The CBB

(1) He works like a slave. (That is, you're comparing his workload to that of a slave)

(2) He works as a slave. (That is, he is somebody's slave)




(1) Han jobbar som en slav.
[han ˈjɔbːa‿ʂɔm ɛn slɒːv]
3s.M work.PRS like INDEF.SG slave

(2) Han jobbar som slav.
[han ˈjɔbːa‿ʂɔm slɒːv]
3s.M work.PRS as slave

Wakeu

(1) E keirami kia ke tina o raikamu.
[e kəi̯ˈɾʲaːmʲi ˈkiːa kə ˈtʲiːnʲa o ɾʲai̯ˈkɑːm]
PRS ANTIPASS.work ERG SG

(2) E rami a kia raikamu.
[e ˈɾʲaːmʲi aː ˈkiːa ɾʲai̯ˈkɑːm]
PRS work ERG SG slave

Spanish:

Trabaja como esclavo.
work-3S as slave
He works as a slave.

Trabaja como un esclavo.
work-3S as a slave
He works like a slave.

I don't have the Alahithian vocab so I'll just gloss.

He works like a slave.
3s work-PRS slave-ADV
(oñ avey-t dot-a)

He works as a slave.
3s work-PRS slave as
(oñ avey-t dot kam)

(avey and dot not actual Alahithian words, they're just to give examples)

1) He works like a slave.
2) He works as a slave.

Zidhgebzhail - Usually doesn't make the distinction between the English 'as' and 'like' in this situation, but there are workarounds available.

1a) zy kjaupunzhozoeng Augh.
z-y kjaupunzh-oz-oeng Ø-Au-gh
3-ABS.SG.M hard_labour-man-ESSIVE.SG.M PRS-do-HABITUAL
He does/works as hard-labour-man.

Or

1b) zy kjaupunzhozuif Augh.
z-y kjaupunzh-oz-uif Ø-Au-gh
3-ABS.SG.M hard_labour-man-ADV.SG.M PRS-do-HABITUAL
He does/works 'hard-labour-manly'.

2) zy kjaupunzhozoeng-zoedae Augh
z-y kjaupunzhoz-oeng-z-oed-ae Au-gh
3-ABS.SG.M hard_labour-man-ESSIVE.SG.M-3-one-GEN.SG.M PRS-do-HABITUAL
He does/works as someone's hard-labour-man.

If the verb core (root) '-Au-' is used transitively it means 'do', when used intransitively, it can be taken to mean 'work'.

I'd tried to avoid coming up with a word for 'slave' in Zidhgebzhail, but never mind. For reference, a female slave would be 'kjapunzhaza' (notice the mutation of the first vowel), while an animal used for work (as opposed to a wild animal or a pet) would be 'kjaupunzhgiel'.

I believe French works the same way as Spanish in this case.

Il travaille comme esclave.
3.SG.M work as slave
He works as a slave.

Il travaille comme un esclave.
3.SG.M work as a slave
He works like a slave.


Selvesco does this, too.

Uobra cuomo sczavo.
Work-3.SG as slave
He works as a slave.

Uobra cuomo uni sczavo.
Work-3.SG as a slave
He works like a slave.

"He works like a slave" could also be translated as "Trevalha."

(1) Er arbeit-et wie ein Sklave.
3.SG.NOM work-IND.PRS.3.SG like INDEF.SG.NOM slave
He works like a slave.

A less literal one, including a more negative conotation towards the work

(1) Er schuft-et wie ein Sklave.
3.SG.NOM graft-IND.PRS.3.SG like INDEF.SG.NOM slave
He works like a slave.


(2) Er arbeit-et als Sklave.
3.SG.NOM work-IND.PRS.3.SG as INDEF.SG.NOM slave
He works as a slave.

The second sentence looks a bit strange in German. <Arbeiten> is usually associated with a certain volition and/or payment.
You would rather say, that he is a slave (<Er ist ein Sklave>).
This is possibly due to the associated social state. I don't really know if the english sentence sounds equally weird to your ears.

Both sentences make sense to me, but more or less with the first meaning. Also, I would almost always use sentence #1.
Sentence #2 sounds a bit old-fashioned to this speaker. I think it's because "work like a slave" is a formulaic idiom, and pretty rife with the context of history especially.

For #2, using <as> sounds like it needs a qualifying phrase to come after, such as <in that community>, or <in that household>. I would say "He functions as a slave (in that community, in that household)".

Incidentally, I googled <work like a slave> and <work as a slave>. For <work like a slave>, before I hit the magnifying-glass button, I got five suggestions using that phrase automatically. I got pages of hits (3,970,000 results) with those exact words in that exact order, without using quotes. When I typed in <work as a slave>, I got nothing with that exact phrasing first. I used quotes. No suggestions came up in the box, but I did get some pages (13,400 results). I read the first two pages of results to check (20 pages). A couple were accidental hits like "It was sung as a shanty but floating verses make it work as a slave plantation work song ". A webpage from Australia made the most sense in the use/conext of <work as a slave>. For example, "work as a slave for a day", i.e. "volunteer to do jobs no one else would do" (sic. at the office). Also pages that used "forced to work as a slave". The other results, to me, read as if they needed to use <work like a slave> instead.

