Re: Some things

a few extra points

 --- Muke Tever <mktvr@...> wrote: > From:
"Balazs Sudar" <conlang@...>
> > - Verb forms like 'hast' 'shalt' etc. Where there
> any common forms for the
> >   verbs in sing. 2nd and 3rd person, like in other
> languages?
>
> There were (IIRC: 2nd -st and 3rd -th) but they
> aren't common anymore.
>
> > - Personal pronouns: 'thou' and 'ye' are the sing.
> and pl. forms of 'you'?
> >   acc. and dative are 'thee' in sing. but what's
> the form in pl.?
>
> The plural acc/dat is "you".
>
> > - Is 'nay' simply an older form of 'no'?
>
> It's a different form, but not an ancestor of "no".
>
english originally had a double distinction :

aye or yea/yes
nay/no

the first form was used in reply to a positive
question, the second to a negative ( cf french oui/si,
icelandic já/jú &c )

'are you going to the party?' 'yea'
'aren't you going to the party?' 'yes'


> > - Using 'whence' and 'thence', 'yestereve' and
> 'yesteryear' is
> >   normal today, or is archaic?
>
> Most are archaic, although "yesteryear" seems more
> uncommon than archaic.
> [dated, too...]
>
> > - What do 'ere', 'hearken', 'naught', 'nigh',
> 'thus' mean?
>
> "Ere" = before
> "hearken" = listen
> "naught" = nothing
> "nigh" = near
> "thus" = so (i.e., in this manner)
>
btw, 'thus' is not archaic but is formal

there is also a word 'aught' which means 'anything'


> > - Can 'for' still be used instead of 'because' and
> 'save' instead of
> >   'exept for'?
>
> "For": Probably not without sounding Biblical.
> "Save": possible, but not common.
>
> > - What does 'Would it were not so!' mean?
>
> "would" is a form of "will" -- basically it means "I
> wish it were not so"
>
> > - He uses 'fair' very often for good, beautiful,
> etc. He uses 'dwell'
> >   for 'live'. Are they common today?
>
> "Fair" for good, beautiful, light only in certain
> contexts (e.g. "fair
> weather").  But usually "fair" means simply
> acceptable.
>
> "Dwell": not common, but not unacceptable.
>
> [Notice that I am not a professional, and I may be
> mistaken.. plus a lot of this
> is up to individual use]
>
>     *Muke!

bn

=====
bnathyuw | landan | arR
stamp the sunshine out | angelfish
your tears came like anaesthesia | phèdre

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