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Re: [saweli] NSM and other questions

In a message dated 4/17/2009 07:37:29 Eastern Daylight Time, veoler@hidden.email writes:


(Shouldn't "bavasu" be synonymous to "resu bavak", since
human beings are persons?)


In general "resu bavak" ('human person' [generic]) is indeed synonymous with "bavasu" ('human being' [generic]), but in the former there is still an emphasis on personhood, whereas in the latter the emphasis is on the 'primateness'.  Thus both terms are valid.  "Resu bavak" is a phrase consisting of two words, the meaning of which is just the sum of the meanings of the individual words, so there is no need to include it in the Saweli-English dictionary, although both terms could be given in an English-Saweli dictionary.

stevo