Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Notas sur le construction “star a + infinitivo” in interlingua


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)


Le construction "star a + infinitivo" veni del portugese continental, que exprime tempores progressive de duo manieras: (1) "O senhor Gomes está a visitar a sua familia nos Estados Unidos neste momento" e (2) "O senhor Gomes está visitando a sua familia nos Estados Unidos neste momento".

In le Brasil, secundo lo que io ha legite in un varietate de grammaticas portugese, solmente se usa "O senhor Gomes está visitando (a) sua familia nos Estados Unidos (em este)/(neste) momento".

Como quasi omne le linguas fonte de interlingua usa tempores progressive (e mesmo in le francese on pote dicer que "Monsieur Gomes est en train de rendre visite a sa famille aux États Unis en ce moment", io crede que nos debe haber un maniera de exprimer iste concepto verbal explicitemente in interlingua.

Duo possibile manieras de establir le aspecto progressive al verbos de interlingua esserea

(A) usar "esser" + participios presente (Le senior Gomes es visitante su familia in le Statos Unite in iste momento) o

(B) adder a interlingua un gerundio con terminationes in -ndo (Le senior Gomes sta visitando su familia in le Statos Unite in iste momento).

Io crede que le major parte del interlinguistas trovarea troppo radical iste duo possibilitates. Ma le uso del expression portugese "star a + infinitivo" es un excellente maniera de evitar le uso de constructiones (A) e (B).

Omne interlinguas pote usar le expression "star a + infinitivo", si illes vole. Naturalmente illes anque pote evitar lo, si illes prefere, como illes pote evitar le uso de, pro exemplo,

(A) "sed" in vice de "ma" o "mais",

(B) le orthographia "organization" in vice de "organisation",

(C) le uso de "nimis" in vice de "troppo", o

(D) le uso de "unes" (como in espaniol e portugese) in vice de "al(i)cun".

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Notes on the construction “star a + infinitive” in Interlingua

The construction “star a + the infinitive” comes from continental Portuguese, which expresses progressive tenses in two ways: (1) "O senhor Gomes está visitando (a) sua familia nos Estados Unidos (em este)/(neste) momento" and (2) "O senhor Gomes está visitando a sua familia nos Estados Unidos (em este)/(neste) momento."

Brazilians, according to what I have read in a variety of Portuguese grammars, use only the form "O senhor Gomes está visitando (a) sua familia nos Estados Unidos (em este)/(neste) momento."

Since almost all of Interlingua’s source languages use progressive tenses (and even in French it is possible to say "Monsieur Gomes est en train de rendre visite a sa famille aux États Unis en ce moment," I believe that we should have a way of expressing this concept explicitly in Interlingua.

Two possible ways of establishing the progressive aspect in interlingua verbs would be

(A) to use "esser" + present participles (Le senior Gomes es visitante su familia in le Statos Unite in iste momento) or

(B) to add to Interlingua present participles ending in -ndo (Le senior Gomes sta visitando su familia in le Statos Unite in iste momento).

I believe that most Interlinguists would find these two possibilities to be too radical. But the use of the Portuguese expression “star a + the infinitive” is an excellent way of avoiding the use of constructions (A) and (B).

All Interlinguists can use the expression “star a + infinitive,” if they want. Naturally, they also can avoid it, if they prefer, just as they can avoid use of, for example,

(A) "sed" instead of "ma" or "mais",

(B) the spelling "organization" instead of "organisation",

(C) the use of "nimis" instead of "troppo," or

(D) the use of "unes" (as in Spanish and Portuguese) instead of "al(i)cun".

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