boatman+SUBJ many+IF boat+SUBJ mountain+LAT goes-up
If there are many boatmen the boat goes up the mountain.
I spent a long time trying to figure out what to call the -으로 [-euro = +LAT] ending. By my abbreviation, you can see that I’ve decided to call it a “Lative” case marker (q.v.), which I’ve never seen in any grammar of Korean. I’m just being an obstreperous and idiosyncratic avocational linguist, right? The ending indicates “direction toward” or “direction through” but also “manner” or “means,” and, as far as I can figure out, in colloquial usage it can be a “destination.” It is very common.
This wasn’t that hard to figure out, as far as semantics. But when I saw what the proverb was supposed to be equivalent to, I became puzzled. It’s said to be equivalent to: “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” Frankly, that seems to be exactly the opposite of its meaning, which is to say, with enough people (boatmen), anything is possible (getting a boat up a mountain).
I’m going to have to ponder this. I wonder if the important idea is that of the “boatman” in opposition to, maybe passengers (who aren’t as useful in getting the boat anywhere?).
Personally, I have no idea how to get from A (If there are many boatmen the boat goes up the mountain) to B (Too many cooks spoil the broth). Perhaps I need more boatmen?
Actually, I started thinking about Fitzcarraldo. Seriously – it’s exactly the same.