There's a man in the tree ... etc.

A forum for translations, translation challenges etc. Good place to increase your conlang's vocabulary.
User avatar
Imralu
roman
roman
Posts: 962
Joined: 17 Nov 2013 22:32

There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Imralu »

1. There's a man in the tree.
2. A man is in the tree.
3. The man is in the tree.

_________________________________

:deu: German:
Pretty much like English except that the usually phrase for "there is" is literally "it gives", and Germans say "on" the tree whereas in English it's "in".

1.

Es gibt einen Mann auf dem Baum.
it gives a.MASC.ACC man on the.MASC.DAT tree

2.

Ein Mann ist auf dem Baum.
a.MASC.NOM is on the.MASC.DAT tree

3.

Der Mann ist auf dem Baum.
the.MASC.NOM man is on the.MASC.DAT tree

_________________________________
:con: Ngolu:
In Ngolu, the verb phrase comes first, so when the existence of the man is the verbal phrase, it is first. When his location is the verbal phrase, he comes later in the sentence.

1.

muja xua ttiáu
be.man LOC.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.tree
be.man at.the tree

2.

n-xua ttiáu ma muja
COP-LOC.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.tree NOM.3s.SPEC.MASC.REL be.man

3.

n-xua ttiáu ja muja
COP-LOC.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.tree NOM.3s.DEF.MASC.REL be.man

_________________________________
:deu: German Sign Language (DGS):

DGS, like most sign languages, as far as I know, tends to follow the (reverse!) figure-ground principle, mentioning larger, more static background objects before smaller, mobile objects.

1.

BAUMA [DETEXISTENZ]IN-A MANN
TREEA [DETEXISTENCE]IN-A MAN
There's a man in the/a tree.

2. / 3.

BAUMA MANN [DETLOK]IN-A
TREEA MAN [DETLOC]IN-A
A/The man is in the tree.

BAUMA MANN SITZIN-A
TREEA MAN SITIN-A
A/The man is sitting in the tree.

BAUMA MANN STEHIN-A
TREEA MAN STANDIN-A
A/The man is standing in the tree.

3.

To place the man's location in greater focus ...

MANN [WO]Augenbrauen-hoch BAUMA [DETLOK]IN-A
MAN [WHERE]eyebrows-raised TREEA [DETLOC]IN-A
The man is in the/a tree.
Glossing Abbreviations: COMP = comparative, C = complementiser, ACS / ICS = accessible / inaccessible, GDV = gerundive, SPEC / NSPC = specific / non-specific, AG = agent, E = entity (person, animal, thing)
________
MY MUSIC | MY PLANTS
User avatar
Tuslaven Kukristo
cuneiform
cuneiform
Posts: 143
Joined: 31 Dec 2014 01:57

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Tuslaven Kukristo »

Image Teeverb Kuluxem:
Echyav tuhon nio shuharbo.
There is a man in the tree.

Tuhon echa' nio shuharbo.
A/The man is in the tree.
Fluent: :usa:
Learning: :esp: + :grc: + :rus: + :epo: + :heb: + Toki Pona + ASL
Conlang: Teeverb Kuluxem
User avatar
Xing
MVP
MVP
Posts: 4153
Joined: 22 Aug 2010 18:46

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Xing »

:con: leopardish

Nea ta mwena i ta pae.
be_located SG man LOC SG tree

This construction can correspond to either 'there is a man in the tree' or 'the man is in the tree'.

Nea ta mwena nea i ta pae
exist SG man be_located LOC SG tree

This construction would typically require an indefinite construction - 'there is a man in the tree'. Note how the verb nea appears twice - first to indicate existence, and then to indicate location. ('There is a man who is in the tree.')
User avatar
Lao Kou
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 5089
Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:39
Location: 蘇州/苏州

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Lao Kou »

Image Géarthnuns

Sö dhaubs la chau bursauv miçnakh.
INDEF man-NOM AUX.PRES DEF tree-LOC there.be
There's a man in the tree.

Sö dhaubs la chau bursauv mal.
INDEF man-NOM AUX.PRES DEF tree-LOC be.located
A man is in the tree.

Chö dhaubs la chau bursauv mal.
DEF man-NOM AUX.PRES DEF tree-LOC be.located
The man is in the tree.
Last edited by Lao Kou on 26 Mar 2016 15:03, edited 1 time in total.
道可道,非常道
名可名,非常名
masako
mayan
mayan
Posts: 1813
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 16:42

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by masako »

Imralu wrote:1. There's a man in the tree.
2. A man is in the tree.
3. The man is in the tree.
These are all pretty much the same in Kala....unless you wanna use the copula for emphasis, or whatever.

tlaka itohue
man tree-LOC

ke tlaka itohue a
O man tree-LOC COP

or

ke tlaka nahe ito a
O man within/in tree COP
g

o

n

e
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3930
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Khemehekis »

In Kankonian, "in a tree" is ash fega (ash means "on") when a creature is perched on a branch or is in a nest on a branch, and e fega (e means "in") when the creature is in a hole in the trunk of the tree.

