tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Feb 07 19:24:20 2004

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Re: Genesis 1:1-5

sangqar ([email protected])

• From: [email protected]
• Subject: Re: Genesis 1:1-5
• Date: Sat, 07 Feb 2004 17:13:41 -0700
• In-reply-to: <[email protected]>
• Priority: normal

> Well, it can be used in English that way, and in Japanese and German. It can
> apparently be used that way in Hebrew as well. As a matter of fact, the idea
> of an imperative not in the second person is a little hard to wrap my head
> around. Does anyone know of a language in which you can give a command to
> anyone but a second person?

Finnish has a form called the third-person imperative, and in fact, it is used in translating this 
text:

Gen 1:3 Ja Jumala sanoi: "Tulkoon valkeus". Ja valkeus tuli.

Literally, And God said, "Let the light come". And the light came.  The ending for the third-
person imperative is "-koon", and VERBkoon is usually translated "let [he/she/it] VERB". (The 
plural ending is "-koot".)

In my mind, I have always associated the {-jaj} ending with this Finnish verb form.

-Sangqar

• References:
  • Re: Genesis 1:1-5
    • From: "Scott Willis" <[email protected]>

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