Re: Poetic translation (was: ULT)

John Cowan wrote:

> I wrote:
>
> > > E-o prepositions govern the nominative.
>
> Tom Wier and others point out that prepositions signifying movement
> take the accusative.   I think, however, that "in" in "I fart in
> your general direction" posits a direction only, not movement.
> The methane moves, but I do not; I merely aim it.
Right, but the methane is the important part.  When you shoot a gun,
the important part is where the bullet is going, not where you are.

> Would "I shot the bullet at the man" demand an accusative for "the man"?
> Doesn't sound right to me, though I am no E-ist.
The example above is somewhat misleading for English speakers,
because "at" normally indicates location, but here it clearly carries
an idiomatic meaning of direction, so "to" or "toward" would be
better, more literal ways of translating those sentences in Esperanto.

You'd thus have to say "Mi pafis la kuglon al la viron."  If you used
the nonaccusative form, it would mean more "I shot the bullet while
I was sitting by the man" or something like that.

[Tom writes, humorously amused by the *direction* this discussion
is taking :P ]

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Tom Wier <artabanos@...>
AIM: Deuterotom ICQ: 4315704
<http://www.angelfire.com/tx/eclectorium/>
"Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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