Grammar

Considering the fact that speakers of different language groups will use it, a worldlang should not force the use of grammatical categories. Items like number, tense, and case should be optional if included at all. (JW) (RK)

It is best for a worldlang to be relatively uninflected. Word shape should not change. (JW) (RK)

Regardless of the decision on word order, I submit that using separate (not affixed) particles for marking parts of speech is preferable to relying on word order or inflection. (LS)

Larry, just as a question, if you don't rely on word order, then how do you know if the particles refer to the words before or after them? Wouldn't making a choice of prepositions versus postpositions already be making a decision about word order? (JW)

Certainly it's necessary to distinguish particles and how they connect words. I'm referring to grammatical roles for lexicals that are implied only by word order, *without* particles. For example, relying on word order for a listener to know that in "kumilai bosu tiskio lalo itiama", "kumilai" is an adjective modifying the subject noun "bosu", "tiskio" is the object noun, "lalo" is a verb and "itiama" is an adverb, with no other clues than a comprehensive knowledge of the vocabulary and a common-sense approach to what the words and phrases *likely* mean, puts a significant burden on the learner. Not so much on the fluent speaker who learned from infancy, but on the adult learner. (LS)

Syntax

Reference

I posted this link so we can keep in mind that word order is connected at different levels. (DN)

Greenberg's Universals

Basic Word Order

I see only two real considerations here. Either SVO or SOV because they are the most common. I tend to favor SVO because of it's convenient to have the verb as a separator between subject and object allowing one or the other to be more easily omitted. (DN) (LS)

It's possible and viable to circumvent the entire issue of fixed word order with lexical and contextual means. Therefore I support free word order. (RK)

For a worldlang, there are three reasonable choices for word order. It should be either SVO or SOV or permit free word order. (JW) (RK)

Genitives

Head first or head last? (DN)

Qualifiers

Head first or head last? (DN)

Personally I don't think that the word order of adjectives or genitives is something that we can achieve a consensus on, or that we should. I think it is reasonable for a worldlang to go either way. (JW) (RK)

As long as words are marked in some way, this is reasonable. Relying on "common sense" to know which of two adjacent lexicals is the modifier and which is the modified would not be optimal. (LS)

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