Re: Getting started with a newborn lang

dunno how much experience is needed to answer this but i'll have a try ;-).
gijutsu is "craftskills" and "technics". there are plenty of possible ways to
translate such a tag. but the word i would use would be "bijutsu". i can't
remember what the original english tag is. anyway, if it was "life is an art", i
would say "jinsei wa bigi da". if it was "life is art" (meaning "art makes life
meaningful"--in french "la vie, c'est l'art"), then i would try à la japanese
newspapers' headlines: "jinsei wa bijutsu ga". i would even dare a pun: "seidou
wa bijutsu ga" where the "sei" of  "seidou" is the "sei" of "jinsei" ("human
life"), not the "sei" of "seidou" ("path of virtue"). so that would sound like
"the path of virtue is all about art" and read "the *path-of-life is all about
art". but in real life i would try it first with a japanese guineapig to see
whether that sounds ok though ;-) especially since my forged "seidou" drops the
"human" part "jin".

AsForMyOwnConlang: in Tunu "life is an art" would be either: cama besi alai-kune
sile basi = time life is-[a] certain skill art = "(a) life(time) is an art" ;
or: cama besi amai-nime basi = time life has-[a] meaning [which is] art = "la
vie, c'est l'art". the fact that "besi" (life, bio-) and "basi" (art) sound
close is a mere chance. all tunu words sound alike anyway. tunu ompound words
are built the same way as sinojapanese words are except that components' order
is reverse and verbs may keep their active or passive voice:
taka (bai)bebesi = "person dead" = a deceased
taka saibebesi = "person killed" = a casualty
taka taibebesi = "person kill" = a killer
taka taibebesi taka = "person kill person" = a murderer
yeah, i know, a wee longish as usual--but it's fun saying them aloud fast!

jogloran <exponent@...> wrote:
<<
    Typo. I meant to use _geijutsu_. BTW what's the difference if
any 'tween
_geijutsu_ and _gijutsu_?
>>
I'm not really sure; my dictionary has geijutsu under the main
headword of art, then gijutsu as art in the context of craft. Maybe
someone (with more Japanese experience) could elucidate? ;)
Imperative

Mathias
www.geocities.com/kalatunu/index.htm

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