Re: Esperanto

["Mark J. Reed" <mark@issl.atl.hp.com>]

Tony Harris <72240.562@CompuServe.COM> writes:
\ law' <Esperanto> vIjatlhbogh puS tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhbogh
Well, you lose the direct comparitive meaning of {law'/puS} . . .
Remember that the literal meanings of {law'} and {puS} don't enter into the
comparative construction; it's not a literal phrase.  (If it were, then
all comparatives would look like your sentence here: the 
{law'/puS} would come before the things being compared, and the things being
compared would be nouns instead of stative verbs).  So while

	<Esperanto> vIjatlhbogh QaQ law' tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhbogh QaQ puS

means "The Esperanto which I speak is better than the Klingon which I speak",

	law' <Esperanto> vIjatlhbogh.  puS tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhbogh.

means "The Esperanto which I speak is many.  The Klingon which I speak is
few".  That doesn't make sense to me; I don't see how a language can be
"many" or "few".  Maybe {law' <Esperanto> mu' vIjatlhbogh}, if you're just
comparing your relative vocabulary knowledge.  But since once you've done
this turning around, you're not using the comparative anymore, there's no
point in trying to mangle the meanings of {law'} and {puS} to fit.  Why not just
say
	QaQ <Esperanto> vIjatlhbogh.  qab tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhbogh.

or something even more descriptive of what you're comparing?

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Mark J. Reed                     |             
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