Jim Mason
Nov 6, 2021

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I don't want to continue this much longer, but I chose my German example carefully. The interpreter can hardly begin speaking the translation correctly and idiomatically until the final word is heard or is omitted:

"Sie machte ihm das Fenster des alten Hauses [zu / offen]."

The problem the interpreter has is which English verb to use: "made", "closed", or "opened". So the interpreter might start saying "She" as soon as s/he heard "Sie machte", but would have to wait until the end of the sentence before the correct verb could be chosen, unless unidiomatic English came out something like "She made for him the window of the old house [closed / open]."

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Jim Mason
Jim Mason

Written by Jim Mason

I study language, cognition, and humans as social animals. You can support me by joining Medium at https://jmason37-80878.medium.com/membership

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