Re: Panini

Paul J Kriha pravi:

I know about that distinction in Czech, the animate vs. inanimate, but I
never looked up on its meaning. Is animate used with living beings only?

Yes, the animate (noun&adjective case and verbal) forms are used for
living creatures only. They are used quite consistently for all living
creatures all the way from single cell protozoa to humans. There are
also some instances where human forms are different from other
animate ones (eg some plurals).

Thanks.


The use of nouns "oči", "ušesa", "roke", "noge" (feet) it a bit
complicated in Slovene as well - if one talks about them in general
(indefinite), even though there are exactly two of them, they are used
in plural: "oči" or "očesa" (in Slovene "oči" is plural!) as in "oči me
bolijo" (my eyes hurt), "moja ušesa" (my ears), "imam roke in noge" (I
have arms and feet).

But if one want to be specific or if he adds the number (two) or a
pronoun "oba" (both, skt. "ubha"), then they must be in dual:
"očesi sta zdravi" (both eyes are healthy), "obe ušesi", "imam dve roki
in dve nogi".

Actually, what I have described above, functions in the same manner also for all other nouns which naturally occur in pairs: "ročica" (handles - of, for instance, a wheelbarrow - literally "ročica" is diminutive of "roka/hand"); or "ears" of the jugs, pots; trouser legs, etc...

For all other nouns the dual is obligatory, with the usual exception of the plural only nouns.


Alright, that's quite different in Czech then. According to textbooks
"oči/ruce/uši" are reflexes of the old duals. However, the concept of
duality as such is long lost in Czech. So, "thousands of eyes turned
to the goalkeeper" will be "tisíce očí se obrátily na brankáře"
(where "očí" is genitive of "oči"). So it's "očí", not "okou" even though
it's thousands or indefinite number of them, not exactly two.

So then, in fact these forms are plurals, but they were the duals in the old times. I suppose the same goes for Slovene plural alternative "oči".


"příliš žluťoučký kůň úpěl ďábelské ódy"

It seems ok, but what does it mean?

.