Translation Exercise: Like a ...

Here are two short sentences as a translation exercise for anyone with
too much time on their hands.  They illustrate the uses of Obrenje
|naw| "in a ... way" (that I've already mentioned in a previous post a
while ago).  Note that I do not have a general aversion against dogs.  ;-)


1) I shall kill you like [I would kill] a dog.
2) I shall kill you like a dog [would kill you].
3) I prefer grandma-style bread.  (Since we have minors on the list,
    I decided to leave the dog out of this construction. ;-)
4) She sings loudly.
5) She sings in a way that makes her ridiculous.


Obrenje:

1) Le tsygze naw i warve.
    /l@ "tSygZ@ naw i "warv@/
    PER:2:OBJ  kill:FUT:1  NAW  OBJ  dog
2) Le tsygze naw warve.
    /l@ "tSygZ@ naw "warv@/
    PER:2:OBJ  kill:FUT:1  NAW  dog
3) Ajdze i im naw gilam.
    /"ajdZi im naw gi"lam/
    prefer:1  OBJ  bread  NAW  grandparent
4) Lonna naw jue.
    /"lOnna naw ju:/
    sing:3e  NAW  loud
5) Lonna naw ne qunkem.
    /"lOnna naw n@ NMN"kEm/
    sing:3e  NAW  RFL:OBJ  ridiculize:PTC
    ("... in a self-ridiculizing way")


Jovian:

1) Te jo negare sigud caenen.
    /te jA ne"ga:r "si:g@k"kajn@n/
    PER:2s:ACC  FUT:1s  kill:INF  like  dog:ACC
2) Te jo negare mou caenis.
    /te jA ne"ga:r mow"gajni/
    PER:2s:ACC  FUT:1s  kill:INF  in_the_way  dog:GEN
3) Praefero paenen mou aevi.
    /prE"fe:rA "pajn@mmow"ajvi/
    prefer:1s  bread:ACC  in_the_way  grandmother:GEN
4) Canda laudei.
    /"kand@ "lawde/
    sing:3s  loud:ADV
    (|laude| /lawd/ is borrowed from the German substrate, just like
    |biore| /bi@r/ "beer" and |wuste| /wUSt/ "sausage". ;-)
5) Canda mou se rizyglandi.
    /"kand@ "mowze,riDy"glandi/
    sing:3s  in_the_way  RFL:ACC  ridiculise:PTC:OBL


Note how |mow|, being derived from Latin |modo|, takes noun complements
in the genitive, but adjective complements in the oblique.


-- Christian Thalmann

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