Re: OT (digestmode!): terrorism, patriotism, blahblah, etc. ad nauseum

J Y S Czhang wrote:

> Like the ol' sayin' goes: try to think before you speak or
> act - don't do anything ya might end up regrettin'.
Reminds me of a Tage Danielsson piece I once translated
into Seimi. Let's see if I can find it... Ah, there it
is. This is not the entire poem, but just some stanzas
(if that's the right word):

      Lea lichëlas sonn gean nhwolgadhus mis moreil
      lea, ath cwodal seatha jurdëlaidh sonn geill.

      Jordhëchae Nero easa bwochëweisu ala,
      ath lei dath bwolin geill jala.

      Eibël, munn ejen cwaewëlaidh sonn,
      chealcae Cein, muth lei sonn ilmanith ban.

      Lea lichëlas sonn gean nhwolgadhus mis moreil
      lea, ath cwodal seatha jurdëlaidh sonn geill.


Interlinear:

Lea        lichëlas sonn gean    nhwolgadhus mis moreil
be:3SG:PRS happy    3SG  who:GEN rule        of  moral
'Happy is he, who has as his guiding principle'

lea,       ath  cwodal seatha         jurdëlaidh sonn geill.
be:3SG:PRS that before should:3SG:PRS think:INF  3SG  probably
'that you should probably think before you act.'

Jordhëchae Nero easa      bwochëweisu ala,
thought    Nero not:until hospital    in
'Not until at the hospital, did Nero think'

ath  lei dath bwolin geill    jala.
that was that fire   probably crazy
'that that fire thing was probably insane.'

Eibël, ejen         cwaewëlaidh munn sonn,
Abel   not:1SG:PAST mean:INF    1SG  3SG
'Hey, Abel, I didn't mean it,'

chealcae     Cein, muth lei sonn ilmanith ban.
say:3SG:PAST Cain  but  was it   too:late then.
'said Cain, but then it was too late.'

Lea lichëlas sonn gean  nhwolgadhus mis moreil
is  happy    3SG  whose rule        of  moral
'Happy is he, who has as his guiding principle'

lea, ath  cwodal seatha jurdëlaidh sonn geill.
is   that before should think      3SG  probably
'that you should probably think before you act.'

It goes on a bit like this, in free translation:

Adam said that the apple you gave to
me, I ate. That was probably a stupid thing to do.

Why did I ever touch that knife, oh dear,
thought van Gogh, who cut off his ear.

Well, it's funnier in Swedish, with much better rhyming.

||| daniel