expressing concepts that can be "declined" (not quite the right term, I guess) in a predicative and in a nominal form (and eventually further modified into adjectives).
    Thus, if by "I am" etc., you simply mean the expression that someone is, they would just say the pronoun, but indeed the point is that they would not think in that way and would not say that at all. Oh, they also don't distinguish between singular and plural in most cases, but rely on numeral adjectives to convey numbers. (Although there is also a related languages which has similar lexicon but a more conventional grammar structure, which I haven't developed yet).

    Thus (not very interesting, in the end):
    I/we (am/are) = É
    You (are) = Dé
    He/she/they (is/are) = Èin

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by feanaaro View Post
    It's interesting how so many conlangs seem to lack an independent "to be" verb. That's the case of mine too, actually. My imaginary people don't even have separate verbal forms, they just have words expressing concepts that can be "declined" (not quite the right term, I guess) in a predicative and in a nominal form (and eventually further modified into adjectives).
    Godspeech is pro-drop too (if that's what you mean).

    Thus, if by "I am" etc., you simply mean the expression that someone is, they would just say the pronoun, but indeed the point is that they would not think in that way and would not say that at all.
    Godspeech may be like that too most of the times. For example, a lord may ask a servant:

    Bemdobrado lamān rejembejaol.
    [ˈbɛmdɔˌbɾadɔ ˈlamaːn ˈɾɛʒɛmbɛˌʒaɔl]
    bemdo-bra-do lam-ān r<ej>embejaol
    know-EVID.BL-TOP say-IMP.BL <INF>intelligent
    Who do you know is intelligent?
    Lit. About (someone) (you) know, tell me who is intelligent.

    To this, the servant may reply:

    Ajēbameuro.
    [ˈajɛbamɛˌuɾɔ]
    a<jē>bam-e-uro
    <HBL>person-SG.DEF.MASC-1.this
    I (am).
    Lit. This person.

    Yet, he simply may reply:
    Amēnji.
    [ˈamɛːnʒi]
    amēn-ji
    ADJ-IND.XPOL
    (I/you/he/she/we/they) am/are/is.

    which is extremely ambiguous.

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