Re: THEORY: questions

Hungarian seems rather boring on this subject.

O:mlik az eso" = the rain pours

Zuhog az eso" = the rain cascades

Szakad az eso" = the rain rips

Esik [az eso"] mint a fene = it [the rain] falls like the plague

---frank

On Tue, 30 Oct 2001, Markus Miekk-oja / Torpet wrote:

> > >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).
>