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Re: time distinctions

From:Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Date:Sunday, August 27, 2000, 21:42
Jonathan Chang wrote:
> Wish there were samples of this language ChiBemba.... be neat to see how > it works/looks...
There is, actually (the tense marker is the second prefix): Remote past (before yesterday): ba-àlí-bomb-ele (they worked) Removed past (yesterday): ba-àlíí-bomba Near past (ealier today): ba-àcí-bomba Immediate past (just happened): ba-á-bomba Immediate future (very soon): ba-áláá-bomba Near future (later today): ba-léé-bomba Removed future (tomorrow): ba-kà-bomba Remote future (after tomorrow): ba-ká-bomba I don't know why the remote past has an extra -ele, I suppose it's a circumflex àlí-...-ele, but the data underlined the tense markers, and -ele wasn't underlined. -- "Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein ICQ: 18656696 AIM Screen-Name: NikTailor