Xref: utzoo comp.ai:1257 sci.lang:1780 sci.lang.japan:26
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!quintus!ok
From: ok@quintus.UUCP (Richard A. O'Keefe)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,sci.lang,sci.lang.japan
Subject: Re: words order in English and Japanese
Message-ID: <554@cresswell.quintus.UUCP>
Date: 21 Jan 88 01:58:29 GMT
References: <1671@russell.STANFORD.EDU> <275@draken.nada.kth.se> <23431@cca.CCA.COM>
Organization: Quintus Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA
Lines: 21
Summary: half truth

In article <23431@cca.CCA.COM>, bobcoe@cca.CCA.COM (Robert K. Coe) writes:
> In article <975@klipper.cs.vu.nl> biep@cs.vu.nl (J. A. "Biep" Durieux) writes:
> I have to wonder what Nakashima would make of the Polynesian languages
> (Hawaiian et al), in which the very distinction between nouns and verbs is at
> most weak and unconvincing.

While it is true that *individual words* "bases" are not readily classifiable
as nouns, verbs, adjectives &c (many words in Maaori are so-called
"universals" which means they can be all three), it is nevertheless the case
that noun PHRASES and verb PHRASES are clearly distinct.  There is a set of
particles which can begin a verb phrase, and there is a set of particles
which can begin a noun phrase, and there is very little overlap or confusion.
For example, in
	Kua waiata teenei tangata
	---
	Has sung   that   man
the particle Kua tells us that we've got a verb phrase, but in
	Kei te rongo a Hoani ki ngaa waiata
			        ----
	is listening John    to the  songs
the article Ngaa (the/plural) tells us that we've got a (plural) noun phrase.