Buffalo buffalo buffalo: One-word sentences and how they work - Emma Bryce

Bufalo bufalo bufalo: rečenice sastavljene od istih reči i kako funkcionišu - Ema Brajs (Emma Bryce)

Prevodilac: Tijana Mihajlović Lektor: Mile Živković

You may think you know the words that sit plainly in black on your page,

Možete pomisliti da znate reči koje su jednostavno zapisane

crnom bojom na vašoj stranici,

but don't be fooled.

ali nemojte da se zavaravate.

Some words are capable of taking on different guises,

Neke reči mogu da se preruše na različite načine,

masquerading as nouns, verbs and adjectives

maskirajući se kao imenice, glagoli i pridevi

that alter their meanings entirely.

što potpuno menja njihovo značenje.

This seeming superpower is called lexical ambiguity.

Ova naizgled supermoć naziva se leksička višeznačnost.

It can turn words and sentences into mazes that mess with our minds.

Može da pretvori reči i rečenice u lavirinte koji se poigravaju našim umom.

For example, consider the following:

Na primer, uzmite u obzir sledeće:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Bufalo bufalo Bufalo bufalo bufalo bufalo Bufalo bufalo.

That may sound like nonsense,

To može zvučati kao besmislica,

but it's actually a grammatically correct sentence.

ali zapravo je gramatički ispravna rečenica.

How? Well, Buffalo is proper noun, a noun, and a verb.

Kako? Pa, Bufalo je vlastita imenica, imenica i glagol.

It refers to an animal also known as a bison,

Odnosi se na životinju poznatu kao bizon,

an American city,

američki grad,

and it can also mean to bully.

a može da znači i „maltretirati”.

These different interpretations create a sequence of words

Ova različita tumačenja stvaraju niz reči

that is grammatically correct as it stands,

koji je gramatički ispravan onako kako se pojavljuje,

though it helps to add in a few implied phrases

iako je od pomoći i dodavanje nekoliko fraza koje se podrazumevaju

and punctuation marks to reveal what's really going on.

i znakove interpunkcije da bi se otkrilo šta se zaista dešava.

Buffalo buffalo are bison from the city of Buffalo,

„Bufalo bufalo” je bizon iz grada Bufalo,

and this sentence has three groups of them.

a ova rečenica ima tri grupe tih bizona.

Group A, which is bullied by Group B, bullies Group C.

Grupa A, koju maltretira grupa B, maltretira grupu C.

In other words, bison from Buffalo that other bison from Buffalo bully

Drugim rečima, bizon iz Bufala, koje drugi bizon iz Bufala maltretira,

also bully bison from Buffalo.

takođe maltretira bizona iz Bufala.

If you let each buffalo perform its role, the meaning becomes apparent.

Ako dopustite da svaki „bufalo” odigra svoju ulogu,

značenje postaje očigledno.

What if the bunch of bullying buffalo decides to cross the ocean?

Šta ako gomila nasilničkih bufala odluči da pređe okean?

Not just on any ship,

Ne bilo kojim brodom,

but a ship-shipping ship shipping shipping-ships?

već brodom koji prevozi brodove prevozeći brodove koji prevoze brodove?

That sentence sounds just as outrageous, but there's logic to the babble.

Ova rečenica zvuči jednako nečuveno, ali postoji logika i kod ove konstrukcije.

Ship can mean a vessel and to transport.

„Ship” na engleskom može da znači „brod” i „prevoziti”.

When we sub in those meanings, a clearer picture emerges.

Kada primenimo ova značenja, javlja se jasnija slika.

Here we have a huge ship-carrying vessel

Ovde imamo veliki brod koji prevozi brodove

transporting ships that themselves are designed to carry goods across the sea.

koji i sami mogu prevoziti robu morem.

A ship-shipping ship, shipping shipping-ships.

Brod koji prevozi brodove koji prevozi brodove koji prevoze brodove.

How about some entertainment on board this unusual vessel

Kako bi bilo da uvedemo zabavu na ovaj neobični brod

to offset the scuffling buffalo?

kao kompenzaciju za zbunjujuće bizone?

Consider the can-can.

Razmotrite „kan-kan”.

Can-can can-can can can can can can-can.

Can-can can-can can can can can can-can.

Here, the word can comes in many guises.

Ovde engleska reč „can” ima više značenja.

There's can-can, the flamboyant dance,

Tu je „kan-kan”, kitnjast ples,

can, that means able to,

„can” kao „moći”

and can, figuratively meaning to outperform.

i u figurativnom značenju „nadigrati”.

By sticking in a comma and including the implied meanings,

Kroz ubacivanje zareza i uključivanje obuhvaćenih značenja,

this sentence becomes clearer.

ova rečenica postaje jasnija.

Can-can dances that can-can dances are able to outperform,

Plesači kan-kana koje plesači kan-kana mogu da nadigraju,

can also outperform other can-can dances.

mogu da nadigraju druge plesače kan-kana.

You wouldn't necessarily use any of these sentences in a conversation.

Nećete obavezno koristiti bilo koju od ovih rečenica u nekom razgovoru.

They're just too ridiculous.

Jednostavno su previše smešne.

Yet they serve as an extreme example

Ipak, one služe kao ekstremni primer

on just how tangled everyday language can be.

koliko zamršen svakodnevni govor može biti.

Lexical ambiguities sail into our speech and writing all the time,

Leksičke višeznačnosti su deo našeg govora i pisanja sve vreme,

spreading confusion and misunderstanding wherever they can-can.

šireći zabunu i nerazumevanje kad god mogu-kan.