なぜ?どうして?Finished!

Page 106

すまい: どろで つくられた、大きな たてものが ある!

Dwelling: There is a huge building made of mud!

日本には 木で できた たてものが たくさん ありますが、せかいには、石で できた たてものも 多く 見られます。

In Japan there are lots of buildings made of wood, but in the world there are also lots of buildings made or stone to be seen.

いっぽう、アフリカの 国、マリには ちょっと かわった もので できた たてものが あります。

On the other hand, in Mali, an African country, there are buildings made of something a little different.

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Page 107

It’s not midnight yet, but I haven’t done all this hard work just to be pipped at the post, … so here goes…… (sorry Micki!)!

Sentence 1 :
モスク (イスラム教の おいのりを する たてもの) なのですが, なんと どろで できているのです

モスク - mosque
イスラム教の - Islamic…
お - honorific prefix
いのりを - prayer + を (direct object particle)
する - to do
たてもの - building
なの - explanation particle (and preceding な)
です - is this a です (polite copula) in the middle of a sentence?
が, - but
なんと - what; how; whatever​
どろで - 泥で, of/with mud
できている - 出来る, to be made, in ている form
の - explanation particle
です - polite ending

“It is a mosque (a building for Islamic prayer) but surprisingly it is made of mud”.

Question: I’m a bit confused by the です in the middle, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact it comes after の. Any ideas?

Sentence 2 :

マリの ジェンネは, 広大な サハラ砂漠に ある ふるい 町です

マリの ジェンネは, - Djenné in Mali + は
広大な - vast; extensive; immense (な-adjective)
サハラ砂漠に - Sahara Desert​ + に, in
ある - there is
ふるい - 古い, old
町 - town
です - polite copula

“Djenné in Mali is an old town in the vast Sahara Desert”.

Question: I don’t understand why ある is in the middle of the sentence rather than at the end. Any ideas?

Sentence 3 :

この 町の 中心に たつ モスクは, どろを かためて つくられ,「どろのモスク」として 有名です

この 町の 中心に - in the centre of this town
たつ - 立つ, to stand (or possibly 建つ, to be erected, to be built?)
モスクは, mosque + は
どろを mud + を
かためて - 固める, to harden, in てform
つくられ, - 作る, to make, in passive form (not too sure about this)
「どろのモスク」- mud mosque
として - as
有名 - famous
です - polite copula

“In the centre of this town stands [a building] made of hardened mud, famous as the “Mud Mosque””.

Question: What is the grammar in つくられ? The full passive is 作られる, but here the final る has been dropped. Is it acting like a connective て form?

Sentence 4 :

この モスクは とても きみょうな 形を しています

この モスクは - this mosque
とても - very
きみょうな - 奇妙, strange (な-adjective)
形を - shape + を
しています - has

“This mosque has a very strange shape”.

Question: しています literally means “is doing”, right? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used as “has” before (though with my memory, anything is possible!). Is this a common pattern?

Thank you everyone!

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You can always link two sentences together with something like が. It’s just… two sentences with a “but” tying them together. You could put a period there instead and start a new sentence with a different grammar point if you wanted.

It’s a relative clause. サハラ砂漠にある modifies 町.

The て form is not used in writing. So yes, this is just a continuative form.

する can be used for the appearance of things.

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Wow, that is all super-helpful! Thank you so much Leebo! Very kind of you!

Not really in a race to post first honest! The page turns at 3pm in the UK, if I’m waiting for you all to wake up in Japan and Australia then I’m going to bed myself! Like I’ve mentioned before I’m very happy if we turn the page a couple of hours earlier so that you in Japan can start contributing in the late evening.

Awesome work today, really helpful. Thanks Leebo for answering those questions above.

I struggled with として and your translation has helped me put that sentence together. Here was the reference I found that helped:

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Yea, I got a little confused about ある here as well and couldn’t figure out if it was the verb 有る or the other 或.

