The CBB

I was watching this documentary, and a misunderstanding of English at about 9:20 gave me inspiration for this TC:



What is kimchi made of?

Kimchi is made of vegetables.

Who makes kimchi?

My wife makes kimchi.

Wakeu

(E) tea kimitii a mwea?
PRS make kimchi INSTR what
[eː ˈceːa ˌkiːmiˈciː ˌaː ˈmˠeːa]

(E) tea kimitii a pane.
(PRS) make kimchi INSTR vegetable
[eː ˈceːa ˌkiːmiˈciː ˌaː ˈpaːne

(E) tea a mwei kimitii?
(PRS) make ERG who kimchi
[eː ˈceːa ˌa mˠiː ˌkiːmiˈciː]

(E) tea a ta ngoe mai kimitii.
(PRS) make ERG SG wife 1s kimchi
[eː ˈceːa ˌaː ca ˈŋoːe mʲa͡i̯ ˌkiːmiˈciː]

Mmm, kimchi. Thank you for bringing that up! Now my conpeople get to enjoy mere, a dish of pickled and spiced leafy vegetables.

Rireinutire:

meremu yokire teñekayo:
mere.mu yoki.re teñe.ka.yo
kimchi.ACC what.ELA make.PRS.Q
What is kimchi made of?

meremu meyare teñekave:
mere.mu meya.re teñe.ka.ve
kimchi.ACC vegetable.ELA make.PRS.HSY
Kimchi is made of vegetables.

merena yoku teñekayo:
mere.na yoku teñe.ka.yo
kimchi.PTV who.NOM make.PRS.Q
Who makes kimchi?

merena mano haha teñekava:
mere.na ma.no haha teñe.ka.va
kimchi.PTV 1S.GEN wife.NOM make.PRS.SENS
My wife makes kimchi.

Kimchi 4ümn mej seo no?
Kimchi cook PASS from what?
What is kimchi made of?

Kimchi 4ümn mej seo 5inf.
Kimchi cook PASS from vegetable.
Kimchi is made of vegetables.

Onч 4ümn kimchi?
Who cook kimchi?
Who makes kimchi?

Жajջ jon 4ümn kimchi.
Wife 1 cook kimchi.
My wife makes kimchi.

Géarthnuns

Chöi kímchílats la chensan höbzherön?
[tʃøj 'kimtʃilats 'la 'tʃɛ̃san hø'bʒɛɾøn]
DEF kimchi-NOM AUX.PRES what-INSTR be.made.of-INTERR
What is kimchi made of?

Chöi kímchílats la sak dhaurstensaf bzherön.
[tʃøj 'kimtʃilats 'la sak ðɔɾ'stɛ̃saf 'bʒɛɾøn]
DEF kimchi-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF.PL vegetable-INSTR.PL be.made.of
Kimchi is made of vegetables.

Cheths lav söi kímchílatsöit hödravnath?
[tʃɛθs 'lav søj 'kimtʃi'latsøjt hø'dɾavnaθ]
who-NOM AUX.PRES.IMPERS INDEF kimchi-ACC make-INTERR
Who makes kimchi?

Cha írévens la söi kímchílatsöit dravnath.
[tʃa 'iɾevɛ̃s 'la søj 'kimtʃi'latsøjt 'dɾavnaθ]
DEF wife-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF kimchi-ACC make
My wife makes kimchi.

I can't watch YouTube, so I'll fudge on what the misunderstandings might be. The first two sentences could go into the transcendent tense for gnomic value -- kinda depends on context. For the third, if one were expecting an answer like, "The Koreans make kimchi.", kimchi would take the definite article and the auxiliary might go transcendent. As I've translated it, it feels like, "Who's making kimchi?" or "Who makes kimchi (at your house)?" If the fourth went with the definite article and a possible transcendent auxiliary, it would suggest that it's her job or cosmic lot in life: My wife - the kimchi-maker! All four in the transcendent in the same conversational cycle would just be overkill.

It's a confusion between agent and material. The misunderstanding takes place during an English lesson, where a teacher asks a student "who makes kimchi"? - apparently intending to ask who in the student's household is making it. The student answers: "vegetable" - apparently having grasped the questions as "what kind of stuff is used to make kimchi".

In Swedish, one can say something like "på den här fabriken tillverkas skor av barn" - which, at least theoretically, could be ambiguous between "in this factory, shoes are made by children", and "in this factory, shoes are made of children".

who - agent
what - material

?

images/smilies/icon_con.gif Roguel:
What is kimchi made of?
Kimci tajo hanypetekina?
kimchi what-INST make-PASS-3SG-Q
Kimchi is made of vegetables.
Zartajo hanypetek.
vegetable-INST make-PASS-3SG
Who makes kimchi?
Taci kimcihanyekina?
who kimchi-make-3SG-Q
My wife makes kimchi.
Haregut kimcihanyek.
wife-1SG.GEN kimchi-make-3SG

What is kimchi made of?
Jaach laayekee-jen kiinchii yaan?
What make-PERF kimchi of?

Kimchi is made of vegetables.
Kiinchii laayekee-jen yaan e-geedzaash.
Kimchi made-PERF of PL-vegetable.

Who makes kimchi?
Jeech laayekeen kiinchii?
Who make kimchi?

My wife makes kimchi.
Sekl saawda liikaanii laayekeen kiinchii.
1S.GEN female spouse make kimchi.

Often, the saawda in the fourth example will be dropped, making it just Sekl liikaanii laayekeen kiinchii, my spouse makes kimchi.

Mandarin (attempt)

韓式泡菜由什么成？
Hánshì pàocài yóu shénme chéng?
Korean Kimchi from what become
What is Kimchi made of?

韓式泡菜由菜成。
Hánshì pàocài yóu cài chéng.
Korean Kimchi from vegetable become
Kimchi is made of vegetables.

谁做韓式泡菜？
Shéi zuò hánshì pàocài?
who make Korean Kimchi
who makes Korean Kimchi?

我妻子做韓式泡菜。
Wǒ qīzi zuò hánshì pàocài.
1SG wife make Korean Kimchi
My wife makes Korean Kimchi.

Süm jaroz

Söthrök sûrenpe kimči?
[ˈsøθrøk ˈsyːrɛmpɛ ˈkintʃi]
cook-3SG.PRS-PASS INTER-ESS=from-INTER kimchi
What is kimchi made of?

Söthrök kimči gômörenet.
[ˈsøθrøk ˈkintʃi ˈgøːmørɛnɛt]
cook-3SG.PRS-PASS kimchi vegetable-ESS.PL=from
Kimchi is made of vegetables.

Söthröpe tagh kimčis?
[ˈsøθrøpɛ tɑχ ˈkintʃi]
cook-3SG.PRS-INTER INTER-ANIM kimchi-ACC
Who makes kimchi?

Sivám söthör kimčis.
[ˈsiʋaːm ˈsøθør ˈkintʃis]
wife-1SG.POSS cook-3SG.PRS kimchi-ACC
My wife makes kimchi.

griuskant (without the conscript)

kimci thaenan vaezh va?
/'kimtʃi 'θenan veʒ 'va/
kimchi material-V-PASS with what

kimci thaenan vaezh lec.
/'kimtʃi 'θenan veʒ 'lətʃ/
kimchi material-V-PASS with vegetable

vi ara kimci?
/'vi 'ara 'kimtʃi/
who do-V kimchi

aeskae thafjuisk ara kimci.
/'eske 'θafdʒuisk 'ara 'kimtʃi/
1SG-POSS love.partner do-V kimchi