Langs and Conlangs

Text and Translation

Yozonda siŋi yaha medes luŋera. Mede yaha satas ŋelona luŋido zenizeni kumu runuŋe. Luŋeya peretenen mede kigivinda ono davara. Sasataza hara. Saya zimivina, zimenda kerekeremena.

Urinona, inda ŋono zeye oloŋira, lamana tene layisena. Tesi tarataratana, laka kahes Nuvora. Tana reŋirana, keses igaravena. Lakaza tana reŋirayi, inda pezes ŋono pobomo ŋono pidi ŋono perete ŋono muru era. Tana reŋirayi, inda pezes lakara. Medenda medes tanatana Nuvora, ŋiri mede yaha satas oloyo sape. Tana reŋirayi, inda pezes Nuvu ira. Pezes yalata zara Nuvu sazarudu luŋi sareŋe.

Nuvonda nuvume, inda nuvunuvu saruviyi.

The star goes from there to a tall smooth tree. The man expectantly watches the star climb the smooth trunk. The star takes a large piece of bark with a knife. It goes around their body. They start to sing, and from the song they start to make magic.

The wind starts to blow, it makes many dark clouds come, and the whole sky starts to be hidden. A little bit of rain starts to fall and Nuvu goes into the hut. The river starts to flow and it covers the campsite with water. The river flows around the hut and it washes away the many spears, the many baskets, the many knives, and the many mats. The river continues to flow and washes away the hut. Nuvu quickly goes from tree to tree, and he fails to climb the trees’ smooth trunks. The river continues to flow and washes away Nuvu. The star listens to Nuvu’s voice, which is dying away.

Nuvu is changed into an owl and he continues to cry mournfully.

Interlinear and Explanation

Yozonda siŋi yaha medes luŋera.

The star goes from there to a tall smooth tree.

Mede yaha satas ŋelona luŋido zenizeni kumu runuŋe.

The man expectantly watches the star climb the smooth trunk.

Luŋeya peretenen mede kigivinda ono davara.

The star takes a large piece of bark with a knife.

Sasataza hara.

It goes around their body.

Saya zimivina, zimenda kerekeremena.

They start to sing, and from the song they start to make magic.

Urinona, inda ŋono zeye oloŋira, lamana tene layisena.

The wind starts to blow, it makes many dark clouds come, and the whole sky starts to be hidden.

Tesi tarataratana, laka kahes Nuvora.

A little bit of rain starts to fall and Nuvu goes into the hut.

Tana reŋirana, keses igaravena.

The river starts to flow and it covers the campsite with water.

Water gara is (here) a part of the river, and so possessed.

Lakaza tana reŋirayi, inda pezes ŋono pobomo ŋono pidi ŋono perete ŋono muru era.

The river flows around the hut and it washes away the many spears, the many baskets, the many knives, and the many mats.

Tana reŋirayi, inda pezes lakara.

The river continues to flow and washes away the hut.

Medenda medes tanatana Nuvora, ŋiri mede yaha satas oloyo sape.

Nuvu quickly goes from tree to tree, and he fails to climb the trees’ smooth trunks.

Tana reŋirayi, inda pezes Nuvu ira.

The river continues to flow and washes away Nuvu.

Pezes yalata zara Nuvu sazarudu luŋi sareŋe.

The star listens to Nuvu’s voice, which is dying away.

Nuvonda nuvume, inda nuvunuvu saruviyi.

Nuvu is changed into an owl and he continues to cry mournfully.

Text and Translation

Nara zales kines luŋeta baŋibaŋi. Alaza kalatepe gohotepe lakatepe sara. Sarunos pezes yutonda seleno. Nuvonda yutu selese. Hadas tanatana luŋera.

Luŋeya sorove, “Diya liyes tesi gohorahi?” Kumoya rusuve, “Be! Liyes harazidu linda viri gohose.”

“Dinda yutoza tesi kalanen liŋinahi?” “Kalanen liŋizidu viri yutuse.”

“Ŋiri kele muroza dika. Dinda yutoza tesi kalanen liŋinahido vene zeninen diŋi, liya lisataza nara mururazi.” Nuvoya ruluve, “Enda pezes ira! Lidu ese, kegevenen mape vekeve yendodo evu.”

