Etymology vs Consistency

Grazu a Wikipedia

EUL In setu artiklu estun regarde etimologu i kel partu es juke in le develope d'Eulingu.

ENG In this article we are looking at etymology and which part it is playing in the development of Eulingu.

DEU In diesem Artikel werfen wir einen Blick auf die Etymologie und welchen Teil sie in der Entwicklung von Eulingu spielt.

According to Wikipedia the term "Etymology" is defined as: 

"Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. By an extension, the term 'etymology (of a word)' means the origin of a particular word.

For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods of their history and when they entered the languages in question. Etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information to be available. By analyzing related languages with a technique known as the comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way, word roots have been found that can be traced all the way back to the origin of, for instance, the Indo-European language family..."

The (Indo-)European language family is the playing field and the base camp for Eulingu and from which we start our journey upwards to the proverbial "top of the mountain". We see Eulingu as the "natural extension" of European languages. So how do we bring this "etimologu" into Eulingu?

Just by looking at the several options for "mother" in the picture (thanks to Wikipedia) above - which one is the one that makes it into the language? Do we go with the stem of the word which is "ma" (from "to make") or Sanskrit "mata"? How far do we go back to reflect those roots in Eulingu? Do we just take that root and apply a certain Eulingu grammar or "reglu" (=consistency), which might suggest "ma" or "mata" after all (as the suffix "-a" in Eulingu indicates the female)? Or do we look at modern times and exchange the "t" with a "d" and also add an "r" (the latter can be found in many European languages)? Do we take the opposite "lo patro" into account?

So - currently - the reflected term for "the mother" in Eulingu is "la matra", for various resaons:

1) It includes the actual word stem "ma" rather than "mo", "mu" or "mè"

2) It is "mat" and not "mad" as we prefer the "hard sound" of the "t" to the softer one of "d" (as a "general rule" within Eulingu), also if in doubt look at Latin and Greek for inspiration

3) We include the "r" as it is found in the majority of European languages

4) As a final touch we apply the Eulingu suffix "-a" (for consistency) in order to indicate a female noun: mat-r-a = matra, the correct article is "la": la matra, in direct contrast to "lo patro" (the father)

EUL Lo patro i la matra (esti) vade a festu d'Pero.

ENG The father and the mother (they) go to Pero's party.

DEU Der Vater und die Mutter (sie) gehen zu Peros Fest.

So - in a nutshell - we apply a certain Eulingu "reglu" to "etimologu" to create "konsistenzu", so it is less a "vs" than a "joint effort" of both.

One last thing before we let you go, why do we write "etymology" in Eulingu as "etimologu" and not as "etymologu"? Because we are more concerned with the "sound" than with the "actual" spelling of a word, based on the "one letter - one sound" theory. Also, Spanish "etimología" and Italian "etimologia" are great indicators as well.

Kes estut pense? What do you think? Was denkst du?

© 2012 Amiki d'Eulingu