Yes, it’s a common pattern. In fact, these same words popped up just a few pages previously.

P101 日本の 五円玉や 五十円玉の ような 形を しています ね。
It has a shape like Japan’s 5 yen coin and 50 yen coin.

(It’s OK, my memory is getting really bad, too.:upside_down_face: )

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I know! I’m not being serious! And now that we are down to just a handful of people, any posts at all from anyone are a bonus, let alone being first!

Thank you for that too!

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Page 101 and 107

Exactly the same on both pages! I missed that completely! Thank you @trout!

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この 町の 中心に たつ モスクは, どろを かためて つくられ ,「どろのモスク」として 有名です

I’m still thinking about the construction used here in …どろを かためて つくられ…

Your translation sounds right, but I’m just wondering how you got from どろを かためて つくられ(ます)to “made of hardened mud” . Maybe I’m missing something obvious but the て- form in かためて here is confusing me.

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page 106!

And we’re back.

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:+1::+1::+1:

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This part was giving me trouble, too.

“made of hardened mud” fits with how I imagine the building to be constructed, but seems to be the opposite of how I understand the Japanese grammar here.

I’m used to seeing the て form used as a conjunction like “and then”. So taking that part of the sentence very literally, I would come up with “harden the mud, and then made”. So I was wondering if it’s using another definition for かためる. Jisho says it can also mean “to put together; to collect; to gather; to consolidate”.

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かためる is a transitive verb so who or what is doing the かためる to the mud? If it’s “they” understood, then how does つくられ(ます) which is passive connect with this?

I was trying to see if there was some ~てつくる construction of some sort or another but I couldn’t find anything.

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In the heart of the town stands the mosque, which is built of mud that they gather. It is famous as the “mud mosque”.

??
or

The mosque that stands in the center of the town is famous as the “mud mosque”. It is built of mud that they gather.

or

They gather mud for it to be built.

I don’t know; the more I think about it, the more confused I get…

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See below, I totally botched my editing :frowning:

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Page 108 - killing time while the kids are swimming…

細かい 出っぱりが、まるで 角のように たくさん つきでているのです。

細かい - detailed
出っぱり - projections/protrusions

まるで - completely
角のように - similar to horns
たくさん - lots of
つきでている - 突き出る in ている form, are projecting , are sticking out
の - explanatory particle
です - polite copula

There are lots of detailed projections, which look very much like horns.

なぜ、こんな 形を して いるのでしょう。

なぜ - why
こんな - such a
形を して いる - having a shape recently discussed
の - explanatory particle
でしょう - expressing uncertainty - “I wonder”

I wonder why it has such a shape.

じつは、この 出っぱりは、たてものの 内がわから たくさんの ヤシの 木を 外に むかって つきだした ものです。

じつは - as a matter of fact
この 出っぱりは - these projections + は
たてものの - building + の (possessive particle)
内がわ から - from the inside
たくさんの lots of + の
ヤシの - palm tree + の
木を - tree/wood - I think here meaning sticks + を
外に outside + に
むかって - 向かう to face/ to go towards (in て form)
つきだした - 突き出す - to project (plain past)
もの - thing/nominalising
です - copula

As a matter of fact these projections are lots of palm sticks projecting outward from the building’s inside.

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Yeeeeeeah, I think you’re probably right. :tired_face:

Just another note on this sentence. While it’s famous in Japanese as “The Mud Mosque”, it’s not called that in English, it’s called “The Great Mosque of Djenné.” But in Japanese it’s name does seem to be “泥のもすく”.

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It’s this part that I’m having a hard time understanding.

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I screwed up my original post trying to reply & edit at the same time so…

An example
It is interesting, cute, and big.
面白くて、可愛くて、大きいです。 Is what you learn and believe it or not, it’s rather informal.
面白く、可愛く、大きいです。 Same applies for verbs when using て to say [verb and verb]

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