Re: Thank you

On Thu, Aug 08, 2002 at 09:11:41PM +0200, Philip Newton wrote:
> On 8 Aug 02, at 11:58, Christophe Grandsire wrote:
>
> > Actually it's a good subject of discussion on this list: how you all
> > say "thank you" in your languages?
[snip]

In Ebisedian, it depends on who you're speaking with. Won't get into
Ebisedian's prononimal system here, but if you're speaking with, say, a
male close friend, you'd say:
        bach3' co'bu.   [ba"S@\ "tSobu]
        "Gratefulness to you(masc.)"
Or,
        eb0' bach3' co'bu.      [?&"bA ba"S@\ "tSobu]
        "From me, [there is] gratefulness to you."

If you are female, you will of course say _`yb0'_ [Hy"bA] (fem. 1pers
pronoun) instead of _eb0'_.

For emphasis, you could add an optative particle:
        0so' eb0' bach3' co'bu. "May [there be] gratefulness from me to
                                you."

If you are speaking with a female close friend, you'd use the pronoun
_jobu'_ instead of _co'bu_; or if you are speaking with a stranger, or
giving thanks in a more formal setting, you'd use the distant pronouns
instead: _chi'du_ (masc.) or _jhitu'_ (fem.). And of course, the various
plurals as appropriate.

On that note, if you're speaking with a mixed audience which includes
friend and stranger alike, you could say:
        0so'  eb0'  3bach33'     3jomiu'      3jhidiu'.
        <opt> I     gratefulness intim-pron.  dist-pron.
        -     (org) (plur,cvy)   (plur,rcp)   (plur,rcp)
        "Many thanks from me to you(friends) and you(strangers)."

> > And do you know of any "strange" or unusual ways of thanking, whether
> > in conlangs or natlangs?
[snip]

Haven't thought of any yet, although I won't be surprised if Ebisedian
culture turns out to have a multitude of ways to thank. Maybe a highly
idiomatic one like the following:
        0so' Kaa3' co'bu.       [?A"so k_ha:"?@\ "tSobu]
        "May grandness be to you."

The word _Kaa3'_, conveyant of _K00'i_ ["k_hA:?i], is a very idiomatic
word.  Technically, it is a noun meaning "universe" or "world"; it has
also come to mean "grandeur" and "greatness", and has even become an
exclamation of awe. In this last sense, it has come to refer to some
generic desirable quality that one wishes upon others as a symbol of
goodwill.

Hence, the above sentence might be understood to carry connotations along
the lines of "may you be rewarded with greatness for what you did for me."

Of course, one can always use the plural form, which in Ebisedian has the
idiomatic meaning of "much":
        0so' 3Kaa3' co'bu.
        "May much grandness be to you."

Although using plurals for emphasis can become very cliche sometimes.


T

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