shaq, tıa, gao, guq, sıaq, lıo

[Ntsekees]

Sample definition:

  {
    "toaq": "shaq",
    "type": "predicate",
    "english": "▯ is in front of ▯.",
    "gloss": "in.front",
    "short": "",
    "keywords": [],
    "frame": "c c",
    "distribution": "d d",
    "notes": [],
    "examples": [],
    "fields": []
  },

The definitions of shaq, tıa, gao, guq, sıaq and lıo should be clarified to show whether they are anatomical directions (e.g. shaq: ▯ is at the direction faced by / ahead of ▯) or directions relative to a third party or frame of reference (e.g. shaq: X1 is in X3's front direction from X2; X1 would be ahead of X3 if X3 were in place of X2 — here the third slot could maybe be dropped from the definition and expressed by other means, presumably in the same way as the frame of reference for duo (motion) and muoı (rotation) is to be expressed).

Whichever of these two paradigms is assigned to these roots, we shall not forget to create appropriate words for the other paradigm.

[uakci]

There's a better way: restructure shaq and friends into ‘x₁ is the … direction for x₂’, where the x₁ are feo and the x₂ exhibitors, then use feotī to apply:

Chủq súq sa mảojā fèotī sháq jỉ da. You are eating a banana in front of me.

This would become even handier if we shortened feotī to feo, with feo's old meaning then captured by mu fẻo/feomū.

[Ntsekees]

If sıaq = ▯ is on the right direction of ▯, then sıaqfēo could be ▯ is the direction to the right of ▯.

Hoemāı has expressed a preference for shaq and co. to be directions relative to the second argument (as opposed to a third party) — source: https://discordapp.com/channels/311223912044167168/311223912044167168/667346945463025665

As I said in Discord, the forms relative to a third party could be e.g. sıaq'āo, a metaphor based on the informal definition "if x3 were in at the place of x2, x1 would be on x3's right direction". Another possibility would be to make use of arity polymorphism on shaq/gao/sıaq/…, although this has the downside that the truth of shaq/3 would not necessarily entails the truth of shaq/2.