One night a star falls to earth. They go for a time, cold, hungry, and shelter-less. They see light from a campfire in the distance. The light is Nuvu’s campfire. The star hurries to it.

The star says, “Could you give me some food?” The man replies, “No! There is not enough of my food for me to eat.”

“Could I make myself a little bit warm near your campfire?” “There is not enough campfire to make me warm.”

“You have some fine mats.You did not allow that I could make make myself a little bit warm near your campfire; I will put one mat around my body.” Nuvu shouts, “Go away from those! They are for me and not for lazy people who do not work.”

Interlinear and Explanation

Nara zales kines luŋeta baŋibaŋi.

One night a star falls to earth.

Alaza kalatepe gohotepe lakatepe sara.

They go for a time, cold, hungry, and shelterless.

Sarunos pezes yutonda seleno.

They see light from a campfire in the distance.

Nuvonda yutu selese.

The light is Nuvu’s campfire.

Hadas tanatana luŋera.

The star hurries to it.

Luŋeya sorove, “Diya liyes tesi gohorahi?”

The star says, “Could you give me some food?”

Kumoya rusuve, “Be! Liyes harazidu linda viri gohose.”

The man replies, “No! There is not enough of my food for me to eat.”

“Dinda yutoza tesi kalanen liŋinahi?”

“Could I make myself a little bit warm near your campfire?”

“Kalanen liŋizidu viri yutuse.”

“There is not enough campfire to make me warm.”

“Ŋiri kele muroza dika.

“You have some fine mats.

Dinda yutoza tesi kalanen liŋinahido vene zeninen diŋi, liya lisataza nara mururazi.”

You did not allow that I could make make myself a little bit warm near your campfire; I will put one mat around my body.”

Nuvoya ruluve, “Enda pezes ira!

Nuvu shouts, “Go away from those!

Lidu ese, kegevenen mape vekeve yendodo evu.”

They are for me and not for lazy people who do not work.”

Text and Translation

Nuvu berenen kumoza zose tanise. Sama basa sonose, sama karu vususe. Ŋono alaza yendanen nikevas saŋiyinda samas etede piŋimeyi, pezes sara kodu, venendanen saŋena. Yendanen nikevas saŋiyihi, saya namanen ŋiri kegevemiyizeza namas zeninoheza samas delino. Goleza nara kumu saŋiye, saya kuŋinen zase ŋiri kegeveme. Goleza venendanen saŋiyinda sanda laka azis lenese. Kozos ŋono pobomoza ŋono pideza ŋono pereteza ŋono muroza saka.

This story is one which is about a man named Nuvu. He has a bad head and a rough tongue. Through more time spent in the vicinity of people he is filled with pain, so he goes away and lives with nobody. If he continues to stay near people, he thinks that they will expect that he will continue to make work with them. For a long time he lives as a solitary man, and he works as he wanted. After a long time living with nobody, there is a pile outside his hut. In there he has many spears, many baskets, many knives, and many mats.

Interlinear and Explanation

Nuvu berenen kumoza zose tanise.

The story is one which is about a man named Nuvu.

Sama basa sonose, sama karu vususe.

He has a bad head and a rough tongue.

Ŋono alaza yendanen nikevas saŋiyinda samas etede piŋimeyi, pezes sara kodu, venendanen saŋena.

Through more time spent in the vicinity of people he is filled with pain, so he goes away and lives with nobody.

Someday I am going to figure out why some time phrases take =s and some take =za. I know there is a reason, I am simply not quite sure how to explain it.

Yendanen nikevas saŋiyihi, saya namanen ŋiri kegevemiyizeza namas zeninoheza samas delino.

If he continues to stay near people, he thinks that they will expect that he will continue to make work with them.

Goleza nara kumu saŋiye, saya kuŋinen zase ŋiri kegeveme.

For a long time he lives as a solitary man, and he works as he wanted.

Goleza venendanen saŋiyinda sanda laka azis lenese.

After a long time living with nobody, there is a pile outside his hut.

