Linguaphile wrote:Naava, if you're reading this, will you check the Finnish? I'm not sure if maybe I should have used "tai" instead of "vai".
Maybe we should have three sentences instead of two, to distinguish "tai" from "vai" as well.
You know what? You got it wrong.
You can't use "vai" in declarative sentences. In questions, you use "vai" when you have listed all the possible options (which someone has to choose from) and "tai" when you think they could choose one of the options or something else or nothing. An example:
Haluatko matkustaa Myanmariin tai Thaimaahan?
Do you want to travel to Myanmar or [tai] Thailand?
--> You think the answer could be "Myanmar" or "Thailand" or "both" or "neither, I want to go somewhere else".
Haluatko matkustaa Myanmariin vai Thaimaahan?
Do you want to travel to Myanmar or [vai] Thailand?
--> You must choose either Myanmar or Thailand. Which one do you want to go to?
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I'll correct the Finnish one and add South Ostrobothnian. "eli" is the older word for "or" in my dialect but it's not used a lot anymore. You can still sometimes hear it though, at least in phrases that end "...or not" (like "whether you like it or not").
(1)
or (2)
or (1)
o (2)
o (1)
o / oppure (2)
cioè / ovvero / ovverosia (1)
или (2)
или (1)
або / чи (2)
або (1)
vai (2)
jeb (1)
või (2)
ehk (1)
tai (2)
eli (1)
tai, (
in some contexts: eli) (2)
eli,
elikkä (South Ostrobothnian)
(1)
vai (2)
vai (1)
vai (2)
vai