Welcome and Farewell in Jouevyaix

The most common greeting at physical meetings in Jouevyaix is, 'di tsüzh
nge llïgtu' literally "the journey was blessed" (PAST bless ABS
travel-NOMIZE), which is an abbreviation of "The journey was blessed
that brought us together".

When the meeting takes place in someone's home or business, the host
will always continue with 'in dioulche nügrrü' (2-sing
PAST-COMPLETE-DeTRANS eat-QUERY) "Have you eaten?" Upscale businesses
(other than restaurants and foodsellers) keep trays of snacks available
to offer their customers during negotiations. It is very rude to accept
a snack in a jewelry store (for example) if you are not actually
planning to make a purchase: accepting the snack when offered it by the
sales-person can be a signal of the transition from the
browsing/window-shopping stage to serious negotiations.

Written messages, where a physical meeting is not involved, usually
begin 'Na (person's name) nar e in vev', literally 'O (person) I greet
you', (VOC person 1-sing ACC 2-sing greet) with appropriate variations
in pronoun selection.

Formulas used to say farewell are 'nad tsüzh nge heutu' (JUSSIVE bless
ABS hunt-NOMIZE) "Blessed hunting", 'nad tsüzh nge joutu' "Blessed
trading", or 'nad tsüzh nge llïgtu', "Blessed journey". "Blessed
Hunting" can be used in any context, but carries a slightly ironic or
sarcastic tone after a business meeting or transaction, where "Blessed
trading" is more appropriate. "Blessed journey" is said by host to
guest, or by two people to each other when both will be traveling away
from their current location. It is very common to double the farewell
('nad tsüzh nge heutu dli llïgtu' JUSSIVE bless ABS hunt-NOMIZE and
travel-NOMIZE) if a traveller will be going outside the community
defenses.

Closings for letters are the same as for meetings.

When very casual, 'nad tsüzh', "Be blessed", is roughly the equivalent
of 'Bye' in English. 'di tsüzh', "Was blessed, is the equivalent of
'Hi' when meeting someone in person.

People usually answer the phone with 'vevtu, "greeting", or 'tsüzhtu',
"blessing". Once identities have been confirmed, variations of the "I
greet you" formula will be used.
--
Elyse Grasso

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