なぜ?どうして?Finished!

The も is replacing the particle が right?

I think emphasis makes sense. In which case maybe we should be stronger in the translation:

With a width over three metres, they are totally massive objects!

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Dunno how much of this is going to be covered on the next two pages, but here’s more information about the stones:

(I was kinda hoping the book would mention the Triganic Pu, which is made up of eight Ningis. Since the Ningi is a triangular rubber coin six thousand eight hundred miles along each side, no one has ever collected enough to own one Pu.)

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Page 99

I’m having some grammar problems here!

しかも、 その お金は 紙では なく、金ぞくでも なく、石で できていたのです

しかも、- moreover, furthermore
その お金は - this money (referring to previous sentence)
紙で - paper + で (of paper)
は - contrasting は particle?
なく、- this is where I’m lost
金ぞく - metal
で - of
も - clearly this particle must be a counterpart to the earlier は
なく、 - again, lost
石で - of stone
できていた - was made
の - explanation article
です - polite ending

Can anyone tell me what the two なくs are? Thank you so much!

It’s just ない, but the sentence continues, so you can’t just have ない. In speech you would be more likely to use て form for continuation.

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Is ではない which is じゃない → is not

Also not

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Ah! I see! (I think, added to my own ignorance, the gaps in the text threw me off! [good excuse]). Thank you both so much!

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We’ve seen this a couple of times before in the book. Here are some other examples. Each time I think it is just ない (non existent) changed to なく to link to the next part of the phrase:

Page 12
そこで、 のりを 外がわでは なく、 ごはんの 内がわに 入れて まいたら、 とたんに 大人気に なりました。

In America, rather than putting nori on the outside, instead rolling it inside the rice, has become really popular.

Page 82
このため、 エンジェルフォールには たきつばが なく、たきの 下では 強い 風と雨が まっています。

The result is that Angel Falls is without a plunge pool, and underneath the waterfall a strong wind and rain awaits.

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Wow! Micki! Thank you! Much appreciated! (And funny how I simply missed the earlier examples altogether!). Thank you!

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Page 100

これらは むかし、パラオと いう べつの 国から 切りだして はこび、お金として つかわれていた 「石貨」と よばれる ものです。

There, long ago, things called rai stones, quarried and carried away from another country called Palau, were used as money.

おいわいごとなどの ときに つかわれていましたが、じっさいには 石を うごかす ことは なく、もちぬしが かわると いう ものでした。

At the time of an auspicious occasion or suchlike they were used, without actually moving the stones, and when changing owner it was a say (spoken) thing (the change of owner was simply a verbal agreement).

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Page 100: (Triple digits already!)

これらは むかし、パラオと いう べつの 国から 切り出して はこび、お金として つかわれていた 「石貨」と よばれる ものです。

This, quarried and carried from a different country called Palau long time ago, as for money being used, was called “Rai Stones”

おいわいごとなどの ときに つかわれていましたが、じっさいには 石を うごかす ことは なく、もちねしが かわると いう ものでした。

They were used for celebration times but without actually move them, and when they changed the owner, it was a thing said (spoken agreement?)

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Arghsss! You beat me!

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That’s what I understood as well. The Wikipedia entry seems to support our translation. The stones aren’t moved, and there is no paper trail to mark ownership, it’s just passed on as a verbal agreement. They even give an example of a stone that sinks in the sea that continues to be used as currency on the shared agreement that it is probably still there!

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By the way… how many pages has the physical book?

143, but the last two are a note to parents (おうちの方へ).

Guys I’m back after a long and undeserved hiatus.

I’m on page 72. I’ll join the convo with ya guys soon hopefully!

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おいわいごとなどの ときに つかわれていましたが、じっさいには 石を うごかす ことは なく 、もちぬしが かわると いう ものでした。

I was trying to figure out what the the ことはなく was doing there so I did some searching and found out that a verb in dictionary form + ことはない means “there is no need to…” or “never happens”. In this context, probably “there is no need to” works better so

“…there is no need to move the stones…”

Also I was wondering about もちぬしがかわる (持ち主が変わる) which according to weblio means “change hands”, so does that mean it’s an idiomatic expression meaning something else?

Also the ごと in おいわいごと (お祝い事) is rendaku-ed from こと.
I was reading a Tofugu article about Rendaku since I didn’t know much about it. The article is kinda long and boring but if anyone is into that sorta stuff, you can read about it here, but since it’s the end of the day, I will go brush my teeth, go to bed, and then dream about carrying a humongous Rai stone on my back for the next 32 days while traveling across the China looking for てがみ in all the restrooms thereby fulfilling my childhood ambition to be a 一人前の 男. Gooooood night….

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This too is rendaku. :stuck_out_tongue:

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You had me going there for a minute :grin:

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Page 101:

まん中に あいた あなは、この 石を はこんでくる ときに、木の ぼうを さして、りょうがわから かついで はこぶ ために つかいました。

When it was time to carry this stone, a tree branch was inserted from both sides in the hole opened in the middle in order to carry it

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 the shape of a Japanese 5 yen, and 50 yen coin more or less

Caption:
今も ヤップ島に のこる 石貨。

Rai Stones remain in Yap island even now

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開く and 差す?

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