> > > From: "S.E Brewer" > > > > I came across the follow two abstract sentences that I found confusing as I > > was reading. > > > The two sentences mean the same...but are written differently...why is this ?? > > > > The sentences are: Mi fyddai hi yn galw i'n gweld ni bron bob nos. > > AND > > Mi wnai hi alw i'n gweld ni bron bob nos. > > You're talking about galw > alw, right? Take your choice of the > following explanations of the mutation in "mi wnai hi alw": > > (1) because it's the direct object of "wnai" -- literally, 'she made > a calling' > > (2) because it's a nominal element (in this case, a verb-noun) > immediately to the right of another nominal element (in this case, > a pronoun) and not in a genitive construction with it. > > > > > Then another two sentences I found..also meaning the same...but written differ > en > > tly..please help with this as well: > > > > 'Roedd ef heb ddarllen y llyfr. > > AND > > Nid oedd ef wedi darllen y llyr. > > Once upon a time, this would have been "ni ddarlenasai (ef) y llyfr", > which is the conjugated pluperfect tense -- and still might be the > way you'd write 'he hadn't read the book' in very formal contexts. > > Latterly, Welsh has taken to avoiding conjugated verb forms, or > reserving them for remoter or semantically more complex roles: "ni > ddarlenasai'r llyfr" is still in use for the past conditional -- 'he > wouldn't have read the book'. To give the pluperfect > meaning nowadays you use a periphrasis -- some form of words that > amounts to the meaning you want without expressing it directly. The > two you quote mean literally 'he was without a reading of the book' > and 'he wasn't after a reading of the book'. Take your pick. > > Once a construction like this becomes usual enough, of course, > there's no longer any justification for saying that you're not > expressing your meaning directly; and it's fair to say, I think, that > the construction in "nid oedd ef wedi darllen y llyfr" is now a > or the standard way of expressing the pastness of an event in > relation to some point in the past. > > > > The Welshman stuck in South africa for another year.... > > It's not as bad as all that, is it? > > > > ************************ > > Nigel Love > Linguistics > Cape Town > > NLOVE@BEATTIE.UCT.AC.ZA > ************************ > Hi all...as you can see I asked the above questions.... Let me introduce myself: My name is Shane Brewer...not Steve as some people have called me ;) [ Hey Roland ??] I'm originally from Wales..I was born in the South of wales...which accounts for my southern welsh !! I was born in Pembroke. As my Welsh is not that Academic..I prefer to write in English, but will continue to contribute. Thanks all for listening to me prattle on :) Hwyl pab, Shane The Welshman stuck in South africa for another year.... and yes..it can be bad ;)