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Lesson 50: Comparisons, Part 2

Vocabulary


	éeba		to be portentous
	éelen		grape(s)
	halid		competition [hal (work) + –id (masculine)]
	harathal		be bad (of time) [hath (time) + rathal (bad)]
	hesho		to surpass (in comparatives)
	hish		snow
	lorolo		thunder
	ralili		to be dry
	shel		to be rigorous
	yib		to be solid (rather than gaseous or liquid)

Explicit Comparison

[(Aux) Verb:“hesho” (Neg) CP–S]

The implicit comparison is very flexible and useful, but occasionally we don’t have all the information, or the point of our discourse would be obfuscated by the inclusion of the degrees of VERBing found in each of the things being compared.

As a general principle, the form of an explicit comparative statement involves a statement that two or more things share some characteristic followed by a statement that one of them surpasses the other or others. No information need be provided beyond the fact that one or another of the things surpasses.

Suzette Haden Elgin gives this account of her answer to the expressed need for an explicit comparative structure in Láadan.

This came up in an issue of the newsletter that (briefly) was published by the original Láadan Network. The solution I chose was based on the comparative construction used in Kumeyaay, a Native American language of California. In Kumeyaay, when you want to say “The tree is taller than the bush” you say, literally, “The tree is tall; the bush is tall; the tree wins.” That’s the basic pattern, and it works very well. Suppose in Láadan you want to say that X is more beautiful than Y, or that Y is less beautiful than X. It’s done by saying, literally, “X is beautiful; Y is beautiful; X surpasses.” (Or “Y is beautiful; X is beautiful; X surpasses.” The order is irrelevant.) For “nobody surpasses,” (X and Y are equally beautiful, X is as beautiful as Y), you’d use “rawith,” the word for “nobody.” The verb for “surpasses” is “hesho;” I have it in my dictionary as “hesho—to surpass; used in comparatives.”

Examples

In these examples, I will present a fairly literal transposition from Láadan followed by a more natural English translation.


Bíi íthi yu wa. Íthi mi. Hesho mi.
	The fruit is high. The leaf is high. The leaf surpasses.
		The leaf is higher than the fruit.

Bíi mehíya rul i zhub wa. Hesho zhub.
	A cat and the insect are small. The insect surpasses.
		The insect is smaller than a cat.

Notice in the examples above that the sentences after the first need neither Type-of-Sentence Words nor Evidence Words. In connected speech (or writing), when these two words would remain the same they need not be repeated for sentences after the first—though of course they may be, at the speaker’s discretion.


Bíi melaya mi i mahina wi; báa hesho mahina?
	The leaf and the flower are red (obviously); does the flower surpass?
		Is the flower redder than the leaf?

Here, of course, the Type-of-Sentence Word and Evidence Word must be included in the second clause because they differ from those in the first. Well, actually, a question requires no Evidence Word, so none is included in the second clause.


Bíi melaya mi i mahina wi; hesho bebáa?
	The leaf and the flower are red (obviously); what surpasses?
		Which is redder, the flower or the leaf?

This is only a slight variation on the previous example, but with a form of the word “bebáa” included, the second clause is obviously a question, so the interrogative Type-of-Sentence Word can be omitted. However, a Type-of-Sentence Word can always be included even when not necessary; it would be perfectly grammatical.


Bíi meyide with i háawith i áwith; mehesho áwith i háawith; heshohul áwith wa.
	The woman, the child and the baby are hungry; the baby and the child surpass; the baby surpasses very much.
		The child is hungrier than the woman; the baby is much hungrier than either of them.

Yes, we can combine implicit comparisons (hesho vs heshohul) with explicit comparisons—to great effect, as we see here.

Exercises

Translate the following into English, literally and colloquially.


1	Bíi íthi bo, i mehíthi boshum wa. Mehesho boshum.
2	Bíi meliyen éelen hin i hesh; hesho hesh wa.
3	Bíi meralili dun i olin i shée; hesho shée wi.
4	Bíi meshud thi with radaletheháa i edethi ra witheháa; hesho edethi ra witheháa wa.
5	Bíi mehowa yul i lali wa. Báa hesho yul?
6	Bíi lath i lawida dosh wáa. Báa hesho bebáa?

Form explicit comparisons from the supplied verb and nouns (the underlined noun will surpass); translate into English, literally and colloquially.


7	meénan, yu, thu
8	líithi, hish, mel beye
9	rúsho, zhu, yob, lhu (yes-no question)
10	shane, babí, rul (wh-question)
11	thal, ada, lalom
12	dazh, owe, thom

Translate the following into Láadan using explicit comparisons.


13	The fish is saltier than the bread; the soup is saltier than either.
14	The many rocks are not wetter than the road.
15	Mathematics is more rigorous than peace-science or anthropology.
16	Is the beverage sourer than the vegetable?
17	The foal is funnier than the kitten.
18	Which is more portentous: the smell of a meal or the sound of music [in a dream]?

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Answers


1	The mountain is high, and the clouds are high. The clouds surpass.
1	The clouds are higher than the mountain.
2	These grapes and the grass are green; the grass surpasses.
2	The grass is greener than these grapes.
3	The field, the forest and the desert are all dry; the desert surpasses, obviously.
3	The desert is clearly drier than either the field or the forest.
4	A person who has nothing and a person who does not share are poor; the person who does not share surpasses.
4	A person who does not share is poorer than a person who has nothing.
5	The wind and the rain are both warm. Does the wind surpass?
5	Is the wind warmer than the rain?
6	Celibacy and pregnancy are burdens. Which surpasses?
6	Which is the greater burden: celibacy or pregnancy?

7	Bíi memeénan yu i thu; hesho thu wa.
	Fruit and honey are sweet; honey surpasses.
	Honey is sweeter than fruit.
8	Bíi líithi hish wa. Líithi mel beye. Hesho hish.
	The snow is white. Some paper is white. The snow surpasses.
	The snow is whiter than some paper.
9	Bíi merúsho zhu, yob i lhu wa. Báa hesho lhu?
	Tea, coffee and poison are bitter. Does the poison surpass?
	Is poison bitterer than tea or coffee?
10	Bíi meshane babí i rul wa. Báa hesho bebáa?
	The bird and the cat are furry/downy. Which surpasses?
	Is the bird or the cat furrier/downier?
11	Bíi methal ada i lalom wa. Bíi hesho ada wa.
	Laughter and singing are good. Laughter surpasses.
	Laughter is better than singing.
12	Bíi medazh owe i thom; hesho owe wa.
	The garment and a pillow are soft; the garment surpasses.
	The garment is softer than a pillow.

13	Bíi memáanan thili i bal i thulana wa. Hesho thili, i heshohal thulana.
14	Bíi lili weth; íi melili ud menedebe; mehesho ra ud wa.
15	Bíi meshel elamith, eshon i ewith; hesho elamith wáa.
16	Bíi meyem rana i meda wáa; báa hesho rana?
17	Bíi medóhada áhomid i árul wa. Hesho áhomid.
18	Bíi mehéeba aba anadalethu i zho alehalethu we. Báa hesho bebáa?

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