Re: Valentine's Day Translations

Alright then, me too!

In the languages I speak:
     English: I love you
     Danish: Jeg elsker dig
     Tagalog: Mahal kita

In my conlang, Boreanesian:
     Kele'aihkuh kih
     lit. "I'm your lover/endearer"
or
     Ke'aihkih kuh
     lit. "You're my love/dear"
or
     Kuhke'aihkih
     lit. "O you, my love/precious!" (addressing the loved-one)

Once again, Boreanesian is highly sensitive to topic/focus. There
are two ways of translating the English expression "I love you",
depending on whether "I" or "you" is the topic/focus. In the first
example, "I" the agent is topicalized/focused. In the next two,
"you" the patient is topicalized/focused. The third way is the most
intimate of focusing the patient.

The difference lies in the predicate. In all cases the predicative
root for romantic or familial love is "ke'aih" ("love, dear,
precious"). This can be nominalized as either the agent or patient
as follows:

AGENT/INSTRUMENT
     kele'aih
     where:
     -le- = volitional infix
     "one who loves/endears (someone/something)"

PATIENT
     ke'aih
     "one who is loved/endeared"

Then genitive relations are linked with these predicates:

     kele'aihkuh "your lover/endearer"
     ke'aihkih "my love/dear/precious"

The root "ke'aih" is also used to express endearment. For instance:

     KuhLenemai' ke'aih
     "Lanemai, O Lanemai dear!"

Lanemai is a proper female name. The prefix "kuh-" before the name
is a bound determiner when addressing someone. This is the same
prefix in the third way of say "I love you" - i.e., "kuhke'aihkih"
("O you, my love/precious!").

-Kristian- 8-)