I don't drink alcohol

[Omzinesý]

Is this possible to say. I found it in a Finnish cartoon: Fingerpori.

- I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons. - But completely for other reasons.

[Trailsend]

Feayran isn't very fun in this regard, since the way Feayran handles negation kills the ambiguity.

Feayran has two mechanisms for negation. Internal negation is inflected within a predicate. If an unmarked predicate means "It is the case that X," then the same predicate, when internally negated, means "It is the case that not-X."

External negation is marked with a particle preposed to the predicate. Predicates marked with external negation mean "It is not the case that X."

External negation scopes over the entire predicate (included mood and aspect inflections, marked participants, incorporated arguments, etc.), whereas internal negation scopes only over the base root meaning of the predicate. So you get differences like this:


(Internal negation)
Làuwumhàittejunlhátslhto.
drink<LEAD-rites<ABL>-1S-NEG-ESSENTIAL-IND-FERMENT>
It is the case that, for religious reasons, I do not drink alcohol.

(External negation)
Úng làuwumhàittejulhátslhto.
NEG drink<LEAD-rites<ABL>-1S-ESSENTIAL-IND-FERMENT>
It is not the case that I drink alcohol for religious reasons.


So the full sentence from the OP would be:

Úng làuwumhàittejulhátslhto sáu gó susàolhá.
NEG drink<LEAD-rites<ABL>-1S-ESS-FERMENT> AFF OTHER AUX<LEAD-AUX<ABL>-ESSENTIAL-IND>
It isn't the case that I drink alcohol for religious reasons, but it is the case that I do so for some other reason.


But since the first part isn't ambiguous, it kinda kills the joke. :(

Also good heavens that lauwsldfkjsldkflhto predicate is a mess XD

[Xing]

Waʻtē

E kū tewa ōpe ō punikimu yāta ā mai gaʻpa, teya tewa ōpe katōe.
[e̞ kɯː ˈt̪e̞ɰa ˈo̞ːpe̞ o̞ː pɯniˈkim ˈjaːt̪a aː ˈmai ˈŋapːa ˈt̪e̞ja ˈt̪e̞ɰa ˈo̞ːpe̞ kaˈt̪oːe̞]
PRST NEG PURP reason GEN religion drink ERG 1SG alcohol, but PURP reason other
'It's not for religious reasons that I drink alcohol, but for other reasons.'

Compare:

E kū yāta ā mai gaʻpa tewa ōpe ō punikimu
[e̞ kɯː ˈjaːt̪a aː ˈmai ˈŋapːa ˈt̪e̞ɰa ˈo̞ːpe̞ o̞ː pɯniˈkim]
PRST NEG drink ERG 1SG alcohol PURP reason GEN religion.
'I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons.'

No joke here

[thetha]

The ambiguity can be kept in Vietnamese :D
Tôi không uống rượu vì lẽ tôn giáo. Tôi uống vì lẽ khác trọn vẹn.
[toj˧ xoŋ˧ ʔwəŋ˦˥ zɨəwʔ˨˩ vɪj˨˩ lɛʔɛ˦˥ ton˧ zaːw˦˥ | toj˧ ʔwəŋ˦˥ vɪj˨˩ lɛʔɛ˦˥ xak˦˥ cɔʔn˨˩ vɛʔn˨˩]
1S NEG drink alcohol because.of reason religious. 1S drink because.of reason other completely

[xinda]

:roc: Mandarin
我不是為我的宗教信仰才不喝酒，而是其它的原因。
wǒ bùshì wèi wǒ de zōngjiào xìnyǎng cái bù hē jiǔ, ér shì qítā de yuányīn
1s NEG-be for 1s GEN religious faith only NEG drink alcohol | rather be other GEN reason
"I do not drink alcohol for reasons other than religion."

我為了宗教信仰不喝酒。
wǒ wèile zōngjiào xìnyǎng bù hē jiǔ
1s for-PERF religious faith NEG drink alcohol
"I do not drink alcohol because of my religion."

No ambiguity.

[thetha]

I love looking at Mandarin pinyin and being able to see all of the cognates in Chinese and Vietnamese.

[Nortaneous]

Kannow preserves the ambiguity:

Kpģòņmondòw pík rmotʼ hòntûs; bemendòw ŗérk.
[kʰpʰqʷəŋˈməntʷəw pʰikʷ ʂmətʼ ˈhʷəntʷʰusʷ | peˈmentʷəw reʂkʷʰ]
k-b-ģòņ-m-nd`-ow pi-e-k rmo-tʼ hòntùs-s`| b-e-m-nd`-ow ŗer-k`
NEG-SENS.PRES.CAUS-drink-1.P.SG-C8.D.PL-C6.A.PL NONF.NONP.CAUS-do-C6.IND.PL priest-GEN.SG alcohol-C8.IND.PL | SENS.PRES.CAUS-do-1.P.SG-C8.D.PL-C6.A.PL other-C6.GEN.PL

[Cseúhro]

Ich trinke keinen Alkohol aus religiösen Gründen. – Dafür aber aus anderen.
{I drink-1SG no-AKK alcohol for religious-DAT reason-PL-DAT. – Although (= dafür aber) for other-PL-DAT.}
Literally: I drink no(ne) alcohol out of religious reasons. Therefore but out of others. (Oh God. What have I done.)

