Re: USAGE: Speak-Say-Tell

Geoff Horswood wrote:
>
> I was thinking about the English words "speak", "say", "tell" (and
> "talk"),
> and trying to quantify the exact difference between them.
>
> Specifically, I was wondering whether all the words were strictly
> necessary
> in a language, or whether you could postulate a language with only one
> word
> meaning speak, say, tell or talk, depending on context.  How realistic is
> this?
>
I'm sure it's possible, though I don't know of any offhand.

Indonesian uses two words, principally:

kata ('word'): ber/kata to say, to speak (intr.)-- this can be followed with
1. direct quote, 2. indirect speech 3. manner adverb
Derivs: mengatakan to tell-- can take either DO or IO
memperkatakan to talk about, deliberate
(Oddly, the simple active mengata means 'to scold')
Short form: kata+possessive, lit. my/your/his~her etc. word = I/you, he etc.
said....

The other is bicara: berbicara to speak (intr., or trans. with a language,
words etc. as object), or intrans. with manner adverb;
membicarakan to discuss

To tell a story: specific word, ber/ceritera ~ber/cerita (intr.)