Un altere limitation sur le linguage es que cata lingua pote commentar sur le realitate solmente de su proprie maniera. Un asseveration como "Le feminas coceva le torta in un forno" es acceptabile e coherente in interlingua. Ma le usatores de multe altere linguas demandarea informationes plus exacte, como (1) si exactmente duo feminas o plus que duo coceva (stava a cocer) le torta, (2) si iste feminas esseva circa le persona que faceva iste asseveration o distante de ille/illa, (3) si le torta esseva circular o quadrate, e/o (4) si le persona qui faceva iste observation poteva vider le torta durante que le feminas lo coceva. E le forma "coceva" non es sufficiente pro multe linguas. Mesmo le linguas romanic ha duo formas passate. In espaniol, pro exemplo, si on diceva "Mi hermano leyó el libro esta mañana" (Mi fratre legeva le libro iste matino), isto significarea que mi fratre legeva le libro e finiva su lectura de illo. E si on diceva "Mi hermano leía el libro esta mañana", isto significarea que ille non habeva finite iste activitate, possibilemente proque in le narration ille debeva comenciar un altere activitate. On anque pote indicar le aspecto progressive plus specificamente in le espaniol con "Mi hermano estaba leyendo el libro esta mañana." Io crede que il anque esserea avantagiose haber un tal forma facultative in interlingua proque omne su linguas fonte vivente con le exception del francese, sovente exprime le aspecto progressive, ma non con le mesme frequentia e probabilemente non in le mesme contextos de communication. Un bon maniera de facer isto sin adaptar nove formas verbal in -ndo esserea adoptar ex portugese le expression "star a facer alique" (Mi hermano stava a leger le libro iste matino). Le major parte de nos, qui ha studiate al minus un ex le linguas romanic, jam cognosce iste formas del passato. Ma il ha linguas con systemas etiam plus complicate. Le systema temporal del verbos de diverse linguas aboriginal in le parte nordwest de continente nordamerican, pro exemplo, divide le passato de interlingua a in le passato recente, le passato remote, e le passato mythologic. Le categorias semantic que on debe exprimer in le grammaticas del linguas del mundo es multe diverse. A vices illos complica multo le problema de traduction inter illos. Ma le linguas del mundo anque es multo plastic, e on anque pote facer los exprimer nove conceptos, ben que solmente post un periodo de adaptation experimental, que a vices pote esser un question de annos de provas e rejectiones. Iste processo anque occurre in interlingua e sovente provoca responsas hostile--un condition que pare esser normal in le evolution de ulle lingua. Un exemplo de un lingua que ha cambiate multo in un periodo de unes 150 annos es le japonese post le restauration Meiji. Le japonese es multo differente del linguas indoeuropee, in le quales le conceptos del scientia e del technologia ha essite disveloppate. Ma le japonese, durante iste periodo de transition, ha devenite completemente adequate a exprimer iste conceptos. E usque nunc on non ha trovate un lingua incapabile de cambiar se pro exprimer eventualmente nove categorias semantic e cultural que deveni importante al personas qui los usa. --- Another limitation on language is that each language can comment on reality only in its own way. A statement like "The women baked a cake in an oven" is acceptable and coherent in English. But the users of many other languages would demand more exact information, such as (1) if exactly two women or more than two were baking the cake, (2) if these women were near the person making this statement or far away from him or her, (3) if the cake was round or square, or (4) if the person making the observation could see the cake while the woman were baking it. And the form "baked" is not enough for many languages. Even the Romance languages have two forms for the past. In Spanish, for example, if a person said "Mi hermano leyó el libro esta mañana (My brother read the book this morning)," this would mean that my brother read the book and finished reading it. And if a person said "Mi hermano leía el libro esta mañana," this would mean that he hadn't finished this activity, possibly because in the narration he had to start doing something else. The progressive aspect can be indicated more specifically in Spanish with "Mi hermano estaba leyendo el libro esta mañana." I think it would be advantageous to have such a form for optional use in Interlingua because all its living source languages, except for French, often express the progressive aspect, but not with equal frequency and probably not in the same contexts of communication. A good way of doing this without adopting new verbal forms in -ndo would be to adopt from Portuguese the expression "star a facer alique" (to be doing something), producing "mi fratre stava a leger le libro iste matino." Most of us, who have studied at least one of the Romance languages, are already aware of these past-tense forms. But there are languages with even more complicated systems. The temporal system in the verbs of various aboriginal languages in the northwest part of the North American continent, for example, divide the English past into the recent past, the remote past, and the mythological past. The semantic categories that must be expressed in the grammars of the languages of the world are very diverse. At times they greatly complicate the problem of translating from one of them to another. But the languages of the world are also very plastic, and they also can also be made to express new concepts, though only after a period of experimental adaptation, which at times can be a question of years of trial and rejection. This process is also occurring in Interlingua and often provokes hostile responses--a condition that seems to be normal in the evolution of any language. An example of a language that has changed a lot in a period of 150 years is Japanese after the Meiji restoration. Japanese is very different from the Indo-European languages, in which the concepts of science and technology have been developed. But Japanese, during this transition period, has become completely adequate for the expression of these concepts. And up to now no language has been found that is incapable of eventually expressing new semantic and cultural concepts that become important to the people using them. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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