Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: Active and Passive please help.

From:Almaran Dungeonmaster <dungeonmaster@...>
Date:Tuesday, December 18, 2001, 12:02
Christophe Grandsire wrote:
> > > << Or a passive, as in Spanish, "Se llama John", "He calls himself John" > > > > Reflexive, of course, is what you mean, no? ~:D > > Except that if it had a reflexive meaning, it would mean that the man
chose
> himself a name, which is usually not the case. So the form may use a
reflexive
> pronoun, but its meaning is not reflexive at all.
Well, that depends on how you define names. Is a name something you are given at birth, and which you are stuck with for the rest of your life? Or is a name a label by which you call yourself? Ot is it the current label your environment uses to refer to you? People can have many names (official names, nick names, aliases etc.). I prefer the definition of a name as that by which you call yourself. In this case, the Spanish use of "se llamar" is not that illogical. Maarten

Replies

Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...>
Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>