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Lesson 56: Comparisons, Part 3

The title of this lesson is a trifle misleading. This is not a lesson about comparisons, per se, but rather an advanced lesson on Degree Markers (which can be used in implicit comparisons).

The degree-markers we’ve seen up ’til now are all Neutral Degree Markers. They state a degree—without any judgment; they don’t indicate an emotional response to that degree. There are also Degree Markers that convey, along with the degree, an emotional response (either “opposed to” or “in favor of”). There is a set that conveys a negative response (“opposed to”) and another set that conveys a positive response (“in favor of”).

Vocabulary

Neutral Degree Markers

We’ve seen these already. I’m presenting them here for the sake of completeness.


	–hel		to a trivial degree; slightly
	–hil		to a minor degree; rather; somewhat
	–Ø		no lexicalized information about degree
	–hal		to an unusual degree; quite
	–hul		to an extreme degree; *also negative:* to a violent degree
	–háalish		to an extraordinary degree

Negative Degree Markers


	–hele		to a troublesome degree; **also neutral or positive: much**
	–hile		to a severe degree; **also neutral or positive: great**
	–hule		to an intolerable degree
	–shule		special emergency form: unbearable to a degree that would cause catastrophic events such as suicide; a signal for immediate help

Positive Degree Markers


	–théle		to a pleasing degree; fine
	–thíle		to a more-than-pleasing degree; excellent
	–thúul		to an extraordinarily pleasing degree; magnificent
	–thúle		to the furthest degree of pleasingness possible; perfect

Interrogative Degree Marker


	–haba		“to what degree”; “how VERB” {AB}

Examples

Interrogative


	Báa ralóolo memazh?		Is the train fast?
	Báa ralóolohaba memazh?		How fast is the train?

Neutral


	Bíi íthihel math wa.		The building is trivially tall.
	Bíi íthihil math wa.		The building is tall to a minor degree.
	Bíi íthihil math wa.		The building is tall (to unspecified degree).
	Bíi íthihele math wa.		The building is much tall.
	Bíi íthihal math wa.		The building is unusually tall.
	Bíi íthihile math wa.		The building is greatly tall.
	Bíi íthihul math wa.		The building is extremely tall.
	Bíi íthiháalish math wa.		The building is extraordinarily tall.

Positive


	Bíi mehabahel mahina wa.		The flowers are trivially fragrant.
	Bíi mehabahil mahina wa.		The flowers are fragrant to a minor degree.
	Bíi mehaba mahina wa.		The flowers are fragrant (to unspecified degree).
	Bíi mehabahele mahina wa.		The flowers are much fragrant.
	Bíi mehabathéle mahina wa.		The flowers are fragrant to a pleasing degree.
	Bíi mehabahal mahina wa.		The flowers are unusually fragrant.
	Bíi mehabahile mahina wa.		The flowers are greatly fragrant.
	Bíi mehabathíle mahina wa.		The flowers are fragrant to an excellent degree.
	Bíi mehabathúul mahina wa.		The flowers are magnificently fragrant.
	Bíi mehabahul mahina wa.		The flowers are extremely fragrant.
	Bíi mehabaháalish mahina wa.		The flowers are extraordinarily fragrant.
	Bíi mehabathúle mahina wa.		The flowers are fragrant to a perfect degree.

Negative

Note that any Negative Degree Marker more intense than “–Ø” can be translated into English as being “too...” in some degree. On the other hand, of course, “–hel” and “–hil” (both less intense than “–Ø”), when used in a negative context, decries the lack of intensity; this is shown in the first two examples below.


	Bíi ham owahel wa.		It (the weather) is not nearly warm enough.
	Bíi ham owahil wa.		It’s not quite warm enough.
	Bíi ham owa wa.		It’s warm (to unspecified degree).
	Bíi ham owahele wa.		It’s troublesomely (slightly too) warm.
	Bíi ham owahal wa.		It’s unusually (a bit too) warm.
	Bíi ham owahile wa.		It’s severely (too) hot.
	Bíi ham owahul wa.		It’s violently (too) hot.
	Bíi ham owaháalish wa.		It’s extraordinarily (too) hot.
	Bíi ham owahule wa.		It’s intolerably (too) hot.
	Bíi ham owashule wa.		It’s so hot, I’m going to have to do something rash is someone doesn’t help!

