Re: (ir)realism
| From: | Costentin Cornomorus <elemtilas@...> |
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| Date: | Wednesday, December 31, 2003, 22:06 |
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--- Robert Jung <RobertMJung@...> wrote:
> What do 'realis' and 'irrealis' mean (in
> linguistics)?
What is real and what is unreal.
> I've noticed people using 'em in
> the minimal voice, tense, and mood thread.
Because in many languages, even in English, mood
changes in order to reflect the attitude towards
the "reality" of the action.
The indicative is usual for what is real: it is
something that is true. The subjunctive is
typically used to describe actions that are not
true.
When I SING, I am always accompanied by happy
birds. [Sing is in the indicative, and means that
the situation is true; this is "realis".]
If I TRIED to sing, even the crows would fly
away. [The past subjunctive, tried, marks this as
a thing that doesn't happen - it's "irrealis", an
untrue event.] You could also have 'If I SANG...'
with the same attitude of irrealis.
Padraic.
=====
la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.
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