Kozos ŋono pobomoza ŋono pideza ŋono pereteza ŋono muroza saka.

In there he has many spears, many baskets, many knives, and many mats.

And now the conclusion of the story…

Text and Translation

Saya evi, “Ŋaya kere ebes linda laki ira.” Naya kere ebes liye ira. Naya liye tene satanda pezes garanen piŋera. Yozonda erenara, naya zosos yereme.

Besariya marodo tonos liye ira. Maras lira, muros dahidahi liŋi, lidurunulona. Pobotonen rehela lipena.

He says, “Take my daughter to the sacred pool.” They take me to the sacred pool. They wash the pain from all of my body. The spirits go from there and play elsewhere.

Uncle sets me on the road to home. I go home, I am lying down on the mat, and my eyes open. I begin to not be sick afterwards.

Interlinear and Explanation

Saya evi, “Ŋaya kere ebes linda laki ira.”

He says, “Take my daughter to the sacred pool.”

Naya kere ebes liye ira.

They take me to the sacred pool.

Naya liye tene satanda pezes garanen piŋera.

They wash the pain from all of my body.

Or, they made the pain go with water from all of my body.

Yozonda erenara, naya zosos yereme.

The spirits go from there and play elsewhere.

Besariya marodo tonos liye ira.

Uncle sets me on the road to home.

Maras lira, muros dahidahi liŋi, lidurunulona.

I go home, I am lying down on the mat, and my eyes open.

My eyes open, or I wake up. And eyes is in the dual, too.

Pobotonen rehela lipena.

I begin to not be sick afterwards.

Or, I begin to fail to be with sickness afterwards.

Text and Translation

Lirunos linda besarino aŋaka. Linda tili arenda tili bese saŋi. Lidu luguradu sano. Erenaza saka, liyenen yeremeto.

Saya nadu evi, “Linda laki koyo yeleŋe. Samas dimidimi yakato! Sadu gehevanen yaŋi!” Liyes erena dimidimi nakato aŋaka.

And then I see my uncle. He is my late grandmother’s uncle. He comes to help me. He grasps the spirits and the game with me stops.

He says to them, “This person is my daughter. Stop hitting her! Be good to her!” And then the spirits stop hitting me.

Interlinear and Explanation

Lirunos linda besarino aŋaka.

And then I see my uncle.

Technically, besari is mother’s mother’s brother.

Linda tili arenda tili bese saŋi.

He is my late grandmother’s uncle.

Technically ari is mother’s mother’s and bese is mother’s brother. And the adjective tili, last seen modifying the noun lono ‘day’, can also modify kinship terms.

Lidu luguradu sano.

He comes to help me.

Erenaza saka, liyenen yeremeto.

He grasps the spirits and the game with me stops.

Saya nadu evi, “Linda laki koyo yeleŋe.

He says to them, “This person is my daughter.

Technically, laki is a woman’s daughter or a man’s sister’s daughter.

Samas dimidimi yakato!

Stop hitting her!

Uncle does not use indirect, polite commands. He is direct, using the non-rational animate pronouns to convey an imperative.

Sadu gehevanen yaŋi!”

Be good to her!”

Liyes erena dimidimi nakato aŋaka.

And then the spirits stop hitting me.

The conclusion will post on Monday. Have a good weekend!

Text and Translation

Naya kureza kideza liye ira. Liye tene satas dimidimi eka. Liye tene satas piŋino, govogovo bavasano.

Liya nadu evi, “Ŋaŋitohi. Govogovo koyonen ŋaŋitohi. Lidu gehevanen ŋaŋinahi.” Linda sorodo erena sarape baŋibaŋi.

They take me across thorns and rocks. They (the thorns and rocks) hit all of my body. I feel pain on all of my body and all kinds of bad.

I say to them, “You could stop. You could stop doing all these kinds of things. You could start to be good to me.” But the spirits do not listen to my words.

Interlinear and Explanation

Naya kureza kideza liye ira.

They take me across thorns and rocks.

Or, I am made to go (non-volitionally) by them across thorns and rocks.

Liye tene satas dimidimi eka.

They (the thorns and rocks) hit all of my body.

