[YG Conlang Archives] > [katanda group] > messages [Date Index] [Thread Index] >


[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next]

it's still too hot out



In a message dated 2002-10-30 7:49:51 AM Eastern Standard Time, ram@hidden.email writes:

Middle [voice]
is used ONLY when the subject has not been explicitly stated but is
either generic or known from context.

This means that there can be times when the unspecified subject is
ambiguous.  For example, if you and a friend are swimming in a lake, and
you say "Mamensanta", you could be referring to either the water or the
air.

Yes, I understand this.  In fact, it was only by reading the Katanda of the original sentence (about not wearing a coat because it was too hot) that I realized what was really meant.  I was suggesting a way to decrease the ambiguity of the English translation when "mamensanta" refers to the weather, as it does in all of the examples.

Steven