Re: Conference

On 17 April, Andreas Johansson wrote:

>Barry Garcia wrote:
>>
>>CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU writes:
>> >Oh, one more thing, would any of you like to have some fragments of your
>> >langs included as exapmles of what conlangs are/can be/aim for, etc.  I
>> >would like a variety of art, personal, model, aux, a priori, a
>>posteriori,
>> >human, alien, etc.
>>
>>
>>Perhaps it might be easier if you have a short line everyone could
>>translate into their languages (naturally people dont HAVE to do that :)).
>
>If I may make a suggestion, make that sentence "I love you". For some
reason
>it seems to be among very the first people learn in a new lang ...
>
>Tairezazh: "Ta tshei shas"
>
>                                                       Andreas


        I remember doing a translation exercise with "I love you" back
around
February 1999.  <click click click; archives located --- ah, there it is:

    http://listserv.brown.edu/archives/conlang.html

and the subject heading:  Valentine's Day Translations. >

I am reposting my own modest effort from that exercise below:
(Note: In rtemmu, one must usually make explicit whether one is objectively
observing or subjectively thinking/remembering and at what speed
the speaker and all spoken-about content seem to be changing.
By varying these, different nuances can be expressed. As in the
following translations of "I love you". )

In rtemmu, there are at least five ways to say it:

1.  va'i  furive!

(va'i = the following is an emotion;  fu- = mutual;
rive = love)

This is an emotional outburst.

2.  inana faifurivehe zhu!

(i = the speaker knows;  nana = my thoughts are
developing normally  about a concept that is developing
normally;  fai- = away from;  -he = with respect to the following;
zhu = though others may be present,
only one person is being addressed)

Loose translation: I am thinking about the concept of
loving you.


3. inakehs faifurivehe zhu!

(nakehs = my thoughts, normal change; the topic
of conversation is objectively changing at a normal rate)

Loose translation:  I am thinking about the effects I observe
that come from loving you.


4. ikehsna faifurivehe zhu!  [switching "kehs" and "na"]

(kehsna = I am objectively reacting at a normal
rate to the concept which is developing at a normal rate)

  Loose translation:  Just thinking of loving you is having an
observable effect on me!



5. ikehskehs faifurivehe zhu!

(kehskehs = I am objectively reacting at a
normal rate to an objective phenomenon, which is
developing at a normal rate)

Loose translation: You're turning me on!


     Back then, rtemmu didn't have a marker for accelerated change,
which it does now. Throwing that into the mix might produce:

6. iutfiskehs faifurivehe zhu!

    (-ut- = accelerated change of the immediately
    following rate marker, in this case, "fis", [ = fast objective change]
    and referring to the speaker's changing)

Loose translation: I _LOVE_  you, <pant, pant> and I'm about to go
supernova very quickly!   ;-)

    Of course, if, having said number 6, one got summarily rejected,
one might whimper pitifully "I love you" using a _deceleration_
marker, "-it-" :

7.  iitfiskehs faifurivehe zhu!  (note:  two /i/s at the begining, not one
long /i:/)

Loose translation: I love you, even though I'm rapidly going into shock.

:-(
To end on a somewhat happier note, one could always put the
acceleration marker in front of the change marker for "love", leaving
the change within the speaker normal:

8.  .  inautne faifurivehe zhu!

(na= speaker is subjectively changing at a normal rate;
ut = accelerated change of "ne";
ne = the concept of loving you is subjectively changing quickly)

Loose translation: My love for you is increasing at an ever faster pace!


(Note: all changes here are assumed to be not in the direction of "bad".
To talk about a souring of love, one would use the rate of change markers
as above, but the word for "love",  "rive", would have the prefix "g~go-"
(  /Ngo/ ), meaing  " development towards bad".
Failing love, as projected by the speaker, would then be
"fai(fu)g~gorive"
with "fu" added if the repulsion was observed/thought to be mutual.)


Dan Sulani
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likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a.

A word is an awesome thing.