Re: fragments of a creole

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 15:35, Jeffrey Henning wrote:
> On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 20:48:35 +1200, Wesley Parish
<wes.parish@...> wrote:
> >karaeye
> >kara = to loiter, -ai = continuative aspect, -ie = present tense
>
> How do you get "haunting" from "loitering"?  Why can _karaeye_ take an
> object?  Why shouldn't one read _Hiyha verdabakh karaeye na'eva!_ as
> "there's an evil spirit loitering [around] the city"?
Evil spirits/ghosts/unquiet spirits/demons/esses by definition don't "loiter",
they "haunt".  So in this instance, the semantics change, not the word
itself.

If it was merely a ratbag from the local pub down by the docks, it'd be "Hiyha
ayato karaeye nanoire" - noire being the general word for boat, nanoire being
the word for boat-place.  And the meaning "haunt" wouldn't be there.

"ayato" - pest; "aya-" in the first part of a word, is a derogatory word
referring to vermin  ("Hiyha aya!" - There are rats/cockroaches!), "-to" is a
general male suffix.  If the character in the story had believed the "evil
spirit" haunting the city was "male", he would've referred to "verdato".
>
> Inquiring minds want to know!
>
> - Jeffrey
--
Wesley Parish
* * *
Clinersterton beademung - in all of love.  RIP James Blish
* * *
Mau e ki, "He aha te mea nui?"
You ask, "What is the most important thing?"
Maku e ki, "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
I reply, "It is people, it is people, it is people."