Re: [lojban] Re: preposition disposition

[robin <robin@bilkent.edu.tr>]

Philip Newton wrote:
> On 20 Feb 2004 at 2:34, la_okus wrote:
>
>
> > From personal experience, I know that Japanese sometimes disagrees
> > with english as well. The verb "au" means to meet, but the japanese
> > don't say "I meet friends", they say "tomodachi ni au", which is more
> > like "I meet to friends". 
>
>
> *nods* and "dare-ka *to* kekkon suru" which is literally "to marry 
> *with* someone" rather than the English "to marry someone".

Same with Turkish: "biriy*le* evlenmek" (literally "someone-with 
to-become-a-house"). Also in Turkish, you are angry _to_ something, but 
frightened _from_ something; you beat someone but hit _to_ them; you 
look _to_ someone, but wait them (no "for").

Languages have a limited number of prepositions/cases which are then 
extended metaphorically. The process is not entirely arbitrary, but 
produces variations of the type mentioned.

robin.tr

--
"Caesar non supra grammaticos." - Suetonius

Robin Turner
IDMYO
Bilkent Univeritesi
Ankara 06533
Turkey

www.bilkent.edu.tr/~robin