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Re: WHATL calendar for next year (2013)

From:R A Brown <ray@...>
Date:Monday, December 15, 2008, 17:36
Philip Newton wrote:
> It'll be 2013 in about ten days!
[snip]
> > Comments on the translation are also welcome,
I'm having problems at the moment getting through telepathically to JP in the parallel WHAT universe ;) I checked on diminutives etc in ancient Greek and if one derived TAKE forms directly from existing ancient formations, one would get, e.g.: παιδίο "little child" παιδάριο "little child" παιδίσκο "young child" In the calendar, we have the suffix -άριο in ζωάριο (little animal[s]), and -ίσκο in αιλουρίσκο (kitten) and χηνίσκο (gosling). ζωάριο and χηνίσκο derive from actually attested ancient forms; αιλουρίσκο is AFAIK a TAKE neologism, but quite reasonably formed. But we also have αλεκτοριδεύ (chick) and αλωπεκιδεύ (fox-cub), correctly derived from ancient forms, but formed with the suffix -ιδεύ (the 'ancestor' of Esperanto's -id-) which is normally used as a patronymic (rather like 'mac-' in Gaelic names, or -son in English surnames); it is rather as though we were to say in English 'Cockson' (or in US English 'Roosterson') and 'Foxson'! Now, remembering that Josephos Peanou *there* was somewhat more radical than Giuseppe Peano was *here* as regards verb forms, would JP be more radical and adopt a more strictly 'auxlangy' attitude to these suffixes in TAKE? What I mean is, would he have give: -ίο (or possibly) -άριο - diminutive suffix (little) -ίσκο - suffix denoting the young of -ιδεύ - patronymic suffix Or would he have simply used forms actually derived from AG irrespective of the suffix actually use? If he adopted a strict use of suffixes, would he have retained those nouns where the young has a different word from the adult (like, e.g. in English we have 'sheep' ~ 'lamb')? I.e. should 'lamb' be αρνό (as given on the calendar) or προβατίσκο <-- πρόβατο (sheep). _My_ inclination is to retain αρνό - but I'm not JP ;) Any thoughts? What did GP do in 'Latino sine flexione' with young animals? Does any one know? -- Ray ================================== http://www.carolandray.plus.com ================================== Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora. [William of Ockham]

Replies

Philip Newton <philip.newton@...>
R A Brown <ray@...>