Assuming the former is meant:

1. Wiri aas ash fega.
man exist-PRS on tree
There's a man in the tree.

2. Wiri as ash fega.
man PRS on tree
A man is in the tree.

3. Wiri as ash fega.
man PRS on tree
The man is in the tree.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 89,000 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
protondonor
cuneiform
cuneiform
Posts: 146
Joined: 07 Mar 2015 03:59

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by protondonor »

Kaimen Kēling has two separate copulas for existence and predication. There are no definite or indefinite articles. I still haven't worked out the postposition system fully but I think sisk will be a common spatial postposition meaning in, on, or at, for nouns like that don't use the locative case.
  1. ūra fūsk sisk amas
    man-NOM tree-ALL in exist-3SG
  2. ūra fūsk sisk ures
    man-NOM tree-ALL in be-3SG
  3. ūra fūsk sisk ures
    man-NOM tree-ALL in be-3SG
Nortaneous
greek
greek
Posts: 675
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 13:28

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Nortaneous »

Amqoli doesn't have a definiteness distinction, but you can use demonstratives, and topic marking is sort of relevant. There are no locative adpositions -- you have to use N>V derivation affixes.

1. Tsa qachxemcha bgul da.
[tsa qaˈtʃʰemtʃa bguɫ da]
3S.INAN NONF-tree-N>V.be_on man 3T.M.TOP.have

2. Bgul techxemchas.
[bəˈguɫ teˈtʃʰemtʃas]
man 3T.I.TOP-tree-N>V.be_on-3M.ABS

3. Lqora bgul tchxemcha.
[ɫʁo(ra) bguɫ təˈtʃʰemtʃa]
that.ERG man 3M.I.TOP-tree-N>V.be_on

----

Gehui has null in place of 'there is', but you can use a classifier for emphasis.

1. Mwoɕ ɗe ɣɔmw !añ !arp.
man be_at be_in tree CLF

2. Mwoɕ ɗe ɣɔmw !añ.
man be_at be_in tree

3. !Arp mwoɕ ɗe ɣɔmw !añ.
CLF man be_at be_in tree

Mwoɕ ɣɔmw !añ would be an error -- that means that the man is literally inside the tree.
User avatar
k1234567890y
mayan
mayan
Posts: 2402
Joined: 04 Jan 2014 04:47
Contact:

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by k1234567890y »

:con: Lonmai Luna

romanization: eso dal lir e bal on
interlinear: exist person inside at tree the
English translation: There's a man in the tree.

romanization: hi-les dal dul lir e bal on
interlinear: one-CLF person be.at inside at tree the
English translation: A man is in the tree.

romanization: dal on dul lir e bal on
interlinear: person the be.at inside at tree the
English translation: The man is in the tree.
I prefer to not be referred to with masculine pronouns and nouns such as “he/him/his”.
hoeroathlo
rupestrian
rupestrian
Posts: 21
Joined: 13 Oct 2014 15:38

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by hoeroathlo »

:con: Amehdenian Kehntra
e tohm eso ma siha ovoh
There's a man in the tree

ma siha ovoh to e tohm
A man is in the tree

ma siha ovoh to siha tohm
The man is in the tree

:con: Ginara Kehntra
epehm aso ma shia ohva
There's a man in the tree

ma siha ohva eto pehm
A man is in the tree

ma siha ohvo to siha pehm
The man is in the tree
User avatar
Jackk
roman
roman
Posts: 1487
Joined: 04 Aug 2012 13:08
Location: Damborn, Istr Boral

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Jackk »

Imralu wrote:1. There's a man in the tree.
2. A man is in the tree.
3. The man is in the tree.
:con: Chudihr
1. faŗ uida iebui şemon ainfai.
there see-1s.IMP SUBD-in-3s.IMP man tree-DAT-DEF

2. şemon ebui ainfai.
man in-3s.IMP tree-DAT-DEF

3. şemōn ebui ainfai.
man<DEF> in-3s.IMP tree-DAT-DEF
terram impūram incolāmus
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
Jojo87
hieroglyphic
hieroglyphic
Posts: 30
Joined: 28 Oct 2010 20:02
Location: Rome, Italy.

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Jojo87 »

:con: Maurs

The copula is a, which in inflected in the passive mood (as) to render the construction "there is".
The definite article is the prefix sa-
Finally, maurs uses relational nouns to indicate positions, together with the locative particle ta.

As son ta sura samokun.
COP-PASS man LOC top DEF-tree-GEN
There is a man in the tree.

Son a ta sura samokun
man COP LOC top DEF-tree-GEN
A man is in the tree.

