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Re: THEORY: questions

From:Markus Miekk-oja / Torpet <torpet@...>
Date:Tuesday, October 30, 2001, 21:14
> >It really seems that each language has its own expression for this, so > >it would probably be "more realistic" to come up with an original > >phrase for a conlang instead of translating cats and dogs. > > > Swedish has "Det regnar småspik" -- i.e. small nails -- but we also have > the expression "Regnet står som spön i backen" -- 'the rain stands like > rods in the ground'.
Finnish has 'sataa jalkarättejä' (I actually never heard this one before, ever. My dad just told it to me when I asked if there were other than the one I mention below). [there/it] rains foot-rags(!?)'), jalkarättejä is in partitive plural, because it is a plural subject of an intransitive verb (okay, I admit, the rule's way more complicated than that. I have actually not seen an actual rule for it except that 'if it (the subject) in Swedish (or English) can be replaced by a formal subject (it, there) and the subject itself be placed after the verb, it should be partitive plural, otherwise not'. I knew I've should've asked my teacher the real rules, but it's alot easier to teach 20-25 Swedish pupils this way, than in any other way. and 'sataa saavista kaatamalla' (this is a lot more common) [it] rains (by) pouring from a bucket. rains bucket.(from) pouring.(by) the pouring(by) is actually a third infinitive with some case-ending whose name I'm too sleepy to recall. (Ok, this interlinear was bad, but I'm really really tired).

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Frank George Valoczy <valoczy@...>
Frank George Valoczy <valoczy@...>