Liye tene satas piŋino, govogovo bavasano.

I feel pain on all of my body and all kinds of bad.

Here’s another pair: basa ‘bad’ and bavasa ‘badness’.

Liya nadu evi, “Ŋaŋitohi.

I say to them, “You could stop.

Our narrator is being polite and using indirect or polite commands here and in the following sentences.

Govogovo koyonen ŋaŋitohi.

You could stop doing all these kinds of things.

Lidu gehevanen ŋaŋinahi.”

You could start to be good to me.”

Here we have the noun geheva formed from the adjective gehe and the nominalizer -va. Mostly because the partially reduplicated form of gehe would be gehehe and that just didn’t sound right.

Linda sorodo erena sarape baŋibaŋi.

But the spirits do not listen to my words.

Generally one hears something with the construction A sara=s X=no. But one can listen for something, too, with X=du A sara=ra. This works for other senses as well.

Text and Translation

Ŋasaras linda pobotoza zisirinohe. Ŋono poto liŋi, yatayatavadu lira. Poto liŋiye, muros dahidahi liŋi, morono.

Moronen muros dahidahi liŋiye, uri erenano. Liyeza naka, liyenen yiri buros nara. Koyo erenaya yiri erenanen yereme. Erenaya keruvelime. Naya ŋarunos ŋono pezes ebeno, naya ŋarunos yozos tileya ŋarahidu hape aŋaka.

You may have heard news of my sickness. I was very sick, almost to death. While I was sick, I lay on the mat, and a dream came.

With the dream, while I am lying on the mat, the wind spirits come. They grasp me and take me to the mouth of a dry wash. These spirits play with the dry wash spirits. The dry wash spirits create dust devils. They make a distant pool of water appear to you and then before you can reach it they make it fail to appear.

Interlinear and Explanation

Ŋasaras linda pobotoza zisirinohe.

You may have heard news of my sickness.

Ŋono poto liŋi, yatayatavadu lira.

I was very sick, almost to death.

Note that poto is an adjective and poboto is a derived noun. A similar pair was encountered before: zeye ‘dark’ and zeseye ‘darkness’. Also, =du marks an unattained destination, so somewhere on the path to death. Speaking of death, yalata is the adjective ‘dying’ and yatayata is the adjective ‘dead’, and death is formed from the latter by adding the nominalizing suffix -va. The word yata no longer exists.

Poto liŋiye, muros dahidahi liŋi, morono.

While I was sick, I lay on the mat, and a dream came.

Moronen muros dahidahi liŋiye, uri erenano.

With the dream, while I am lying on the mat, the wind spirits come.

I guess N N compound phrases are allowed. Usually N N is whole part, and I suppose this compound could be read that way, too—the wind’s spirits. Or maybe it is only whole part when the part is obviously a part.

Liyeza naka, liyenen yiri buros nara.

They grasp me and take me to the mouth of a dry wash.

The motion particle =ka is used with =za to convey physical possession or ownership. This is an extension of its use here, as a way to convey grasping something.

Also note that =za, =nen, and =s glom onto full pronouns only, while =nda, =du, and =ya glom onto pronominal particles.

Koyo erenaya yiri erenanen yereme.

These spirits play with the dry wash spirits.

Erenaya keruvelime.

The dry wash spirits create dust devils.

Naya ŋarunos ŋono pezes ebeno, naya ŋarunos yozos tileya ŋarahidu hape aŋaka.

They make a distant pool of water appear to you and then before you can go there they make it fail to appear.

Can you think of a better way to explain mirages?

The rest of the sentences from the South Wind and the Sun…

Lohoya kehimena, saselevena.

The sun started the task, they started to emit light.

Light is a body part of the sun, at least in this case.

Sama ŋono seleve, sama ŋono kalave, mede banas dahidahi keneŋiyi baŋibaŋi.

They emitted more light, they emitted more heat, and still the woman was lying down under the tree.

Light and heat are body parts of the sun here, and modified by an adjective. The adjective comes between the possessor and the body part. The final clause has =yi for a continuing situation and baŋibaŋi to express that this situation is contrary to expectation.

