Have you already decided for yourselves how exactly are we going to resolve the question Tolkien himself left in a muddle: the prepositions/adverbs for 'before/after' in time and in space? The system of fai etc. from LVS1? The jottings of LVS14? What is the status of that ever so shifting nó? (Pesonally, I start using it for 'but' only.) Are apa/opo/epe still valid — and which is which? Is the apa above all due to its tie-in to the legendarium, in the so important names Apanónar, Ebœnnin, Ephedyn etc.?
I am nowhere near a 'decision', yet. Personally I have never used nó, but not out of any conscious choice. Apa/epe/opo is muddy but useful, and as you say, attested in the canon, and gives some useful derivatives like potai. LVS1/14 have not yet penetrated into my usage, and I still need to ponder them.
+Tamas Ferencz My personal decision would be, possibly, the fai-like derivation for adverbs, but sticking to apa/epe/opo (which is which, I'm not sure). Pai for 'after'?
+Александр Запрягаев I recently checked nó myself and I think that it's "before" in both spatial (before, in front) and temporal (before, in the past) sense. But Tolkien's latest decision about it seems to be "at back (of place) + before (of time)" [VT49/32]. Possible Sindarin cognate is naw by the way, rather than *núf.
+Tamas Ferencz When it's still 'Noldorin'. It seems to me that the apa for 'after' idea was a transient one for Tolkien, however, it got fixed in some names, which makes everything more complicated.
Slightly different question, gentlemen - but if you could choose yourself which of these options could best be combined into one unified system which was the most useful linguistically and aesthetically and even 'sounds the most 'quenya-like' - what would it be to each one of you?
Choice is good - I don't know if we can afford ourselves to "weed out" but the most glaringly contradicting variations. I personally do not mind if I have more than one option to express 'before' or 'after'.
Tamas Ferencz Nov 16, 2015 (17:32)
Александр Запрягаев Nov 16, 2015 (17:47)
Ekin Gören Nov 16, 2015 (22:19)
Tamas Ferencz Nov 17, 2015 (13:20)
as +Björn Fromén has pointed out in the thread https://plus.google.com/+TamasFerencz/posts/fuYU59HFbLm nó clearly had the meaning 'after, late' in the Peoples of Middle-Earth, so even this is not so clear-cut as you would think!
Александр Запрягаев Nov 17, 2015 (17:36)
P Arellond Nov 18, 2015 (14:35)
Tamas Ferencz Nov 19, 2015 (08:54)
Ицхак Пензев May 24, 2016 (10:41)