quick portuguese question: Foi a cobra que o cachorro mordeu

[sirdanilot]

Hi, I have a quick question about portuguese. I am reading a grammar of an Amazonian language and one of the sentences is glossed as such:

hutá atxú de apɨ́
snake bite INT dog
Foi a cobra que o cachorro mordeu?

So who bit what? Dog bite snake, or snake bites dog? Or is this sentence ambiguous (and thus a very crappy gloss)?

If you happen to know Juruná (Tupi-Juruna language) then that would of course solve the problem except it has less than 300 speakers so the odds aren't that high are they.

[Bristel]

Hi, I have a quick question about portuguese. I am reading a grammar of an Amazonian language and one of the sentences is glossed as such:

hutá atxú de apɨ́
snake bite INT dog
Foi a cobra que o cachorro mordeu?

So who bit what? Dog bite snake, or snake bites dog? Or is this sentence ambiguous (and thus a very crappy gloss)?

If you happen to know Juruná (Tupi-Juruna language) then that would of course solve the problem except it has less than 300 speakers so the odds aren't that high are they.

Was it the snake that bit the dog?

[zompist]

Backwards, I think, Bristel, It's "Was it the snake that the dog bit?"

If you want the snake to do the biting, you'd have "Foi o cobra que mordeu o cachorro?"

[Daedolon]

Backwards, I think, Bristel, It's "Was it the snake that the dog bit?"

Yes, you're right.

If you want the snake to do the biting, you'd have "Foi o cobra que mordeu o cachorro?"

Don't you mean "Foi a cobra que mordeu o cachorro?" ?

[zompist]

My snake is a dude.

[sirdanilot]

Yup so the dog bit the snake ey? That's what I was getting more and more convinced of after posting this.