Re: TRANS: I Love You (was RE: Conference)

> From: Andreas Johansson
>
> If I may make a suggestion, make that sentence "I love you". For
> some reason
> it seems to be among very the first people learn in a new lang ...
>
> Tairezazh: "Ta tshei shas"
Denden has a special affective (AFF) mood or attitudinal suffix
in its verbal system, as well as special pronouns for lover - the
affective (amatory in older sources) pronominal system. In Denden,
thus, a well-meant 'I love you' would be:

ni    avanrir.men te
1sAFF love.AFF    2sAFF
I love, court you.

The verb 'avanrir' mostly means 'to love, to court', but plain being
fond of is a secondary meaning: but only between brothers and sisters.
However, unless the brother and sister where the divine Brother and Sister
of the Kirimanya, the affective pronouns would not be suitable: these are
purely between lovers who combine physical attraction with emotional love.

However, there's also the verb 'yavai', which, while still not necessarily
including sexual love, is much less close to the meaning of Greek 'agape',
and can be used between parents and children, or teacher and pupil, as
well as lovers. In the former case, the affective pronouns are not
suitable: depending on the relation between the first and the second
person, more or less high grade honorific pronouns might be used. For
instance, from pupil (1s) to teacher (2s, male):

ye    yavai.men shauldan
1sLGH love.AFF  2sVHGHm
I love the master

There's an irregular participle, 'yavain', 'in love, the state of loving
someone', and the following colloquial expression is not unusual, especially if the
relation is merely friendly and sexual:

do    ka  tan dir    yavain  ga
1sMGH TOP RTV 2sMGHf in.love NOM
As for me, there is the state of being in love with you.

If the relation is purely sexual, as for instance when a whore talks nice
to her client, the following is common:

ye    yavai.vai     dir
1sLGH make.love.DEL 2sMGHf
I make love to you a bit

This is not an adequate translation of the delimitative (DEL) aspect, but there
is an aspect of short temporal duration of the loving. It's not necessary to be
actually engaged in the sexual act to say this; it also includes the small personal
attentions and attention the professional gives her client.

Boudewijn Rempt  | http://www.valdyas.org