Wednesday, June 7, 2017

usage - Does 「鳴く」 give any nuances about the sound being made?


When we say "birds singing", there is a positive connotation.


When we say "birds crowing", there is a negative connotation.


"The birds are making some sound" seems to be objective, and thus neutral.


I was wondering is it true that 鳴く is absolutely neutral?


In other words, would the sentence 「小鳥が鳴いてる。」 have a positive connotation, negative connotation, or is it an absolutely neutral sentence?



Answer



I think it is neutral; it just implies the subject is a bird, an insect, or some other kind of animal. For positive connotation, there is a verb さえずる 'chirp'. For bad connotation, there is a verb (not limited to bird but can be used more generally) さわぐ 'make noise'.



No comments:

Post a Comment

periodic trends - Comparing radii in lithium, beryllium, magnesium, aluminium and sodium ions

Apparently the of last four, $\ce{Mg^2+}$ is closest in radius to $\ce{Li+}$. Is this true, and if so, why would a whole larger shell ($\ce{...