Sason a ta sura samokun
DEF-man COP LOC top DEF-tree-GEN
The man is in the tree.
Currently working on: :con: Maurs mọs
---
Usual disclaimer about English not being my native language bla bla bla.
Prinsessa
runic
runic
Posts: 2647
Joined: 07 Nov 2011 14:42

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Prinsessa »

Considering using cases after all, in which case mine would be something like this for all three of them:

tree-LOC man

Not sure where my phonology is at the moment, but going by earlier iterations, we'd get perhaps this:

hōs mū

No definite. No number either, so there could be many trees and many men.
User avatar
Chagen
runic
runic
Posts: 3338
Joined: 03 Sep 2011 05:14
Location: Texas

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Chagen »

:con: Pazmat:

Pazmat generally doesn't use a copula for sentences like 2 and 3, instead merely juxtaposing the two words together. Using the copula gives a sense like 1.

1: qūḥ vajhāva yētha
man.INDEF.SG tree-DEF.SG-LOC be.IMPERF-3S

2: qūḥ vajhāva
man.INDEF.SG tree-DEF.SG-LOC

3: qiḥā vajhāva
man-DEF.SG tree-DEF.SG-LOC
Nūdenku waga honji ma naku honyasi ne ika-ika ichamase!
female-appearance=despite boy-voice=PAT hold boy-youth=TOP very be.cute-3PL
Honyasi zō honyasi ma naidasu.
boy-youth=AGT boy-youth=PAT love.romantically-3S
User avatar
Omzinesý
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 4115
Joined: 27 Aug 2010 08:17
Location: nowhere [naʊhɪɚ]

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Omzinesý »

Suyra

1. There's a man in the tree.
I macíy kós (loyan).
of tree man in_it

2.
- The subject just must be somewhat definite in Suyra.
- If there is a group of known men.
A man is in the tree.
Ke yos ŋhós maciy alyon.
C one PART-man tree be_in

-If I see a man in a tree and report it as a completely new thing.
A man is in the tree.
Kos ó maciy alyon.
man oh tree be_in

3. The man is in the tree.
Kós maciy alyon.
man tree be_in
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
User avatar
gestaltist
mayan
mayan
Posts: 1617
Joined: 11 Feb 2015 11:23

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by gestaltist »

1. There's a man in the tree.
2. A man is in the tree.
3. The man is in the tree.

Polish:
1. Na (tym) drzewie jest mężczyzna.
2. (Jakiś) mężczyzna jest na drzewie.
3. (Ten) mężczyzna jest na drzewie.

Current revision of Ardanian/Hallti
1. Taruah, kku kkimu ma. /taʀu̯aɦ, k’u k’imu ma/
Tree-DEF, man be.on-G1 it(G3).
2. Kku kkimu taral. /k’u k’imu taʀal/
Man be.on-G1 tree.
3. Kkunnah kkimmah taral. /k’uah k’im’ah taʀal/
Man-DEF be.on-DEF tree.
User avatar
Sḿtuval
greek
greek
Posts: 715
Joined: 10 Oct 2013 00:56
Location: California

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Sḿtuval »

While there may not be any difference between the first two sentences (which is why I only have two sentences translated), this gives me a chance to use my locative copula. I only have about two of the (irregular) forms out of 35 inflected forms I should have. It's a good thing this translation uses one of the two.

Image Kauzasian

uaṭin viem (niŋŋane) eŋŋag sa
be_at-IND.PROG.NPST tree-ABS.SG (male-ERG.N) person-ERG.SG the
The man is in the tree.

uaṭin viem (niŋŋane) eŋŋag ivi
be_at-IND.PROG.NPST tree-ABS.SG (male-ERG.N) person-ERG.SG a
A man is in the tree.

I'd usually omit the niŋŋane "male" since gender isn't really important/relevant to the phrase's meaning. Also, Kauzasian's genders aren't masculine and feminine; they're common and neuter.
I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.
GrandPiano
mayan
mayan
Posts: 2080
Joined: 11 Jan 2015 23:22
Location: USA

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by GrandPiano »

:zho: Mandarin (simplified characters)

树木里有人。
tree in there.is person
There is a man in the tree.

一个人在树木里。
one CL person at tree in
A man is in the tree.

人在树木里。
person at tree in
The man is in the tree.

Not sure if the 一个 in the second one is necessary without context, but with the right context, the last two could definitely be the same.
User avatar
Lao Kou
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 5089
Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:39
Location: 蘇州/苏州

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by Lao Kou »

GrandPiano wrote: :zho: Mandarin (simplified characters)

树木里有人。
tree in there.is person
There is a man in the tree.

一个人在树木里。
one CL person at tree in
A man is in the tree.

人在树木里。
person at tree in
The man is in the tree.
I'd understand 树木里 as "in the woods/trees".
道可道,非常道
名可名,非常名
GrandPiano
mayan
mayan
Posts: 2080
Joined: 11 Jan 2015 23:22
Location: USA

Re: There's a man in the tree ... etc.

Post by GrandPiano »

Hm... How would you phrase it, then?
Post Reply