Re: SURVEY: Idiomatic Expressions In Your ConLang Or ConCulture

Hi!

R A Brown <ray@...> writes:
> Henrik Theiling wrote:
>...
> > Ok.  In West-Greenlandic, my favourite cited example is the school,
> > the 'learning-place'.  It is a derivation of 'learn' + 'place'.  The
> > 'place' derivation is clearly defined, much more so than 'association'
> > and the other things you list.  Would you say that the interpretation
> > of 'learning-place' as 'school' is an idiom?
>
> No - since the meaning can reasonably be deduced from the two elements.
Ah, shoot, I gave the wrong verb -- a school is a 'reading-place'
(atuarfik).

The meaning *is* more special than what can be deduced.

> >It is obviously a specialisation.
>
> In a way - but 'school' is surely the most general "learning place".
Maybe more examples: eat-place = table.  sleep-place = bed.
Deducible, yes, but they are more special than what they express
literally.

>...
> What I would call 'idiomatic derivation' are things like "evue":
>   e-   v-        u-  e
> be-ASSOCIATION-one-AUGMENT = "corporation"
Ok, I fully understand! :-O

**Henrik

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