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Re: a King's proverb

From:Henrik Theiling <theiling@...>
Date:Saturday, June 16, 2001, 12:42
Hi!

Guy Wade wrote:
> "Before you choose your enemy, speak his language."
In Tyl Sjok: Xjohe xo sal i lu twxo hw tuk ling it lu i sjok xan. `Let the choising of your enemy happen only after your speaking of his language.' `You' is not quite the correct translation, as the sentence does not refer to any 2nd person, it is stated impersonally. Vocab: ------ xjohe want; let..., optative mood xo particle: marks the beginning of a sub-phrase (makes clear that `xjohe' modifies the whole phrase, not only the first part.) sal choose, choice i particle: reference to that unmentioned entity that, in a normal phrase, would replace this very `i'. lu to do (actively), resultative aspect particle i lu `the doer': reflexive agent pronoun: here: `your' twxo enemy hw happen-when (event preceeds, time follows) tuk all ling one tuk ling alone, only it word; speak lu i `the one which it is done to': reflexive patient pronoun: here: `his' sjok tongue; language xan end; after **Henrik