Stil ambiguous.

Palúnthurn: Seúcettu s'kháélh terrëaug'halcu. – Vere vevan nedëaúru.
{drink.I.not the'alcohol-AKK reason-PL-KAU'religious. – But exist.it other-PL-AKK-KAU.}
[sjukɛtʰ:u s'kʰaɪlʰ: tɛʀw:aʊgxalku | vjɛʶ vevan nedwauʁu]

Well... Sounds quite the same but is not really viewed ambiguous.

[Selinki]

I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons. - But completely for other reasons.

Selinki
Je mizpleiczl alkoa czes-to czajterenki petaras. A polnado nad promis petaras.
[je mizp5"e:its`5 a5ko"a: ts`"esto ts`"ajtereNki p"e:taras] [a po5n"a:Do naD pr"o:mis p"e:taras]
I NEG-drink-1SG alcohol-ACC because belief-ADJ reason-PL.GEN. But total-ADV on other reason-PL.GEN

[DanH34]

I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons, but for other reasons.

Zidhgebzhail

vil pizupefk blaishungk louvitoondzungks Oubvaegh, houdzh blaishouthung
v-il blaish-ung-k louvit-oondz-ung-k-s pizup-aepf-ef-k Ø-Oubvae-n-oi, h-oudzh eb-outh-ung
1-ERG.SG.M alcohol-product-ACC-PL.M reason-CAUSAL-PL.M god-doctrine-CAUSATIVE-PL.M-ADJ PRS-drink-HABITUAL-NEG_REALIS, SUBORDINATOR-but thing-other-CAUSATIVE.SG.M
I don't drink alcohol-products because of god-doctrine reasons, but because of other reasons

Still ambiguous.

Dan

[Xing]

Cibal

Mid kom miron halokohol mol baram cadat. Mid miron mol baram sigot.
[miː kʰom ˈmiron ˈɦælokoːu̯ mou̯ ˈpærɑm ˈʧʰæðæt̚ miː ˈmiron mou̯ ˈpærɑm ˈsiot̚]
1s NEG drink alcohol PURP CAUS religious 1s drink PURP CAUS other

Ambiguity kept

[Ilaeriu]

I don't think the ambiguity is retained in Korean.

종교적인은 이유는 술 마실 수 없어요.
religious-ADJ reason-ADJ alcohol drink can't

"I can't drink alcohol-that-is-for-religious-reasons." The adjectival system works by tacking on the dependent clause onto the front of the noun, so instead of saying "The man that runs" you would say "The running man." Likewise, the clause here is "The religious reasoning alcohol" translated literally.

(As always, -insert disclaimer about being totally not fluent in Korean here-)

[mbrsart]

Interestingly, Hra'anh has no word for alcohol because fermented drinks are "ritually unclean" and prohibited by law. I'll try and give an approximation.

Hra'anh
Ier nakolb doke loshi'kurkha lez e lichta, feri lez peshone'olak.
Glosses, IPA:

Spoiler:

Code: Select all

ier     na-kolb         doke           losh-i-kurkha   lez          e       lichta            feri     lez          peshon-e-olak
1SG.ABS NEG-drink.ANTIP PREP.ANTIP.OBL juice-PL-rotten because.CONJ ART.DEF religious.decorum yet.CONJ because.CONJ reason-PL-other
"I don't drink from rotten juice because (of) the religious laws, yet because (of) other reasons."

IPA
/jɛɾ nɑ.ˈkolb do.kʼɛ lo.shi.ˈkuɾ.xɑ lɛz ɛ ˈli.ʃə.tɑ fɛ.ɾi lɛz pɛ.ʃo.nɛ.ˈo.lɑk/

X-SAMPA for those that can't parse Unicode
/jE4 nA."kolb do.k_>E lo.shi."ku4.xA lEz E "li.S@.tA fE.4i lEz pE.So.nE."o.lAk/

Edit: Forgot the ejective! Can't have that...

[Prinsessa]

Too lazy to translate it right now, but Vanga is just as ambiguous since the negative particle has to go at the end.
Since I think I have all of the necessary vocabulary in Kozea, though, let's see...

Eamaxā saxôanu mōid ampair kogúthyān.
For religous reasons, I don't drink alcohol.
reason-PLUR.DAT belief-AUG-PLUR.GEN NEG consume-1PS water-REDUPL=alcohol-SING.ACC
"For reasons of great belief (= religion) I do not consume alcohol."

