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

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

Re: [saweli] Re: ditransitive verbs: he called me a friend

One ambiguity might be resolved, using "you" and "your":

I heard you singing...
I heard your singing...
And yes, I didn't paraphrased correctly. I just wanted to emphasize the different meanings.
What I think should come out, is what the "she is in the garden" is based on. Is it a rumour, is it his own judgement, or is it a well known fact.
I'm currently thinking of a fourth argument, let's call it "J" - judgement (or "R" - result?). Then, the question is if "she is in the garden" is only the focus or the judgement as well.
P/F: He heard the girl singing in the garden. (And it's a fact that she sang there.) P/FJ: He heard the girl singing in the garden. (But it's only his own judgement that she sang there.) 

P/F: Li aŭdis la knabinon kantantan en la ĝardeno.
P/FJ: Li aŭdis la knabinon kanti en la ĝardeno.


Stefo







MorphemeAddict@hidden.email schrieb:
In a message dated 5/15/2007 7:12:41 AM Central Daylight Time, sts@hidden.email writes: 



Another English sentence is:

"He heard her singing in the garden."

This can mean both

"He heard that she was singing in the garden." and
"He heard her while she was singing in the garden.

"Li audis sin kanti en la gardeno."
"Li audis sin kantantan en la gardeno."


Stefo
I don't think "He heard that she was singing in the garden" is a good paraphrase of "He heard her singing in the garden". Using a separate clause with "that" makes it sound like he heard a second-hand rumor or report of her singing, and not her singing itself. The Esperanto "Li auxdis sxin kanti en la gxardeno" is pretty close, I think, but doesn't match the English sentence with "that", which would be "Li auxdis, ke sxi kantis en la gxardeno".
This particular example also admits of another possible interpretation, namely treating "singing" as a direct object noun: "Li auxdis sxian kantadon en la gxardeno". This last has the same ambiguity as the English. Who is in the garden, or where are the participants, and where do the hearing and singing take place? 

stevo