Messages

1

Beginners / Re: No accusative marker on 'horse'?

« on: December 06, 2013, 07:49:31 am »

The way I see it, it appears almost as though 'horse' functions like a mass noun (~'horse-ness', therefore inanimate), whereas 'stallion', 'steed' etc are specific kinds of horses and therefore animate.

2

Beginners / Re: No accusative marker on 'horse'?

« on: December 05, 2013, 10:13:02 am »

Thank you so much! It didn't occur to me that horses could be inanimate! (especially to the horse-loving Dothraki!)

3

Beginners / Re: No accusative marker on 'horse'?

« on: December 04, 2013, 11:21:49 am »

Compare:


Anha       saj-ak          sajo-es.
I.NOM      mount-1S.PRES   steed-ACC
‘I mount the steed.’

4

Beginners / No accusative marker on 'horse'?

« on: December 04, 2013, 10:50:31 am »

Hi everyone,

I'm writing a school paper on Dothraki, and cannot figure this sentence out. This is how I've glossed it:

Jano-Ø   lajak-i    ost-Ø      hrazef.
Dog-NOM    warrior   -GEN   bite-S.PST   horse-***
‘The warrior's dog bit a horse.’

Why is horse not marked for the accusative (hrazefes?)? The absence of a case ending makes it look like the Nominative case, but that doesn't seem to make sense.

Thank you,