Re: translation exercise

Well, it looks like I was more vague than I meant to be, or else everybody
has been more creative than I expected :)  Was expecting things like "the
cat shouldn't pee on the bed" or "it's not good if the cat pees on the bed"
or "it won't do for the cat to pee on the bed".  The dialogue-based answers
have been entertaining.

On Wed, Oct 09, 2002 at 02:09:01PM -0400, Amanda Babcock wrote:

> Translation exercise:
>
> In your language, express a native speaker's opinion of the appropriateness
> of the cat (or other domestic animal) peeing (or other disgusting action)
> on the bed (or other inappropriate place).
In Toma Heylm:

Using a modal verb (very similar to English):

        syin mero delye mi  sipil lek la   uyitipat.
        Art  N    Mod   Mod V.f   Adv Prep LOC.N
        The  cat  should    pee   not on   bed.

Equate the occurence to badness:

        Sil  syin mero delye sipil la   uyitipat, ey  rovel tamya!
        Nom  Art  N    Mod   V.f   Prep LOC.N     Cop Adj   Adv
        That the  cat  would pee   on   bed       is  bad   very!

Now if I can just figure out how to do it in Korahamla...

Amanda

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