Category: Conlanging

Continuing with Gary’s list:

159. Be quick or you will be too late.

Look, a hypothetical prediction (or something, vocabulary was never my strong point)! Do X or (else) Y will happen. I thought for a minute or two about using baŋi, but that doesn’t really fit. Then I remembered kyɛɬ, which I have not yet had the chance to use.

159. ŋidi tɨŋi tandeya ki kyɛɬ ŋidi tɨŋi ɨdeba alam dɛga.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

158. Tell the last part of that story again.

This is straightforward, but the next one isn’t so much, so this one is all by its lonesome. 🙁

158. ŋidi tene ha dabateya hodneya mɛdduso iyɛ iyɛ ki.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

157. In winter I get up at night, and dress by yellow candlelight.

You know, some of these sentences would never, ever, be uttered in conversation. So, winter lies, and I get up at night, and then I dress by torchlight.

157. bɨlɨs tada daɬa na lene tɨŋi syele olaya ladi lenada iɬyɨdi ɛmɛmɛ luke da logi.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

156. Here under this tree they gave their guests a splendid feast.

This sentence gets two sources, one a purpose (the guests) and one a cause (they), and the feast is the subject.

156. lasnavi mavna keneneya gɛkɛdeya omɛt da mɛdɛ susi tadya dɛstɛ

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

154. Hurry, children.
155. Madam, I will obey your command.

Ah, vocatives. I don’t think I will do anything special with vocatives. It’ll be clear in the intonation. But I keep going back and forth on whether daka ought to be in the destination slot or not.

154. hɨsna, ŋɨdna tɨŋi daka tandeya ka.

155. kyɛnɛ tatat lene tɨŋi syɨdɨtya dɛga.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

153. Did you find the distance too great?

This one is straightforward and I like the use of both sɨsɛteya and sɨsya.

153. ŋidi sɨsɛteya ono sɨsya alam dɛmɛ?

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

152. The market begins five minutes earlier this week.

I had to think about this one. I was wondering how to express “begins”. “goes to open?” “starts to go”? Eventually I settled on “starts to be made”. Early or earlier (they’re the same pragmatically in this sentence) was no issue, but earlier by five minutes (or some other measure of time) was difficult. I came up with something but I am not sure I like it.

152. da lonnas tasɨdɛn ɛmɛbi galaba no lonnas anda go dɛstɛ

The market starts one day sooner here.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

151. We learn something new each day.

“Something new” isn’t an issue, but I don’t have anything for “each” yet. I am not sure how I want to handle this. “Each day” –> “every day” –> “all days”. “All days” I can do.

151. lɛnnavi deya teleleya ono nadi loni.

To us, something new comes in/at all days.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

150. We visited my uncle’s village, the largest village in the world.

Biggest in the world, huh? Well, biggest of all will do for now.

150. madat lɛnna otni dɛspɛ da alantɛndɛ nonno andaya nadya dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

149. The little house had three rooms, a sitting room, a bedroom, and a tiny kitchen.

he! Three rooms sat in the little house: a room with a chair, a room with a bed, and a small room with a table.

149. suni hadi tɛttɛ laka ɨsa; sune tɛnɛnɛn, sune mudenɛn, sune ɨsa tɛbɛnɛn dɛstɛ.

Questions?