Re: Grammar-holes: secondary predication

taliesin the storyteller wrote:

> If anyone then comes along saying "but it dosen't mean exactly
> the same thing because this structure implies that while yours
> doesn't", well, then you remind the complainer that no
> translation using languages that aren't 100% relexes of
> eachother will ever get 100% of the information across 100%
> unchanged, as this is the very nature (and problem) of translation.
>
>> There are ways to get around this, though, /../
>
> You have thought of a way getting around it, ergo the grammar
> lacks this hole. Now go forth and document! :)
This suggests a good plan for documenting a language (and/or filling in
gaps in a language's grammar) might be to write a strategy guide for how
to translate various kinds of phrases and sentences from your native
language -- the more obscure or idiomatic the better. (I.e., how would a
native speaker of your lang express the same thought in a natural way,
without forcing the language to follow a structure that isn't suited for
it. Or if your language has no native speakers by design, what
construction would fit the style of the language the best?)