• dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    the alternative is to make the syntax become a hellish mess. Like Mandarin or English.

    Now hang on just a second. English is fine. You just have to memorize or correctly guess the etymology of whatever word it is you’re trying to spell/pronounce in order to get … oh, okay, I think I see the problem now.

    • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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      2 months ago

      Ah, what you’re saying is spelling. Syntax is word order, obligatory words, stuff like this. English syntax is a maze, or how programmers would call it, spaghetti code.

      For example, here’s how to ask a yes/no question in…

      • Latin - attach -ne after the relevant word. (Note: Latin has no word for “yes”, but still has this sort of question.)
      • Spanish - why bother? Intonation is enough.
      • Polish - start the sentence with “czy”.
      • German - shift the verb to the start of the sentence (first position).
      • English - if the verb belongs to a small list of exceptions, do it as in German. However most verbs refuse this movement to the first position, so for those you need to spawn a dummy support “do”, then let it steal the conjugation from the leftmost verb, and then shift that “do” instead. Noting that semantic “do” also refuses the movement, so it still requires a support “do”, yielding questions like “did you do this?”

      Then there’s the adjective order. In Latin for example it’s just a “…near the noun? Whatever, just don’t be ambiguous.” Polish is probably like Latin in this. English though? Quantity or number, then quality or opinion, then size, then age, then shape, then colour, then material or place of origin, then purpose or qualifier, then the noun. And don’t you dare to switch them - “your famous blue raincoat” is a-OK, but *“your blue famous raincoat” makes you sound like a maniac.