Lohoya kehimeto, elekenda ureya kehimena aŋaka, saderelevina.

The sun stopped, and the south wind started, they started to emit breath (blow).

Breath is a partially reduplicated noun, but the unreduplicated noun is not in the current lexicon. It is cognate with Kēlen rēl ‘breath’.

Saya elekenda sakanda mede sonos oloŋira, pezes kalara.

He made clouds go from the southern mountains to over the tree, and made the heat go away.

Lamana layisena, lamana tene selese, zeseyelo.

The sky started to be hidden, all the light was hidden, and the darkness increased.

Earlier there was a conjunction aŋaka glossed as “and then”. It is generally only used for emphasis. Sequence of clauses is usually assumed. The motion particle=lo UP is used here to convey an increase in an entity made of water, air, light, or sound. =ta DOWN can be used to convey a decrease.

Ŋono zeye layisenahiza kenes delino.

The woman thought that the sky would start to become darker.

An idea came to the woman, and =za marks the idea: ŋono zeye layisenahi or more dark the sky potentially starts to be.

Mede bananda pezes kenera, maras sara.

The woman went away from under the tree and went home.

Nenenda ŋono takaka elekenda uriŋe kodu.

And so the south wind is the stronger of the pair.

Next week I start a longer story in four parts…

Text: Elekenda Uri, Loho

Text and Translation

Elekenda ureya lohoya nenenda ŋono takaka ŋeŋeza keŋikeŋime. Narunos mede banas dahidahi ŋeŋi keneno. Ŋeya mede bananda pezes keneradu kehimehi, ŋono takaka saŋihe. Lohoya kehimena, saselevena. Sama ŋono seleve, sama ŋono kalave, mede banas dahidahi keneŋiyi baŋibaŋi. Lohoya kehimeto, elekenda ureya kehimena aŋaka, saderelevina. Saya elekenda sakanda mede sonos oloŋira, pezes kalara. Lamana layisena, tene lamana selese, zeseyelo. Ŋono zeye layisenahiza kenes delino. Mede bananda pezes kenera, maras sara. Nenenda ŋono takaka elekenda uriŋe kodu.

The south wind and the sun were discussing who of the pair was stronger. They saw a woman lying down under a tree. Whoever made the woman move away from under the tree, they would be the stronger. The sun started the task, they started to emit light. They emitted more light, they emitted more heat, and still the woman was lying down under the tree. The sun stopped, and the south wind started, they started to emit breath (blow). He made clouds go from the southern mountains to over the tree, and made the heat go away. The sky started to be hidden, all the light was hidden, and the darkness increased. The woman thought that the sky would start to become darker. The woman went away from under the tree and went home. And so the south wind is the stronger of the pair.

Interlinear and Explanation

Elekenda ureya lohoya nenenda ŋono takaka ŋeŋeza keŋikeŋime.

The south wind and the sun were discussing who of the pair was stronger.

All the conjunctions I have mentioned so far have been clausal conjunctions. Here is an example of phrasal conjuction by simple juxtaposition and the repeating of the rational agent particle =ya. They are both agents creating (use of =me IN) an inquiry (or argument or discussion or any sort of talking with one another to come to a conclusion about a question or situation). The topic of the inquiry is marked with=za and includes all of nenenda ŋono takaka ŋeŋi or of the pair, more strong, who is.

Narunos mede banas dahidahi ŋeŋi keneno.

They saw a woman lying down under a tree.

Here is an example of runu in the singular despite having a plural possessor. This is very common, especially when the plural possessors are sensing at the same time. What is sensed is the subject of the motion particle =no COME, a woman, along with the relative clause describing her, one who is lying down.

In mede bana is an example of a body part being used for a non-animate entity. Here bana is essentially the bottom of something. Likewise sono ‘head’ is the top of something.

Ŋeya mede bananda pezes keneradu kehimehi, ŋono takaka saŋihe.

Whoever made the woman move away from under the tree, they would be the stronger.

Here we have two clauses, both suffixed with the potential =hi. This is a common way to convey a hypothetical situation and consequence. The first clause also has an indefinite agent ŋe making the task.

More sentences coming!