Ducablog: apontamentos: To be or stand

This text is for those who like linguistic conjectures and also for those who like amusing anthropological and paleontological extrapolations, those washed down with coffee and boiling milk, accompanied by bread and butter, late at night, as we used to do in my parents' house, when we were young, with cousins, friends... I miss those good times.

Inspired by comments on a linguistic forum I follow on Facebook, where the verbs to be and to be (hahaha... 'ser' and 'estar' in Portuguese) were discussed, I did an Internet search and I think I found a way to better explain how to replace the Portuguese verbs 'ser' and 'estar' to people who speak languages that, apparently, do not have the corresponding verb for 'estar', such as French and English, and use 'être' and 'to be' in situations where we use 'estar'.

My husband was French/English bilingual and could do reasonably well in other languages; he had perfectly understood the connotation of transience for 'estar' and of essence for 'ser', but when using the verbs, he sometimes switched one for the other. And it's not just him. Not having a verb that condenses the corresponding 'thought' in their own language makes it difficult. We can understand why Anglophones and Francophones mix it up, like this:

Ela é triste: She is sad... Elle est triste.

Ela está triste: She is sad... Elle est triste.

I found a very good explanation of the "history" of these verbs on a Portuguese website and, considering that the evolution of human thought is similar in different "cultures", I deduced that the corresponding for 'estar' in English could be 'stand' (not 'stay', as some think). In German 'stehen'. See the explanation (in Portuguese) in link (1), how interesting! The verb 'estar' comes from 'estar de pé' (stand up, keep on the feet) and this has to do with transience.

Trying to confirm my deduction, I looked up the verb 'stand' and, indeed, it has a similar usage as 'estar'. But the most common usage is with the verb 'to be'.

In the Collins dictionary, it is quite clear (2):

“… link verb

You can use stand instead of 'be' when you are describing the present state or condition of something or someone.

Examples:
The alliance stands ready to do what is necessary.

The peace plan as it stands violates basic human rights.”

For French, unfortunately, I haven't found a correspondent yet (the one that fits best is 'rester'; it doesn't fit perfectly, but it keeps some similarity).

A cousin of mine, one of those who used to drink coffee with steaming milk – with cream! – and great connoisseur of Latin, among many other languages, José Eduardo, sent me, in addition to several references confirming the etymological origin of the verb 'estar', a good webpage for French-speakers to disentangle themselves from the plots of Portuguese. Check out this link (3) of real usefulness (discounting the French language errors).

I also recommend the English verb STAND, to help Anglophones memorize, as it visually looks like 'ESTAR'; if the person tries to replace it in a corresponding English sentence and it doesn't fit at all, it's because the right thing to say is 'SER' (to be). 'Stand' is sometimes a bit forced in the meaning of 'ESTAR', but it doesn't look absurd, meaningless.

Now, let's go to the extrapolations...

The origin of 'ESTAR', then, goes back to the expression 'to be standing', and this explains the transitory character of the verb, in contrast to the verb 'SER'. All positions are transitory, but the fact that the standing position evolved to symbolize the connotation of transience intrigued me.

Nobody knows exactly, until today, which appeared first: bipedalism or superior intelligence, in relation to other animals, with the development of the most sophisticated language, with the capacity to convey symbols, ideas and abstract notions. The idea prevails that bipedalism appeared first and allowed the development of intelligence (use of hands, etc...).

Anyway, when language started to develop, bipedalism must have been still in transition. It couldn't be easy to stand up for a long time. Only transiently indeed. Until today we are not completely adapted to bipedalism, standing up is not our preferred position. If you stand for long periods of time, you can have problems and, if you add less favorable weather conditions, the prolonged bipedal position can become more uncomfortable and even harmful.

So, in the verb 'ESTAR', this idea of transience was deeply impressed, related to the standing position. It is remarkable, isn't it! It seems that our language is telling our own evolutionary story! It is fascinating!

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Ducablog: apontamentos

sábado, dezembro 18, 2021

To be or stand

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