Re:Reverse Engineering the Japanese Sentence
by sova on Friday October 09, 2020 @12:05AM
(#24726709)
One keen insight I have had recently into the stratification between mathematics and language is that language immediately presents the 5 or 6 main "Who, what, when, where, how," as we introduce more language. Mathematics can start with few axioms or many. Taking those points in mind, I think there can be a lot of similarity when thinking around an equals sign and the verb is/to be.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Reverse Engineering the Japanese Sentence
by wolfgke on Friday October 09, 2020 @04:01AM
(#24727825)
> Taking those points in mind, I think there can be a lot of similarity when thinking around an equals sign and the verb is/to be.
I am cautious about this: In Spanish and Portuguese, there exist two "to be": ser and estar, which roughly refer to "general situation" vs. "current state".
For European Portuguese, pedrocr gave a nice explanation on HN in the past: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12879529
So, don't confuse
(Spanish)
Tú eres linda.
Tú estás linda.
(Portuguese)
Você é linda.
Você está linda.
("you are gorgeous" (referring to a female person)). The second means that she is currently beautiful with a possible hint that she might normally be ugly.