Tag: North Wind & Sun

Posted on

Ni aɬudan ni loho

The North Wind and the Sun

Now that I have revised and re-revised and re-re-revised, etc, I have a new version of this standard story. Here it is in its entirety. Sentence by sentence explanations will start tomorrow and continue on Fridays and Tuesdays.

Tena ni aɬudan ni loho tɛŋɛteya dusena ŋɛha—da daɬo ɛnnavi baŋi tɛndɛ kɨtlɛ na dɛmɛ—na dona nɛn lude kyala dantɨŋe. Hanna oŋŋe ŋyehe: sa tɛndɛ kɨtlɛ na sa donava ludɨdɛn pɛstɛ giya. Aɬudan aŋe kyɛgɛ edatta. Ha dɛlɨdiya evena. Ha dɛlɨdiya evena iyɛ, dona ludɨdɛn ɛmmena o ŋɛha mɛha no. Linoda ha aŋe da mɛddatta. Ala loho aŋe kyɛgɛ edatta. Ha logɨdiya evena, nɛnsi dona ludɨdɛn opɛstɛ noya. Aɬudan deya omɛddustɛ: loho tɛndɛ kɨtlɛ na.

An argument is being had by the north wind and the sun with each other—it is which of the two is stronger—when a traveler with a warm cloak came along. They came to an agreement: he is stronger (=) he who can remove the cloak from the traveler. The north wind is beginning the task. He sends out breaths over and over. The more he sends out breaths, the closer the traveler pulls the cloak to himself. Finally, he (the north wind) is finishing it. Now the sun is beginning the task. She sends out light over and over, and so the traveler takes the cloak off. The north wind says this: the sun is the stronger.

For comparison, here is the previous published version:

Lohonɛn aɬudan tɛŋɛteya duso ha tɛndɛ kɨtlɛ andaya dɛmɛ, na dona ludenɛn kyala dantɨŋi tena. Hayi otni ŋyehe da ha tɛndɛ kɨtlɛ andaya hatto dona ludɨdɛn evi tena. Aɬudan tambi kyɛgɛ andaya tena. Aɬudan dɛlɨdiya evna tena. Dɛlɨdiya tɨnna donava yanna dona ludɨdɛn ɛmɛna mahanɨt yanna tena. Aɬudan otni kyɛgɛ tena. Loho tambi kyɛgɛ tena. Loho logɨdiya evna tena. Dona ludɨdɛn evi tena. Aɬudan ŋyehe mɛddustɛ loho tɛndɛ kɨtlɛ andaya tena.

Thoughts?

Posted on

ke

ke

ke

ke is a particle that only occurs with the relational se. It denotes a volitional, animate source. In the ninth sentence of the North Wind and the Sun:

tō jāo temme jalerāen ien la malō pa antāken anānexa ke mūrāna masīrien;

ke renames the source referred to by the inflected temme. temme is se in the past tense plus a third person source and a third person beneficiary. The object of se is jalerāen “admission/confession” and what is admitted is la malō pa antāken anānexa “the sun is strongest”. The source of the admission, the person admitting this, is mūrāna masīrien “the North Wind”.

Thus:

tō jāo temme jalerāen ien la malō pa antāken anānexa ke mūrāna masīrien;
So, the north wind admitted that the sun had the most strength.

All that is left is to say se jatōrren “The end.”

Posted on

jalerāen

jaleraaen

jalerāen

an admission, a confession, a concession of an argument. This word also occurs in the ninth sentence of the North Wind and the Sun.

tō jāo temme jalerāen ien la malō pa antāken anānexa ke mūrāna masīrien;

It occurs as an object of se (here as temme) and is renamed by the clause following the particle ien: la malō pa antāken anānexa. From previous days we know that this means “the sun is the strongest”. We will discuss the last phrase ke mūrāna masīrien tomorrow.

Posted on

ancālli 

ancaalli

ancālli

heat considered as a collection of beams or rays.

ē anlūi ē ancālli is a phrase meaning “light and heat”.

il ñamma ē anlūi ē ancālli nā ā malō
il ñamma jalūra rū sāen āñ pēxa ā marāona;

So, in this sentence from the North Wind and the Sun, the Sun has made light and heat and during that time, the wanderer removed the cloak.

Posted on

anlūi

anluui

anlūi

natural light as a collection of beams or rays, sunlight.

In the next sentence from the North Wind and the Sun, we again have a set of clauses conjoined by il:

il ñamma ē anlūi ē ancālli nā ā malō
il ñamma jalūra rū sāen āñ pēxa ā marāona;

In the first clause we see that the Sun has done “ē anlūi ē ancālli“, and in the second clause, the wanderer (marāona) has moved the cloak (jalūra) away from himself (rū sāen āñ pēxa).

ē anlūi ē ancālli is a phrase conjoined with ē and meaning “light and ???”. ??? will be covered tomorrow.

Posted on

antōrren

antoorren

antōrren

the quality of having come to the natural point of completion of a process or an event, finished, ended.

The second part of yesterday’s noun phrase is antōrren. Since this is modifying the inanimate singular jacēha “attempt”, it is also inanimate singular. So in this sentence from the North Wind and the Sun, the thing which the North Wind is finally doing is ending its attempt at blowing the cloak off the wanderer.

illoren ñamma jacēha jatōrren ā mūrāna masīrien;
Finally, the North Wind stopped trying.

Posted on

jacēha

jaceeha

jacēha

an attempt at something. In this sentence:

illoren ñamma jacēha jatōrren ā mūrāna masīrien;
Finally, the North Wind…

jacēha is part of a noun phrase that is the object of ñamma. The second part of the noun phrase will be dealt with tomorrow.

Posted on

illoren

illoren

illoren

The next sentence of the North Wind and the Sun starts with this word. illoren is a clause-level modifier that denotes that a period of time has finished and now something is going to happen. I generally translate it as “finally”.

illoren ñamma jacēha jatōrren ā mūrāna masīrien;

From Tuesday’s post we also know that it is the North Wind (mūrāna masīrien) that is about to do something.

Posted on

āñ

aanj

āñ

This particle, when it follows a noun or pronoun denotes a reflexive. In the sentence

il ñamma anūri nā ā mūrāna masīrien
il ñamma jalūra rā sāen āñ nō ā marāona;

āñ modifies the 3rd person singular pronoun sāen to mean “himself/herself”. nō means “to, along”. The second clause of the sentence thus means “the wanderer made/held/kept the cloak to him/herself”.

The sentence can now be fully translated:

Happening at the same time:
the North Wind is making lots of wind,
the wanderer is causing the cloak to be to him/herself.

or

“The north wind made much blowing and the wanderer held the cloak to himself.”