Re: THEORY: Natural language change (was Re: Charlie and I)

>>
>> Steg Belsky wrote:
>>
>> >> It means "If you can understand this, you know too much" :)
>> >>Now *that* sounds like a perfect translation excersize! :)
>> >
>> >Ihkh eza-kaun dhaz, ezoi-yed sha'zid.
>>
>> Finally, a translation exercise I can do without having to look
>> anything up:
>>
>> Tokana:   Aun mulhat te, ikoi iona tsuohante
>
> Teonaht:
> Ty aib  fy  tal pre,  ta   pre  fy  bo   nwetis.
> If this you can know, then know you over much.
>
I guess I'll make my grand entry as a contributor onto the list by listing
my own version of the frequented-translated sentence:

Skerre:
Sek kir=E4 wo auket kel', hon kir=E4 that kr=E4 hik
If you  can understand this, then you more much know (no negative
connotation).

Take this translation with a cautious eye.  My "native speakers" have been
quite fickle lately.  In the up-coming weeks it may be "discovered" that
this wasn't the correct translation (I, unlike many of you, am a student at
the collegiate level [the University of Rochester]. I will be meeting with
my mentors on my language inventing project, one from the linguistics dept.
and one from the English dept, and over the next couple of weeks, all of us
will be giving my grammar an intensive look). But it is nice to meet a grou=
p
of people who share my interest in inventing languages.  I've been observin=
g
your conversations for about a week and decided to finally give the list my
2 cent(imes or ore or pence, etc.).
-Doug
(who does not have a neat quote to accompany his signature at this time)