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Re: Two different opposites (again)

From:Roger Mills <rfmilly@...>
Date:Thursday, May 13, 2004, 4:50
Henrik Theiling wrote:
> > Carsten Becker <post@...> writes: > > > There is also the "inverse" relation: > > > > > > to buy <--> to sell > > > > > > to teach <--> to learn (the same word, "apprendre", > > > can be used in French, although there is also > > > "enseigner" fo "to teach") > > > etc. > > > > Cool, that adds another dimension ... > > The two pairs are still different: 'teach' is the causative of > 'learn'. But 'sell' is not the causative of 'buy', but more a pair > like 'give' - 'take'. It's more balanced in who causes what. >
In some Indonesian and/or Philippine languages (I forget which) buy and sell use the same base. Another common relation: borrow -- lend, as Indo. /pinjam/ meminjam 'borrow from', meminjami ~meminjamkan 'lend out, loan'.
> > one can really use "apprendre" for to teach?! I didn't know that. > > Me either. Interesting indeed. >
Again Indonesian: /ajar/ belajar 'study, learn', mengajar 'teach (a subject)', mengajari 'to train s.o.', mengajarkan 'to teach s.o. s.t.' (probably as in 'to teach the students French') I can recall fellow students in early grade school having trouble with teach/learn, as well as with bring/take-- once again, Indonesian uses a single word _bawa_ (generically 'carry') for the latter.

Replies

Henrik Theiling <theiling@...>
Tim May <butsuri@...>