Re: Different words for one thing

On Mon, 18 Oct 1999 11:56:06 -0500 Matt Pearson
<jmpearson@...> writes:
> Irina Rempt wrote:
> >gul    - bottom, lowest part of the inside of something
> >gulsen - the actual physical bottom
> Tokana makes a distinction that's a *bit* like this:  _lom_ means
> "bottom" in the sense of the underside of something, while _luma_
> means bottom of an interior space, such as the floor of a room
> or cave, the inside bottom of a box, the bed of a stream, or the
> bottom of the ocean.
>
> Matt.
In Rokbeigalmki, the preposition/case-prefix generally translated
"under", _na'_, is actually the opposite of "on" - like a bat would hang
_na'_ a cave ceiling, but a person walking along under the ceiling
without touching it can't be described as _na'_ the ceiling.  So the
noun/long form _naur_ means "underside", while to say "the bottom of the
inside" (i generally concieve of the Rokbeigalmki situational
prepositions as in relation to a cube, you'd say something like
_la'naur_, "on the underside", since _la'_ "on" always has the
connotation of *up*, and can't be understood as standing upside-down with
your feet on the underside - that'd just be _na'_.


-Stephen (Steg)
 "may the schwa be with you!"

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