Re: The...the...

> Boy....people on this group continue to come up with
> interesting things to translate.
>
> I never considered this construction before.
>
> But what does "the more, the merrier" mean?
> It means: if there is more, then there is more merriment.
> So it is just a causal relation disguised.
> Thus Ankanian would have "Taxia voru peflaxia."
> (lit. Should there be more, then there would be more merriment.**)
> Or one could also say "Peflexia däxwair." (lit. there
> is as much merriment as there is quantity.) This last
> one corresponds more to the cuanto...tanto construction.
Indeed!  But more what?  Think what it means in English: "the more the
merrier" is an idiom meaning "the more people who join us, the merrier the
party will be."  Nine times out of ten it includes the hidden concept of
people at a gathering or expedition, not drink, not nachos, not bows and
arrows, people.  Compare it with "the sooner the better."  This refers to a
document or a task, and is used when people are trying to organize things or
get things done.  "The bigger the better."  The bigger what?  Baseball?
Hollyhock?   Breasts?  These expressions are all context specific.  Think of
the context before you think of the structure, and maybe "the -er the -er"
would be different in your conlang for different purposes.  What can't you
do with this construct in English?

The higher the lower.   Makes no sense--in English.
The taller the happier.  Never used, I think, much, in English.

This kind of thing lends itself to aphorism rather than to across the board
causality that can be used in all cases.  How would it be so used in your
conlang's dialect?

Sally

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