Re: Esperantist lies (Re: Learning a language)

From: Richard Herring (junk_at_[127.0.0.1)
Date: 07/08/04 

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2004 12:06:34 +0100

In message <m3658zzheu.fsf@mika.informatik.uni-freiburg.de>, LEE Sau Dan
<danlee@informatik.uni-freiburg.de> writes
>>>>>> "Wiktor" == Wiktor S <wswiktor@poczta.fmv> writes:
>
> Wiktor> Is there a way to remove the disambiguity of <chi1fan4>
> Wiktor> (to dine vs. to eat rise) or it depends only on context?
>
>Yes, although practically, we live happily with the ambiguity,

Same elsewhere. A friend of mine had a Thai visitor who wrote something
in the visitors' book before leaving, and I was asked to translate.
"Thank you for the cold food (<ahan yen>)" doesn't seem very
complimentary, until you remember that <yen> also means "cool (time of
day)" so the phrase actually translates as "evening meal". 

-- 
Richard Herring

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