Re: Now that I have it . . .

In a message dated 12/5/01 11:00:28 AM, fuzzybluemonkeys@YAHOO.COM writes:

<< i'm confused as to what difference it would make to translate things
from different languages...?  wouldn't the phrase 'i love monkeys'
technically mean that a person/being/creature/whatchamacalit in this
case the speaker referring to his/her/it/self has an affection for
monkeys... no matter what language it was translated into? >>

    Well...  If you were to translate this into Megdevi, it could come out
rather differently.  If you used one word for "love", you'd mean that  you
love the monkeys erotically; another, it'd probably mean that you like to eat
them; another would mean that you "enjoy" them, and use them as slaves in
<ahem> "unnatural" manners; another would mean that you love the monkey
because it's your family member; another mean that you love the monkey
because it is a creature on this planet, and therefore deserving of love.
Most importantly, though, you'd have to use a mass noun rather than just a
plural noun, because what you're really saying is that you love the category
of monkies, not any specific group of them.  And, of course, my language is
simple in that it's just pronoun love+pres monkey+accusative.  What about a
language with an experience/stimulus marker?  Trust me; you can make such a
phrase complicated.

-David

"Zi hiwejnat zodZaraDatsi pat Zi mirejsat dZaCajani sUlo."
"The future's uncertain and the end is always near."
                --Jim Morrison