Светлой памяти Нины Макаровны Чередеевой-


中国人用筷子吃饭。

Chinese Zhōngguórén yòng kuàizi chīfàn – literally, 'China-people use chopsticks eat-rice' - has one single meaning: 'The Chinese eat with chopsticks'. The fact that there is no other way to convey that statement is explained by a Chinese triple logic unveiling (1) the myth of senseless 'grammatical' concepts, such as 'prepositions' (eating with chopsticks in Chinese would mean eating in the company of chopsticks), while reinstating the fundamental role of the verb (in certain other languages, also the noun) as the true link between the various parts of speech; (2) the intrinsic role of rice as a millenary daily staple in any generic 'eating' action (compare the non-specific 我要吃饭 wǒ yào chīfàn 'I want to eat [lit., eat rice]' with the specific 我要吃肉 wǒ yào chī ròu 'I want to eat meat'); and, finally, (3) the unconditional placement of the auxiliary action before the main action: 用筷子吃饭 yòng kuàizi chīfàn 'using chopsticks eat', as 吃饭用筷子 chīfàn yòng kuàizi 'eat using chopsticks' in Chinese would sound as an anachronism - indeed, one cannot consume the food before using the tool. One can never go wrong in Chinese!

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-This site owes its conception to Sarah Frantz-
-Ce site doit sa naissance à Elian Carsenat--