Thread:User talk:CodeCat/Affirmatives/reply (6)

I'd have to agree with CodeCat here. In Latin (a fairly conservative IE language, so a good clue at least), we often say sic or ita (meaning "thus") or sometimes a construction like tali in modo ("in such a manner"), but the fallback is often the verb. The clearest way to answer a question like Timueruntne dictatorem? ("Were they afraid of the dictator?") is to respond with the verb, because the phrasing emphasises the verb by putting it first.

A wide variety of languages I've looked at, from Japanese to Swahili, have a habit of using "thus" or repeating the verb where English would say "yes", so I think it's actually more normal.