Re: [romconlang] -able
From: | Tristan McLeay <conlang@...> |
Date: | Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 23:03 |
On 16/04/08 06:02:14, David J. Peterson wrote:
>
> Mark:
> <<
> That would be a perfectly valid generalization, but a meaningless one
> IML, where the verb "to pave" implies "with asphalt". Laying down
> concrete or bricks or what have you is not "paving". For instance,
> paving the road to Hell with good intentions has always created in my
> mind a vision of those intentions being poured into a machine and
> coming out as a mystical variety of blacktop.
> >>
>
> Huh. That's very curious. So if you had to use a verb when you
> talked about "a road paved with bricks", or for the expression
> "where the streets are paved with gold", what would you use?
>
> I should mention that I have your definition as a secondary
> definition. For example, I remember when a friend of mine
> and I went to visit my family in Mexico, and I was excited because
> the roads were paved, and mentioned it. In that context, there's
> no question regarding what the roads were paved with.
Indeed --- paving stones of some variety. Frequently annoying to ride,
drive or walk over, so I have no idea why anyone would do that sort of
a thing, except to stop people riding, driving or walking over. (We
have "sealed roads" over here; I gather "pavement" in the US refers to
the road surface, whereas in England it's the footpath; I have no idea
what the English call sealed roads. Pavement's not a word I would
generally use, although I've known of the English definition for a lot
longer so it's closer to my default interpretation.)
To me "yard" implies an enclosed (fenced-in) outside area of some
description somewhere around the house; contrasted with "paddock" which
is a fenced-in area on a farm other than a yard. A garden has things
growing in it, but a lawn or an area with lots of trees and bushes and
shrubs could just as happily be a garden as a veggie patch.
Apparently I've also used "ground" to mean "floor" too frequently for
at least some Americans' taste.
--
Tristan.
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