Trovis malnovajn fotojn

Tiujn ĉi fotografojn kunportis kun li hodiaŭ juna frato. La fotoj estas malnovaj. Mi ne scias kiom da jaroj mi havis tiam oni fotografis nin. Mi certas ke ĝi apartenas al tempo kiam la mondo ankoraŭ estis ĉirkaŭata de kupolo.

(anticlockwise)

Mi, fratino (Urvaŝi), frato (Karan), frato (Gag'gi)

(de maldekstere al dekstere)

Mi, frato (Gag'gi), Urvaŝi (fratino)

(de maldekstere de dekstere)

fratino (Rupali), frato (Karan)

Indian English - use for 'only' for emphasis

Some time ago a friend on Lernu! asked if there wasn't an English based creole in India. I said no. Thinking about that now, it seems rather strange that even after 150 years (the English conquered the last powerful Indian state Punjab in 1849 after the Second Anglo-Sikh War and eight years later, in 1857, the country came under the direct rule of the British royal family) you don't see any creole taking birth here. Nonetheless, there are some constructions unique to the Indian (include Pakistani and other sub-continental versions too) English.

One of the most popular such Indian constructions is the use of 'only' as an emphatic particle so that instead of asking 'Did you really come today?', people say 'Did you come today only?' 

Here are a couple of sentences that will give you an idea of how 'only' is used in the Indian English: 

(1) I did do it. = I only did it. 

(2) He only speaks Punjabi. = He speaks Punjabi only.

(3) Isn't wasn't only me? = It wasn't me only.

(4) The exam is on Monday. = The exam is on Monday only.

There are more idiosyncrasies. I made a list of ten of them. That list is lost and what is wrote there is wiped out of my memory. What a pity! 

就 and 才

I gave up Chinese for a few weeks but now I am back. First I have to revise all the 49 chapters that make up the Passive Wave in Assimil Chinese with Ease (Assimil Le Chinois sans peine). 

I have started with chapter fifteen. The first fourteen are relatively easier. Today I did chapter 26, 他們決定了 (They've decided). 

The 就 construction is a little confusing. Assimil says it has the opposite effect of　才; as if I really knew how to use 才! Anyway they are not to blame. I didn't study well. 

Okay! I did a little search on the internet and now I understand their most common use. While 就 emphasises something that happened before you were expecting it to occur, 才 shows a belated action.

小王六點上學，今天他五點就去了。

Xiao Wang goes to school at six o'clock, today he left at five.

小王六點上學，今天他五點去了。

Xiao Wang goes to school at six o'clock, today he left at six.

小王六點上學，今天他五點才去。

Xiao Wang goes to school at six o'clock, today he left at seven.

小王 = Xiao Wang (Chinese name)

六點 = six o'clock

上學 = go to school

今天 = today

他 = he

五點 = five o'clock

去 = to go

Punjabi Wikipedia - stupid administrators, no unification

Yes, the title tells it all. They are stupid and too entrenched in their comfort zone to even think that unification is possible. One of them says, 'Western Punjabi' is a different language because it has its own ISO code, another claims 'Kashmiri' and 'German' have the "same" grammar and those from Pakistan don't even care to respond! 

I wouldn't have minded had they given some well-thought reasons for not unifying the two Punjabi Wikipedia. It would have been a pleasure to know where I am wrong. But no! They wouldn't have a discussion. Instead, they would aim their guns at me and keep on asking who I was to order them to learn Shahmukhi. 

I tried hard but those fools won't even budge. When they didn't have a good reason (they are too dumb to think of even one good reason to not unify) they turned to saying: 'Wikipedia is no place for activism.', implying I should go away.

Article on Sikhism on the Shahmukhi Wikipedia is titled 'Sikh Mat' (Sikh Religion). The title on Gurmukhi Wikipedia reads, 'Sikhi.' (Sikhism). They are too foolish to realise that doesn't make them two different languages.

When everything failed, I challenged them to come up with a plan, other than unification, to increase the article count by at least 20,000 in the next six months without stretching Wikipedia finances. They didn't respond. Instead they found it easier to attack me, and turn the discussion to other subjects.

I don't know who made them administrators. I know the software isn't perfect, then aren't we here to make it better? Anyway, I am done with it. Let them massacre each other, create ten Punjabi Wikipedias and do as they please.

In case you are interested in the discussion, here is the link.