Re: Daily translation - 9/21/2000

Fakaltinátas núsal Zaglái Wíizadi (The Gray Wizard):
>
> English:   Appearances are deceptive
Lakaazpásnav pifplikavudísi
Lakaaz  -pás    -na    -v   pif- plika- vudís          -i
Deceive-able.to-3PLIrr-Hab G7PL-gerund-resemble/appear-PL
Literally "Appearances [or resemblances] can deceive"
When taking "modal suffixes", nominative syntax is used.  They are not
true suffixes at all, altho that's how they're traditionally analyzed,
but rather independent verbs, with unusual case-role assignments, which
incorporate the main verb (i.e., lakáaz).  The patient would be
expressed in the dative, thus if it were "Appearances can deceive a
person", you'd add _sutakíz_ (person-dative) to the end of the sentence,
or, more likely, between the verb and the subject, since "appearances"
is of such low animacy.

Another translation would be:
Lakáaznav pifplikavudísi
Lakáaz  -na    -v   pif- plika- vudís   -i
Deceive-3PLIrr-Hab G7PL-gerund-resemble-PL
Literally, "appearances deceive", but that implies that you can *never*
trust appearances, which I don't think is the intent of the original.

--
Dievas dave dantis; Dievas duos duonos
God gave teeth; God will give bread - Lithuanian proverb
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