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Translation from Viktimoj

door Docxjo, 11 februari 2010

Berichten: 7

Taal: English

Docxjo (Profiel tonen) 11 februari 2010 07:37:01

Can someone help me translate the following sentence from the book "Viktimoj" (Second Chapter):

La knabino altabligxis, rigardis cxirkauxen.

I can't find the definition for altabligxis in the PIV or any other dictionary.

Thanks!

KoLonJaNo (Profiel tonen) 11 februari 2010 08:02:28

Hello!

Docxjo:Can someone help me translate the following sentence from the book "Viktimoj" (Second Chapter):

La knabino altabligxis, rigardis cxirkauxen.

I can't find the definition for altabligxis in the PIV or any other dictionary.

Thanks!
I guess you should read this as

al-tabl-iĝ-is

So the girl literally "got" (-iĝis) "to" (al-) a | the "table" (-tabl-).

I don't know the context of the story but I assume that means the girl moved towards a | the table and looked around.

Kolonjano

Docxjo (Profiel tonen) 11 februari 2010 17:21:05

KoLonJaNo:Hello!

Docxjo:Can someone help me translate the following sentence from the book "Viktimoj" (Second Chapter):

La knabino altabligxis, rigardis cxirkauxen.

I can't find the definition for altabligxis in the PIV or any other dictionary.

Thanks!
I guess you should read this as

al-tabl-iĝ-is

So the girl literally "got" (-iĝis) "to" (al-) a | the "table" (-tabl-).

I don't know the context of the story but I assume that means the girl moved towards a | the table and looked around.

Kolonjano
Seems simple when you say it like that! rido.gif Thank you!

erinja (Profiel tonen) 11 februari 2010 19:47:19

A hint for the future - when you can't find a word in the dictionary, look at the first couple of letters and see if it might be a preposition, followed by a root, followed by a suffix, all in one word.

In this case it was all three, al/tabl/iĝ.

Here are some examples of other cases where a preposition is used in a compound word:

el => eliri = el/iri, to go out or to exit
pri => prilabori = pri/labori, to work on [something]
sur => surmeti = sur/meti, to put on
en => enhavi = en/havi, to contain (lit. to have inside)
for => forlasi = for/lasi, to leave behind, to forsake, to desert

RiotNrrd (Profiel tonen) 12 februari 2010 05:17:27

While we're on the subject of parsing, it's also good to remember that some words can be legitimately parsed multiple ways, typically with entirely unrelated meanings.

For example, take "kolego". It can mean either "colleague" or "big neck", depending on how you break it down*.

Some people point this out as an example of one of Esperanto's "flaws". It isn't a flaw, of course; most, if not all, languages contain homonyms. English is crammed with them, and we somehow get by. Things like "context" and "common sense" can be useful sometimes. ridulo.gif

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* This isn't even the best example I've come across. It's just the only one I can remember at the moment. I once saw a long list of Esperanto homonyms, and some of them were pretty funny.

darkweasel (Profiel tonen) 12 februari 2010 06:50:30

Alciona (Profiel tonen) 12 februari 2010 06:55:55

darkweasel: List of double meanings in Esperanto
That is a wonderful and entertaining list, Darkweasel. Thank you for posting a link to it! It's going to amuse me for hours tonight. rideto.gif

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