讯息： 20
语言: English
Rohan (显示个人资料) 2008年5月17日下午10:15:21
If I had to send an e-mail, the button I'd click would read 'Send'. However, in eo, that same button would read 'Sendi'.
Why is the infinitive used in eo in such cases, rather than the imperative? Is it a contraction of 'Alklaku cxi tie por sendi retposxton', just as 'Bonan tagon' is a contraction of 'Mi deziras al vi bonan tagon' ?
Dankon!
mnlg (显示个人资料) 2008年5月17日下午10:30:05
Rohan:If I had to send an e-mail, the button I'd click would read 'Send'. However, in eo, that same button would read 'Sendi'.I noticed that as well, and I can only conclude it's the translator's choice. Personally I prefer the -u form (sendu, montru, legu, etc.), but perhaps some languages and cultures would find it too direct.
Filu (显示个人资料) 2008年5月18日上午12:28:04
Using the imperative form in French would have a different connotation than the English "send": when used with tools or objects, the imperative usually means we are not getting from it what we thought or expected we would get.
When I see "sendi", my French mind doesn't think "alklaku ĉi tie por sendi"; it only see and understand that the button is a "sendilo" without further thinking or feeling of strangeness.
For my defense, maybe I should mention that in French, as in Esperanto but unlike in English, the infinitive is only one word, a particular version of the verb, and not a compound of the verb with another word that has around one million other meanings on its own.
pacepacapaco (显示个人资料) 2008年5月18日上午3:05:41
"Mi esperas, ke ŝi ne estu malsana hodiaŭ."
Perhaps for some speakers, it seems awkward to use a word that they perceive as subjunctive, suggesting a mere possibility, rather than use an indicative form. Or, maybe it's a translation from the languages that must make that distinction.
In any language, a command is not a statement of what will happen or is happening; it's an expression of desire for something to happen. Maybe by using infinitives, the subtle implication of uncertainty is somehow avoided?
novatago (显示个人资料) 2008年5月18日上午8:04:56
Rohan:I don't know why but in Spanish is the same. We use the infinitive or even a sustantive ("filtrilo" instead of "filtri") and very few times imperative. I prefer to see the infinitives or sustantives. I allways have seen it as a sentence like "I would like to open a file" and not like "Computer! open this file!".
Why is the infinitive used in eo in such cases, rather than the imperative? Is it a contraction of 'Alklaku cxi tie por sendi retposxton', just as 'Bonan tagon' is a contraction of 'Mi deziras al vi bonan tagon' ?
Ĝis, Novatago.
Filu (显示个人资料) 2008年5月18日下午12:51:44
What do I want to do?
I want to send.
Noticed how "I want to" comes back identical to itself in both? A shorter answer would be "send", not "to send"...
On the other hand, Esperanto would have:
Kion mi volas fari?
Mi volas sendi.
In this case, there is no word between 'want' and 'do' (or between 'want' and 'send'); the shorter answer would be "sendi".
trojo (显示个人资料) 2008年5月19日上午12:34:53
To me, the imperative seems more logical, but it's not a huge deal I guess.
