Re: Useful phrases for tourists

On monosyllables there is a low tonal accent.  On polysyllables, the
final syllable takes a high tonal accent.  All other syllables are in
middle tone.

> A beer please!
du zum du sheiking tihi -- veidiping du
you share you tea.food me.to -- good.friend.be you

veidiping du is a common formula for "please."  Sheiking is made from
shei mushrooms, and is mildly psychotropic.

> Where is the bathroom?
fozhuiping komzhui
waste.place.be what.place

This would work for the garbage heap, as well, since the Shemdaodo don't
have bathrooms -- they dig a large hole in teh snow and fill it with
garbage and waste before moving on.

> Don't shoot! I'm a tourist!
du tungsoho du.  ziping ti
you no.life.destroy you.  guest.be I

You'll never need this phrase; no Shemdaodo would ever harm anyone,
stranger or enemy.  In fact, saying this even jokingly would be
considered insulting.

> I don't speak Shemdaoli
tungshemdaolihang ti
no.shem.dao.language.able I

This applies both to reading and writing the language, and is a good
example of how Shemdaoli doesn't obey the strict categories of verb and
noun that we're used to in English.

>My friend will pay.  He/she is very rich!
tukuzum dido tiheng.  totufeng tem.
bean.value.give friend.person I.possessive.  Many.beans.has  he/she.

Value beans (tuku) are the closest thing the Shemdaoli have to money;
they are rare hallucinagenic beans that grow on the far side of the
mountains.  Spirit leaders use them to contact spirits, as well as to
bribe them for favors.

--Pat