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Please help me understand "temi"

by jrhowa, October 1, 2011

Messages: 21

Language: English

jrhowa (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 7:01:09 PM

Hi all,

So the verb temi has always confused me. According to Lernu's dictionary, it means "to be about, to be on the subject of." Okay, seems straightforward enough. However, I always see temi used with pri. Isn't that redundant? Wouldn't that translate to "It's about about..."? What's the point of adding a the preposition?

Also, since pri already means "about/regarding", why do we need the verb temi at all? Wouldn't it make more sense to just use prii--without a preposition?

It might help me if someone could explain how temi is used in the following example sentence: "La vorton 'pantalonoj' oni uzas nur kiam efektive temas pri pli ol unu vesto." I understand what meaning is intended by this sentence, but I can't figure out *why* it means what it means--specifically because I do not understand that usage of temi.

Any light you all can shed on the subject would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Cisksje (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 7:11:19 PM

I have always understood it in terms of the non-existent English verb, "to theme".

e.g. This year's congress themes about sixteenth century Polish neo-Latin literature.

I suppose the verb, "to treat" covers much the same ground. e.g. This year's congress treats of sixteenth etc.

Hope that helps a bit till some of the major heavyweights weigh in sal.gif

RiotNrrd (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 7:11:58 PM

I had the same problem way back when.

"Temi" does seem to have a meaning that lies slightly outside of anything English concisely provides.

I read the word as the English-y verb "to theme". It's not a valid English verb, but I think that by verbifying the word "theme" you get very close to the meaning of the word "temi". Since it's not a real English verb, I can't provide a dictionary definition, but it should be understandable if you think about it a bit.

To say something "themes about whatever" also thus seems to equate well with the usage of "pri".

RiotNrrd (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 7:21:38 PM

I see Cisksje beat me by 39 seconds! lango.gif

Good to see someone else interprets it the same way I do (I'm not always 100% sure).

jrhowa (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 7:27:36 PM

Thanks so much to both of you! I would never have thought of that. Although technically incorrect, "to theme" is immediately understandable to me. Thinking of 'temi' that way really does help me understand the proper meaning and usage of the word. ridego.gif

Cisksje (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 7:30:08 PM

That is odd, RiotNrrd, that we should both have arrived at the same unusual means of understanding this! Likewise, I'm glad that someone else has had the same thought and it's not just me... okulumo.gif

Chainy (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 8:46:08 PM

The Lernu dictionary gives a good explanation of 'temi':

"(temi pri) to be about, to be on the subject of, to be a matter of"

Chainy (User's profile) October 1, 2011, 8:54:15 PM

According to ReVo:
temi (ntr)

1. Havi kiel temon: la diskuto temis pri ŝanĝo en la regularo.

2. (sensubjekte) La temo, la demando estas pri, la afero koncernas: Temas en tiu ĉapitro pri tute alia afero; Temas ĉu ni venkos aŭ ne.

qwertz (User's profile) October 2, 2011, 12:05:06 AM

I'm not a linguist but in German I could use "thematisieren" for "temi". Even if German "thematisieren" meets more "temigi".

And German: "thematisieren" = English: "to broach the issue of sth | to pick sth. out as a central theme"

barat (User's profile) October 2, 2011, 10:24:20 AM

jrhowa:Hi all,

So the verb temi has always confused me. According to Lernu's dictionary, it means "to be about, to be on the subject of." Okay, seems straightforward enough. However, I always see temi used with pri. Isn't that redundant? Wouldn't that translate to "It's about about..."? What's the point of adding a the preposition?
English is a strange language. Many concepts are expressed not with a single verb but with some compound (which makes it difficult for foreigners whose languages do not have such features). This is just an example. In Polish we express the idea with one simple verb:

chodzić = temi
chodzić o = temi pri

o = pri

o co chodzi? = pri kio temas? (word for word translation!)

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