1 reply to this topic

[saffron]

'It is better to stay awake instead of having a nightmare'. So says a proverb.
In this proverb, 'to lie awake' is used, but not 'stay awake':
'Korkulu rüya görmektense, uyanık yatmak iyidir.'
'Yatmak' is to lie. Uyanık is awake. ('Yatırmak' is to lay. However , unlike English, it is not used to mean to lay a cloth, to lay arms, to lay an ear, lay a case..Shortly 'yatırmak' is to cause someone/something to lie. )
Turning back to the proverb, nightmare is 'kabus' (with a long a) or 'korkulu rüya'. Rüya is dream, korku is fear, horror..Korkulu rüya means a dream arousing horror.
In Turkish, dreams are 'seen'. 'Rüya görmek' is to have a dream. As you know, görmek is to see.
So, where is 'instead of' here?
There is more than one way to compare 'instead of' with a Turkish word. I think it is better to focus on the present example, for the time being.
..rüya görmektense : Let's take a closer look at 'görmektense'. This is actually ''görmek+ten ise '', but almost always said shortly.
This pattern implies a preference. I can translate the same sentece as : 'It is better to lie awake rather than having a nightmare'.
Other examples:
It is better to stay at home instead of getting lost in a noisy crowd:
Gürültülü bir kalabalıkta kaybolmaktansa evde kalmak iyidir
Gürültülü: noisy, crowd:kalabalık. Kaybolmak (originally: kayıp olmak) : to get lost. (lost:kayıp)
So the pattern is :Kaybolmak+tan ise. Shortly, kaybolmaktansa.
'It is better to lock all the drawers instead of worrying about them later':
Sonradan endişe etmektense bütün çekmeceleri kilitlemek iyidir.
To lock: kilitlemek (also as noun, kilit=lock), çekmece: drawer. Later: sonra, daha sonra, sonradan.
Endişe etmek : to worry about.
So the pattern is 'endişe etmekten ise', shortly, 'endişe etmektense'
'I have chosen not to tell the truth instead of hurting him' :
Onu incitmektense gerçeği söylememeyi tercih ettim
To choose, to prefer over : tercih etmek; turth: gerçek; söylemek :to say, to tell (also, to tell:anlatmak);to hurt:incitmek.
So the pattern is incitmek+ten ise, shortly, incitmektense.

[sunny]

Thank you for that Saffron.