Value and Worth

Started by Tìtstewan, April 01, 2014, 10:37:53 AM

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Tìtstewan

Value and Worth

Kaltxì, ma frapo,

Last time we looked at expressions for barter and exchange using the adposition yoa. This time we move to a related
semantic domain and consider how to talk about value and worth. Like the last post, this one introduces a single important root, ley.

ley (vin.) 'be of value, have some positive value, be worth something'

To say Fì'u ley is to say that the thing in question has some amount of positive value; this could be by virtue of its usefulness,
beauty, history, association, etc. Fì'u ke ley means that the thing has no value—i.e., is worthless.

To specify the extent of the value, you need to add qualifiers like nìtxan, ke . . . kaw'it, and so on.

Here are some examples, most of which were contributed by the LEP:

         Fì'u ley nìtxan nang! [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/01-Fìu.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'This is super valuable!'

         Tsaw ke ley kaw'it pak! [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/02-Tsaw.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'That's not worth a thing!' OR: 'That's just worthless junk!'

         Tsasrä anawnekx ley nì'it nì'aw. [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/03-Tsasrä.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'That burnt cloth is of little value.'

         Fìfnerìn ke ley krra slu paynga'. [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/04-Fìfnerìn.mp3]listen[/audio]
         This kind of wood is worthless when it gets damp.

         Flä ke flä, ley säfmi. [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/05-Flä.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'Whether you succeed or not, the attempt has value.' (proverb)

säfmi (n., sä.FMI) 'attempt'

Note that in the following example, the comparison does not require nì'ul, just as we say
Po oeto lu tsawl 'He's taller than I am' rather than *Po oeto lu tsawl nì'ul.

         Oeri tsaw ke ley fì'uto. [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/06-Oeri.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'I don't value that over this.'

To inquire about something's value, use pìmtxan or hìmtxampe 'how much, to what extent' along with ley:

         Fìnikroi ley pìmtxan? [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/07-Fìnikroi.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'How valuable is this hair ornament?'

To say that A is as valuable as B, use ley with nìftxan/nì'eng and na:

         Masat oeyä ley nìftxan na pum ngeyä. [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/08-Masat.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'My breastplate is as valuable as (OR: worth as much as) yours.'

Use this same structure to express monetary value 'Rrtamì:

         Oeyä eltu lefngap ley nì'eng na ewro azafu. [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/09-Oeyä-eltu-1.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'My computer is worth 70 euros.'

In casual or informal contexts, nìftxan/nì'eng may be omitted:

         Oeyä eltu lefngap ley na ewro azafu. [audio=http://naviteri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/10-Oeyä-ewro-2.mp3]listen[/audio]
         'My computer is worth 70 euros.'

Sìlpey oe, fìpostì lilvey ayngaru nìwotx!

Hayalovay.

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Plumps

And a bit more from K. Pawl in a comment:

Quote from: K. Pawl, 1 AprilIrayo ngar, ma Tìtstewan.

Nìfkeytongay* lu tsalì'u alu azafu eyawr. :-)

100 (64) = zam
101 = zamaw (za.MAW)
102 = zamun (za.MUN)
103 = zapey (za.PEY)
104 = zasìng (za.SÌNG)
105 = zamrr (za.MRR)
106 = zafu (za.FU)
107 = zahin (za.HIN)
110 = zavol (ZA.vol)
111 = zavolaw (za.vo.LAW) . . .

*Teri fìlì'u a tìoeyktìng zaya'u mì fostì ahay. Slä set . . . srake tsun nga ralur 'en sivi? Ulte ftu peseng zola'u?

Nìfkeytongay ... hm :-\ I can't guess what this word could mean...

Tìtstewan

Error fixed...

Quote from: Plumps on April 01, 2014, 02:35:02 PM
Nìfkeytongay ... hm :-\ I can't guess what this word could mean...
"nichtsdestotrotz" ???

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Kemaweyan

Quote from: Plumps on April 01, 2014, 02:35:02 PM
Nìfkeytongay ... hm :-\ I can't guess what this word could mean...

I guess it's nì + fkeytok + ngay :)
Nìrangal frapo tsirvun pivlltxe nìNa'vi :D

Plumps

I thought so too.
But as to the meaning...
I don't think it's 'nevertheless' – it makes no sense in the reply. Also, we already have tsalsungay. Well, we'll have to wait for the next post :D


Please also notice the change from nì'eyng to nì'eng in the original post (I see Tìtstewan already took care of that ;) )

Tìtstewan

And the next small thing:
(I'm not sure if somwhere it was mentioned it with the pronouciation)

Quote°1000 = vozam (VO.zam)
°10000 = zazam (ZA.zam)

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Kemaweyan

Or maybe it's nì + fkey + to + ngay? Fkey from kìfkey as in fkeytok :-\ Then it would mean «more truly than the world» ;) In this case it makes sense, IMO :)
Nìrangal frapo tsirvun pivlltxe nìNa'vi :D

Tìtstewan

#7
Whatever this word means, we may will know this soon, hopefully. :)

EDIT:
It should be: Nì-(tì)fkeyto(k)-(a)ngay. True-situation-ly. :)

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