Reading: Quirks and Perks
Reading is the freeing of words, and some bonds are explosive.
The original quote is in Serbian:
Čitanje je oslobađanje reči, a neki spojevi su eksplozivni.
I am unaware of an English translation, so I attempted a translation myself. (Any professional translators out there with a better version, please let me know!)
Note on translation: a curiosity.
Serbian has a tiny coordinating conjunction word a, which often translates to either the English (cumulative) conjunction and, or the English (adversative) conjunction but, depending on the context. Here’s an example.
Dan je, a mračno je napolju.
means
It’s day but it’s dark outside.
Contrast with:
Dan je, a to znači da ne može napolju biti mračno.
means
It’s day and that means it can’t be dark outside.
Serbian also has the equivalent of the plain, old and, which is given by another single letter: i.
Originally published on Wordpress
In favour of hendiadys, synaesthesia, and the transferred epithet. You too? Follow me on Twitter.