Exercises

Translate the following into English


1	Bíi aril shóo shun didenalethíle háasháaleya aril wáa.
2	Bíi eril shudehile onida letha wa; mehabelid lan wohíyahele woshodeha shin neda.
3	Bée loláad eduthahá zharatheshule bróo eril shebasheb áwith radóon bethowáan wáa.
4	Báa owahaba Adalatham wohan woHalishónaha? E owathéle e owahule be?
5	Bíi mezhedi yodá thalehal ana, íizh máananehel behé wáa.
6	Bíi eríli nédehul i dihul worawoth wohuhid mehel with lhebetho wohóyathúul wodéelath lhebedáahé wáa.
7	Bíi eril búhele dadem mudathu esheha nil wa.
8	Bíide eril shumáad áalaá íthinaleháalish, id shumáad be heb; medibithim háawith beth widahath rahíthinalehil be wa.
9	Bíi rahíyahele woliyen woháabe wi; báa shohile be íi?
10	Bíi eril redeb ewithá eríli mehel wíitham mewohéedahal wothodehóo menedebe hathóolethameya thobeboó erileháa wáa.

In #3, of course you recognize “radóon” (be incorrect; error) [ra– (non–) + dóon (be correct)].

In #6, did you note “nédehul” (want, to an extreme degree; demand), and “dihul” (tell, to an extreme degree; by a ruler: decree). This type of formation can cover a great number of English words for which there are no direct Láadan equivalents in the dictionary. In like vein, do you remember “yemehel” (slightly sour; tart) from an earlier lesson?

Also in #6, of course you recognized “rawoth” (foolishness; be foolish) [ra– (non–) + woth (wisdom; be wise)].

In #7, did you note that Láadan is ambiguous (just as is the English translation) as to whether it’s odd that the pig or the picture is in the boat? Can you craft a Láadan sentence that resolves this ambiguity? Try “Bíi eril búhele dadem ham muda esheha nileháa wa,” (The picture of the pig that was in a boat was troublesomely odd) or “Bíi eril búhele ham dadem mudathuhé esheha nil wa,” (It was troublesomely odd that there was a picture of a pig in the boat).

Of course you had no trouble, in #8, with “rahíthi” (be low) [ra– (non–) + íthi (be high/tall)].

Translate the following into Láadan


11	The cake is severely (too) sweet.
12	Aunt Margaret greatly enjoys needleworking.
13	My pillow is downy to an excellent degree, but it’s slightly too firm.
14	The sky yesterday was perfectly blue and slightly fleecy-clouded.
15	Mary’s beautiful sibling was extraordinarily tired; she needed to sleep.
16	Your cat is extremely well; she jumps magnificently and plays unusually vigorously.
17	[didactically] Education is extraordinarily important for peace and harmony [obviously].
18	The dentist hurt me troublesomely, but I wasn’t troublesomely afraid.
19	The nurse felt shame-beyond-what-she-could-live-with at the death of a baby; the baby’s parents and grandparents all showed her compassion (despite negative circumstances), and they think she’ll survive.
20	How sour are the berries?

In #12, you may have noticed we haven’t got a verb “to enjoy.” In Láadan we convey this meaning by saying, as in this example, “needleworking pleases Aunt Margaret to a fine degree.” In the answer, “beth” (the pronoun carrying the Object suffix for the name “Mázhareth”) is in parentheses because it’s optional—it would be nonsense to say “Aunt Margaret greatly pleases needleworking.”

In #18, did you have any difficulty with the verb “to hurt”? We don’t have one, but we can say “cause to feel pain.”

In #19, did you find a way to form the concept of “to survive”? Try “to continue to be alive.”

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Answers


1	The ceremony will take place excellently bright-and-early (positive: early to an excellent degree) tomorrow morning.
2	My family was severely poor; we (many, beloved) lived in only two troublesomely small rooms.
3	[Warning] The physician feels such regret (cause, blame, no remedy) because a baby died due to her error that she’s liable to commit suicide.
4	How warm is August in Southern California? Is it warm to a fine degree or intolerably warm?
5	The diners agree-in-word that the food is very good, although it’s slightly salty.
6	Long ago a foolish king demanded and decreed that his (he is despised) people build a magnificently beautiful garden as their duty to him.
7	The picture of a pig in a boat was troublesomely odd.
8	[Story] The butterfly flew extraordinarily high, and then she flew down; the children greeted her when she was rather low.
9	The green book is clearly troublesomely-large; is it also severely heavy?
10	An anthropologist found many unusually sacred writings (that were) made by priests three thousand years ago.

11	Bíi meénanehile thuzh wa.
12	Bíi shithéle dathim Berídan Mázhareth (beth) wa.
13	Bíi shanethíle thom letho, izh radazhehele be.
14	Bíi eril leyithúle i bolehel thosh sháal(eya) eril wáa.
15	Bíi eril óohaháalish woháya wohena Méri betha; them áana be wa.
16	Bíi tháahul rul netho; oóbethúul i elashehal be wa.
17	Bíidi otheháalish ehom shoneda i shada wi.
18	Bíi eril dóhúuyahele edashá leth, izh héeyahele ra le wa.
19	Bíi eril loláad onin lhohotheshule shebasheb áwithehéwáan; medam thul i hothul áwithetha méhénath bedi, i melith ben aril náwíi behé wáa.
20	Báa meyemehaba dalatham?

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