Re: Translating from a conlang into a conlang

Okay, I'll give it a try.  I don't know what kind of poetic devices my
people use, other than parallelism (thought-rhyme), so it'll be a
straightforward prose translation.

> Xipu! Manxuri penerar          =20
Sya! Gwaty=E1nki pi=F0=F0az=ED
> Sero t'erneno beryakari yashnar  =20
Slaun=EDn=F0=E1 nadu-ta waqsaqa=ED
> Yan t'eheranmamen t'imti esero u?=20
Subal nl=EDl=F0a pli slaun=EDl=F0=E1 wat=E1lakwayu?
> Galla esero ka chenam ye bangu
Sadyadty=FAl=F0=E1 ku samlit=E1l=F0=E1 titis=F0=E1misukwayu=20
> "Sero laya", Yudirza yetashmerzo
"Sazabl=FA=FA=F0" - titass=E1kw=E1y=FA
> P'a ajir avaneranmamen sero
Pl=E1ssita sazabl=FA=FA=F0 pin wanauz=ED
> Tima lyn sero lodha manve.
Naizk=FAtauki natak=EDl.

Okay, first off, let me see if I've got the English meaning right
(prose):
Xipu! The plums fall [what does this mean?  Is it an idiom?]
I have thirteen springs [I am thirteen years old]
Who will ask for my heart?
My hair is black and thick
"I am pretty" my sister says
Someone shall court me
Because I am beautiful like a cherry blossom

(P.s., are the last two lines part of the sister's quote?)

Sya! Gwatya'-n-ki       piq-dhazi'
EXCL fall-3rdPlIrr-Inch G7P-dhazi (a kind of fruit)
(I just discovered that morpheme (and syllable) final q will assimilate
to a following dh (<q> =3D /T/, <dh> =3D /D/), same applies to s and z.  =
It
might work the other way, I don't know.

S-launi'-n-dha'            nadu=3Dta    waq-saqai'
DatAppl-to.be-3rdPlIrr-Hab twelve=3Done G6PL-birth
Literally: "have/has 13 births" - i.e., "I've seen thirteen birthing
seasons" (1st person is assumed)

Suba-l   nli'-l-dha       pli s-launi'-l-dha'           wa-ta'la-kwa-yu
Who?-ERG want-3rdSIrr-Hab RCM DatAppl-to.be-3rdSIrr-Hab G6-soul-my-ABS
Again, the possessor is left out,
Literally, something like "Who wants that has my soul?" (more literally,
"who wants that my soul should be to []?")
In some dialects, this could be expressed more succinctly as:
Suba-l  ni'-l-dha        slauni' wa-ta'la-kwa-yu
Who-ERG want-3rdSIrr-Hab have    G7-soul-my-ABS
That is, the construction _s-launi'_ has been reanalyzed as a simple
verb, therefore, the auxillary _ni^_ can be used, without resorting to a
complex subordinate clause.
Or perhaps more direct:
Suba-l  nli'-l-dha       wa-ta'la-kwa-yu
Who-ERG want-3rdSIrr-Hab G7-soul-my-ABS
Just plain, direct "Who wants my soul?"
They do not see any seperation between the soul and the "heart", they
see emotions as being seated in the soul, therefore, "soul" would be
more accurate than "heart" (using "heart" would make it sound like some
sort of bizarre ritualistic sacrifice or something)
So, in brief, standard:
Subal nl=EDl=F0a pli slaun=EDl=F0=E1 wat=E1lakwayu? OR, non-standard
Subal n=EDl=F0a slaun=ED wat=E1lakwayu? OR, directly:
Subal nl=EDl=F0a wat=E1lakwayu?

Sa-dyadtyu'-l-dha'   ku  sa-mlita'-l-dha'     ti-tis-dha'misu-kwa-yu
VERB-black-3SIrr-Hab and VERB-thick-3SIrr-Hab G2S-Ass.with-head-my-ABS
"Hair" is "that which is associated with the head"; the Natives have no=20
hair per se, their body is covered with a feather-like coat.  "My hair
is black and it is thick" that could be translated

"Sa-zablu'-u'-dh"       - ti-tassa'-kwa'-yu'
"VERB-pretty-1SAbs-Hab" - G2-sibling-my-ABS

Pla'ssita sa-zablu'-u'-dh       pin                wa-nauzi'
Because   VERB-pretty-1SAbs-Hab in.the.same.way.as G6-type.of.flower
Adverbial phrases must precede verbs.  The _nauzi-flower_ is one of the
few plants to take Gender 6

Nai-z-ku'ta-u-ki         na-taki'-l
FUT-DEF-court-1SAbs-INCH G2-person-ABS
I just adapted "court" as _ku'ta_, since no such concept exists in W.=20
By "urgative", do you mean some kind of emphasis?  That's how I
interpreted it, that is, someone WILL court me.

Now, for a truly interesting excercise, a back-translation by someone
with a cheap dictionary :-)

Lo! Plums are falling
13 births are to someone
Who wants that my soul is to someone?
My head-stuff is black and is thick
"I am pretty" - my sister
Because I am pretty as a nauzi-flower
I am sure that a person will court me.

--=20
"It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father
was hanged." - Irish proverb
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