Mōid ampair kogúthyān eamaxā saxôanu.
I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons (but for other reasons).
NEG consume-1PS water-REDUPL=alcohol-SING.ACC reason-PLUR.DAT belief-AUG-PLUR.GEN
"I do not consume alcohol for reasons of great belief (= religion)."

Look at that. It's actually unambiguous in Kozea, and can be easily disambiguated for the former sense in English too. As for the latter one, I'll just decide right here on the spot that it's not ambiguous in Kozea.

[Celinceithir]

It's not ambiguous in Celinese - no matter how I phrase it, one has to say "I drink" rather than "I don't drink", which ruins the pun :|.

Né sío erin mo g-crestastoê ðo cerfoë ðywythoní, mair sío erin rathínot aireg.
Not be.3SG-PRS because my religion that alcohol water-eat.1SG-PRS but be.3SG-PRS because reason.FPL other
"It is not because of my religion that I drink alcohol, but it's because of other reasons"

Cerfoë ðywythoní, nérin mo g-crestastoê mair erin rathínot aireg.
Alcohol water-eat.1SG-PRS not-because my religion but because reason.FPL other
"I drink alcohol, not because of my religion, but because of other reasons."

[Xing]

Mīrna

Nāy nīr cimar alkūl kanarakka vu vunāt, pār kanarakka vu pānuvāl.
nāy nīr cimar alkūl kanar-akka vu vunāt, pār kanar-akka vu pānuvāl
1 NEG drink alcohol cause-PASS.PTCPL by religion, but cause-PASS.PTCPL by other_things
[naːʝ niːr ʦɪmɐr ɐlkuːl kɐnɐrɐkːɔ vʏ vʏnaːt paːr kɐnɐrɐkːɔ vʏ paːnʏvvaːl]


Joke preserved.

Also, I've started to transcribe the short u [ʏ] rather than [ʊ]

[Lao Kou]

Géarthnuns

The ambiguity is there, but given Géarthnuns verb-final word order and the structure of "It's not this, but that" statements, if one translated it straight, it'd probably come out sounding like, "I don't drink alcohol for religious, but for other, reasons.", which as humor goes, is rather . You can drag sentence elements down past the verb, of course, but it would sound parenthetical and as if you'd forgotten something, which falls equally . To keep the punchline down past the set-up in Géarthnuns, it would perhaps be better to start a new sentence. If you're doing one-man stand-up, it could look like this:

---

Fí la fík kangufefsíd zçakfalefíd vaçka froman... (beat) ...Éçüé, sí la sík kangufelsíd ftelölíd tfoseu vaçka froman.
1SG.NOM.NEG AUX.PRES INDEF.PL.NEG reason-POST.PL.NEG religious-POST.PL.NEG because.of drink.(alcohol) | (beat) | actually, 1SG-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF.PL reason-POST.PL other-POST.PL completely-AdADJ because.of drink.(alcohol)
I don't drink for religious reasons... (beat) ...Actually, I drink for other reasons altogether.

---

Ooooor you could have a two-person routine, where Asha does the set-up and Ut does the punchline:

---

A: Fí la fík kangufefsíd zçakfalefíd vaçka froman.
A: 1SG.NOM.NEG AUX.PRES INDEF.PL.NEG reason-POST.PL.NEG religious-POST.PL.NEG because.of drink.(alcohol)
A: I don't drink for religious reasons.



U: Ô, (beat), öçek la chík kangufelsíd chegvelíd vaçka höfroman?
U: oh, (beat), 2SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF.PL reason-POST.PL which-POST.PL because.of drink.(alcohol)-INTERR
U: Oh, (beat), what reasons do you drink for?

(Ow, my corset.)

[G64]

Elcuin:
le merarteli gal a ancerainda marantasel.
le me-rart-e-li gal a ancera-inda maranta-sel.
NEG good-poison-NAT-ACC.pl drink.PRES[1sg.ACT] for religion-ADJ.DAT.pl reason-DAT.pl
I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons.

ase a vet raissinda marantasel
ase a vet raiss-inda maranta-sel
but for absolutely different-DAT.pl reason-DAT.pl
But for entirely different reasons.

[marvelous]

Ernalan

Rhai mapsitūnu nuth dhūkdhair dhūplauja. Guax terṭūnu ṭē launli mūjze dhūplauja.
[ʁai mapsituːnu nuθ ðuːkðair ðuːplauɟa]. [ɡʷaχ tertˤuːnu tˤeː launli muːɟze ðuːplauɟa].
rhai mapsit-ūnu n<u>th dhūkdh<ai>r dhūpl-auja. guax terṭ-ūnu ṭ-ē launl-i mūjz-e dhūpl-auja.
NOT drink.alcohol-1P.PRSNT.PVN 1P<NOM.S> religion<GEN.S> reason-ABL.PL. but do-1P.PRSNT.PVN 3P.ETC-ACC complete-ADV other-ADJ.PL reason-ABL.PL.

PVN = plural verbal number