Timeline for Are -lich adjectives and adverbs critiqued in German fiction?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Nov 2, 2017 at 11:00 | comment | added | FraEnrico | @SaraCosta I totally agree with you, you are right. Mine was a very sharp generalization. I was not looking for a deep explanation, but rather to provide a reflection on the meaning of adverbs. I did mention that latin languages are much more "verbose" than anglo-saxons (as you say, we "encourage multi-word phrases). | |
| Nov 2, 2017 at 10:06 | comment | added | SC for reinstatement of Monica | English focuses a lot on strong verbs (he spoke loudly = he shouted) and on using a single word to convey an idea, whereas Portuguese (and I believe Italian too, but do feel free to correct me) not only welcomes multi-word phrases but also encourages them. Adverbs add nuances and undertones to a verb, enriching the idea one wants to transmit. How can one replace 'he smiled lividly' with 'he grinned' (I got that suggestion, once)? The adverb brings the emotion to life while the verb describes the action: that is the true power of the adverb IMHO. | |
| Nov 2, 2017 at 9:58 | comment | added | SC for reinstatement of Monica | While I upvoted your answer, I must say I disagree with the idea that adverbs are cheap and redundant (I'm also thinking of italian and Portuguese, since both languages have a different 'word economy' when compared to English). One may use them poorly to create cheap and redundant phrases, or one may use them well to create rich and nuanced phrases. | |
| Oct 31, 2017 at 8:17 | history | answered | FraEnrico | CC BY-SA 3.0 |