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"maya," a 3rd person singular verb.

 

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Old October 10, 2018, 04:44 PM
htaylor4 htaylor4 is offline
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"maya," a 3rd person singular verb.

César Vallejo's poem "Rosa Blanca" concludes with these two lines:


Y maya in mi Pacifico
un náufrago ataúd.


In the translations into English or Anglo-American that I have seen, "maya" is translated as if it means "meows" or "mews," yet I have not found this equivalence in a dictionary.


I don't want to quote too much of the poem, being uncertain of its copyright status, but the lines make sense if you know that a few lines earlier the speaker of the poem claims to have within "el gato tremulo/del Miedo." Can anyone shed a little light on this word, including its infinitive? I'll be very grateful.


Thanks--
Henry
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  #2  
Old October 10, 2018, 05:26 PM
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Rusty Rusty is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by htaylor4 View Post
Y maya en mi Pacífico
un náufrago ataúd.
Mayar is the infinitive, and it means 'meow'. The conjugation in the poem means 'meows' or 'meowing'.

The modern infinitive, with the same meaning, is maullar.
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Old October 13, 2018, 11:40 AM
htaylor4 htaylor4 is offline
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Many thanks. Is "mayar," then, archaic?
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Old October 13, 2018, 12:54 PM
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No, it just isn't used as much. Instead of 'modern', I should have written 'more-used'.

Look here to see what it says about mayar.
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