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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Not a word [was: Re: Transliteration [was: Re: Pinyin
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References: <5b3i3v$2mp@gap.cco.caltech.edu> <19970110053700.AAA03208@ladder01.news.aol.com> <E3sx1H.Fx6@midway.uchicago.edu> <32D6376B.7939@emn.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 1997 19:00:34 GMT
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In article <32D6376B.7939@emn.com>, yky356  <yky356@emn.com> wrote:
>Daniel von Brighoff wrote:
>> 
>> Which Manchus?  What you say is true of those who founded the Qing, but Pu
>> Yi didn't speak a word of Manchu.  I don't think anyone in his court did.
>
>Are you sure that Pu Yi didn't speak a word of Manchu? I really doubt
>it.  If I even know what GeGe, BeiLe and SuLa is, I really doubt that Pu
>Yi wouldn't have known that.

"to not speak a word of [a language]" is an English idiom meaning "to not
be able to produce even a simple utterance in [a language]".  It is not
the same as "to not *know* a word of [a language]".  For example, I know a
few words of Estonian, like "eesti" and "koerkoonlased".  However, since I
can't produce the simplest statement in Estonian, not even "thank you"
or "goodbye", it's fully accurate to say "I don't speak a word of it."

Even if someone taught me the rules of Estonian pronunciation and had me
memorise and recite certain passages in it, it would still be accurate to
say "I don't speak a word of it" because 1) I wouldn't know what I was
saying unless someone told me and 2) I wouldn't be making sentences
spontaneously, which is a necessary part of "speaking a language."  As far
as I know, the only time Pu Yi ever "spoke" Manchu was during certain
rituals when he was reciting texts from rote.  He never used it in
conversation or other natural situations.
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
