Tag: sodna-lɛni

Continuing with Gary’s list:

129. They popped corn, and then sat around the fire and ate it.

Ooh, three clauses! They cooked food ladi they sat around the fire na they ate it.

129. mavna gogɨdiya otni nɛlɨdiya ladi mavna notɛndɛ nolako dugaŋya na mavna kye dɨdiya ono dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

128. That boy will have a wonderful trip.

That boy will move along a wonderful road.

128. ma koda dantɨŋi tona gɛkɛdɛ dɛga.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

127. Do you like summer or winter better?

This uses sɛdɛ coupled with noya for “to stand near” which can also mean to like or prefer when used with something non-locational. Do you stand near summer or winter?

127. ŋidi sɛdɛ baŋi bɨlɨs sɨdi baŋi bɨlɨs tada noya no dɛmɛ?

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

126. The sound of the drums grew louder and louder.

This uses the iterative aspect of evi to convey growing loudly over and over again.

126. gyadɨgi syodeya evna eyonya dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

125. Stop your game and be quiet.

This can be handled with a serial predicate. It also introduces what I call the frustrative aspect: i.e. where you have stopped the action before completion.

125. ŋidi aŋŋi gyɛdɛ sɛdɛ sogɨdya ka.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

124. The baby clapped her hands and laughed in glee.

This is constructed like yesterday’s sentence, with two clauses joined by na. The verb duso, when prefixed with eya means to bring two things together.

124. kyɨbe ma kunna edustɛ na pilileya mɛddustɛ andabalya dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

123. The crow dropped some pebbles into the pitcher and raised the water to the brim.

More damn birds! A tutu is a flying reptile or large flying insect. I haven’t decided. But it is big enough and strong enough to carry some pebbles (or small rocks) and to drop them into a cup and cause the water to move up to the edge.

123. tutu amba kidɨdi ɨsɨdi otni kyute tadya na gada nokɨtti gaba olaya dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

122. The first part of the story is very interesting.

Hmm. The story’s first part sits very interestingly (if a general observation that is expected to be true of everyone). Or: [To] me, the story’s first part comes very interestingly (IMHO). Yeah, the latter.

122. lene tene ha dabateya andaneya ono takteya no bala.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

121. A company of soldiers marched over the hill and across the meadow.

OK. No soldiers. Let’s use a group of hunters kɛddɨn ha ɛdanna. And “marching” is a manner verb, and manner just isn’t important. Sorry. Over the hill and across the meadow can be handled with a serial predicate construction, and both would use the adverb alamya prefixed to tɨŋi

121. kɛddɨn ha ɛdanna alamotni lɛnɛ alamotni mɨŋi dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

120. Toward the end of August the days grow much shorter.

Days grow shorter. Hmm. Days grow longer could be done with eyevi, which is evi prefixed to remove an otherwise required source. Now how do I do the equivalent (remove an argument) from ɛmɛmɛ? Let’s see. I’ve already used A eyɛmɛ D to mean that A is made out of D, so that’s out. But I have no use for mɛhɛmɛ, indeed I’ve disallowed it. Well, scratch that, here’s a good use for it. So: lonɨdi eyevi goɬi “days get longer” and lonɨdi mɛhɛmɛ usi “days get shorter”. You might recognize goɬi as the adverb “for a long time” or “for some time”. usi would be “for a short time”.

And then we will use a serial predicate: days approach the end of the season and grow much shorter.

120. lonɨdi notɨŋi bɨlɨs da gada mɛhɛmɛ usi no.

Questions?