Hra'anh also doesn't have the vocab as of yet. So I'll create it.

Pep esi iah rek koroto.
3SM SIM ART slave work.IND
"He works like a slave."

Pep rekhroto.
3SM slave.work.IND
"He slaves away," or "He works as a slave."

This is a bad example, though. A much better example would be something like doctor instead of slave.

Ipf esi iah norel koroto.
3SF SIM ART doctor work.IND
"She works like a doctor," which is also slang for, "She's a workaholic." One famous instance of this is when king Chf'drak said this to his sister Aza, which was the biggest factor in prompting her to step down as queen.

Ipf kores'noro chtelik.
3SF work.doctor do-IND
"She works as a doctor," lit. "She does doctor-work."

A third option, reserved only for a fellow with a blue box:
Pe Norel ze.
3SM Doctor COP
"He's The Doctor."

Mbrsart - point & match

He slaves away

This is a bad example, though. A much better example would be something like doctor instead of slave.

Dr. Who insert


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf2peBPTUGI
(the only clip I could remember that had a bunch of people saying the eternal name)

"Works like a doctor" as an idiom for working hard? I can't seem to ever recall hearing it used that way. I usually hear about doctors slacking off playing golf on the insurance's dime and being consistently late for appointments making folks wait for hours.

Maybe I need to see a doctor somewhere else.

In Spanish, the idiom for working hard is "trabajar como un chino", lit. working like a Chinese person.
The opposite could be expressed by "no dar palo al agua", lit. not throwing any stick into the water.

XXXVII wrote:"Works like a doctor" as an idiom for working hard? I can't seem to ever recall hearing it used that way. I usually hear about doctors slacking off playing golf on the insurance's dime and being consistently late for appointments making folks wait for hours.

Maybe I need to see a doctor somewhere else.

I think "doctor" was just a subsitution for the stickier "slave".


Hospital doctors can work long, long shifts. Office doctors, not so much.
My uncle was an anesthesiologist from WWII army corps until he "retired" about thirty years ago. I put that in quotes b/c ten years before retiring, he started teaching part-time at local universities. He was so good, one hospital he worked for would not let him retire, and continued calling him preferentially for about 10-12 years. At ninety-two, he has completely retired from surgery, but still teaches interns (!). He loves his work immensely. He also is a dedicated parent (9 children), loving grandparent (26), and super-doting great-grandparent (3 or 4). He's 100% red-looded Acadian from Rhode Island, and was the first person to teach me .

I can agree that "work as a slave" may not be the most idiomatic example. Feel free to change it to another occupation if you want. (Like "He works as a salesclerk" or whatever.)

Slave is not an occupation, it is a status.

In Finnish it would be said:

'He works as a slave.'
Hän työskentelee orjana.
hän työ-skentele-e orja-na
sg3 work-DER-sg3 slave-ESS

But slave, being not an occupation, makes it sound somewhat odd.

'He is forced to work as a slave.'
Hänet on pakotettu työskentelemään orjana.
häne-t on pako-te-ttu työ-skentele-mä-än orja-na
sg3-ACC is force-PASS-PASS.PST.PRTC work-DER-INF3-ILL slave-ESS

That would be contextually better.

'He works like a slave.'
Hän työskentelee kuin orja.
hän työ-skentele-e kuin orja
sg3 work-DER-sg3 like slave

XXXVII wrote:"Works like a doctor" as an idiom for working hard? I can't seem to ever recall hearing it used that way. I usually hear about doctors slacking off playing golf on the insurance's dime and being consistently late for appointments making folks wait for hours.

Maybe I need to see a doctor somewhere else.

Yes, medical care on Hra is probably the best in the galaxy. It's also pretty cheap, since doctors work for lower comparative wages than they do on Earth. But they don't do any work on you unless you need it. If you go to the ER with a cold on Hra, they turn you away with a scowl.

Mandarin

他象奴隶一样工作。
Tā xiàng núlì yīyàng gōngzuò.
3SG.MASC resemble slave same work
He works like a slave.

他是一个奴隶。
Tā shì yī gè núlì.
3SG.MASC COP one CL slave
He is a slave.

Süm jaroz

Münöh melzüngímür.
[ˈmynøç ˈmɛlzyŋiːmyr]
work-3SG.PRS slave-COMP
He works like a slave.

Münöh melzüngiri.
[ˈmynøç ˈmɛlzyŋiri]
work-3SG.PRS slave-ESS
He works as a slave.

Yélian

Tivelet cet crayo.
[[tɨˈʋeːlət‿ət‿ˈɾaːʃo]]
work-3SG like slave
He works like a slave.

Movrosbit crayo.
[ˈmɔʊ̯ɾɔsbɨt‿ˈɾaːʃo]
occupational-COP.3SG.ANIM slave
He is a slave.

griuskant (without the conscript)

raes yalda iki hizyalde.
/'res 'jalda 'iki 'hizjaldə/
3SG work-V as-A forced.work-N

raes az hizyalde.
/'res az 'hizjaldə/
3SG is forced.work-N