Thursday, February 27, 2020

DINGA' CHÅLAN



This is a dinga' chålan.

In English we call it a "fork in the road."

You know it's a dinga' chålan when you have no choice but to turn either left or right.

That's why, in English, the expression "we have come to a fork in the road" means we have to make a decision, a choice.

DINGA' means "twin" or "pair."

CHÅLAN means "road," "street," "path" or "way."

So a dinga' chålan is when one road has twins, so to speak. It breaks off into two separate paths. It becomes a pair of roads.

If you told an older person about a "tenedot gi chalan," a "fork in the road," they wouldn't know what you're talking about. Language is more than just words. Language is also a way of thinking, imagining and feeling.

"Fork in the road" focuses on the break occurring in the one road. That's why it's "in the road." One road.

Dinga' chålan focuses on the two new roads, like twins sprung from the same original road.

No right or wrong; just two different ways of looking at the same thing. This mentality is shown in language.


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