Re: odd phrase/translation exercise

--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Mike Ellis <nihilsum@H...> wrote:

>"I didn't know that you are a philosopher." Using |as'et| "you were"
>would mean you used to be one but aren't anymore.
I saw the problem of "that you were a philosopher" being understood
as he still is one or that he used to be one.

In a conversation I would have used the phrasing "were" to indicate
that he still is one.

If he were no longer a philosopher, I would have said, "I understand
that you used to be a philosopher."

Just a thought.

BTW, I enjoy these translations of one-liners.  They help me to
understand better the individual's conlang.  I find the translations
of passages too much to wade through.  My only request is that each
individual follow the samw format, i.e, sentence in conlang, X-SAMPA
rendering, grammatical breakdown.  Some folks leave out one or the
other and I don't receive a full understanding in his/her conlang.

Charlie
http://wiki.frath.net/User:Caeruleancentaur

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