lunch time

Visiting the Institute Of Tunuan Studies (Lembaga negara Indonesia Ilmu=20
Peradaban Tunu), i stumbled upon hitherto undecyphered texts -
they were piling across a dark corridor - of a famous tunu author.
He apparently was a major contributor to tunuan law and philosophy.
The legend has it that he advocated the practice not to eat one's
neighbour and to refrein from torturing prisoners.
The following text reports of his speech regarding the first issue.
But the reason he develops thereby is disturbingly less of a humanitarian on=
e=20
than was to be expected.
The translation is french - the future's ial - but the vocabulary below
may help you understand it. conlanging translations ?


"Pourquoi les hommes ne doivent pas manger leurs voisins :

J'entends ces jours-ci
la rumeur la plus audacieuse
arguant les m=E9rites de ce jeu
par lequel - ainsi que chacun sait -
un homme peut s'adjuger le droit de couper
et consommer la main de son voisin
- la gauche ou la droite selon mise initiale.
Sait-on activit=E9 plus mena=E7ante
pour notre soci=E9t=E9 ?
Car enfin, comment un individu
priv=E9 d'un membre peut-il
encore fournir et labeur et combat ?
J'en appelle =E0 votre assembl=E9e
afin d'=E9radiquer cette pratique
et propose que tout homme s'y adonnant
- qu'il soit vainqueur, qu'il soit perdant -
se voit trancher et consommer le membre sym=E9trique
de celui ainsi risqu=E9."

vocabulary :

ne pas devoir =3D must not
voisin =3D neighbour
entendre =3D to hear (=E9couter =3D to listen to)
ces jours-ci =3D these days, recently
rumeur =3D hearsay
audacieux/-euse =3D bold
arguer =3D to claim
m=E9rite =3D merit, credit
jeu =3D game, gamble
par lequel =3D through which, whereby
ainsi que chacun sait =3D as everyone knows
s'adjuger =3D to take for oneself
couper =3D to cut (off)
consommer =3D to consume, to eat
gauche/droite =3D left/right
selon =3D according to
mise =3D gambling outlay
sait-on ... ? =3D is there any ... ? (lit.; "does one know ... ?")
menacer =3D to threaten
car enfin ... =3D why, consider, ...
individu =3D individual
priv=E9 de =3D deprived of (=EAtre priv=E9 de =3D to be deprived of)
membre =3D limb
pouvoir, je peux =3D can
fournir =3D to supply, to yield, to procure with
et X et Y =3D X as well as Y (lit.)
en appeler =E0 =3D to appeal to ("en" =3D here/thereof/from)
afin de =3D in order to
=E9radiquer =3D to uproot, to annihilate
pratique =3D custom
s'adonner =E0 =3D to indulge in
y =3D here/thereto/of/in
qu'il soit ... qu'il soit =3D be it/he ... be it/he
vainqueur =3D winner (< vaincre =3D to win over)
perdant =3D loser (< perdre =3D to lose)
se voir ... =3D to be ...ed
trancher =3D to slash off
celui =3D the one
ainsi =3D so, in such manner/condition as aforementioned


Another text from the same author is the well-known list
of the 40 preverbs now used by tunuans to make nouns into
verbs. These preverbs were defined and fixed by that author
out of the few hundreds still in use at that time.
Tunuan people who would use any other preverb were
to be properly sentenced to "public consumption".
However, only untasty elders had problems with forgetting
about the other former preverbs so public banquets
did not follow that decret.

the 40 preverbs of classical tunu :

to extend as : chu
to depend from : sa
to impend until : mo
want : ta
must : me
can : cho
to condition : no
to alternate with : lu
to join with : ko
to have as nature : se
to have as substance : la
to have as quality : ti
to have as location : tu
to have as feature : ki
to grow as feature : chi
to release as feature : le
to move in the pattern of : li
to go in the pattern of : so
to work as : pu
to perform : pa
to use as faculty : ma
to apply as "principle" : ku
to operate as tool : ka
to wear as clothes : po
to embark as facility : mu
to wend : cha
to consume : to
to contribute to : pe
to suffer action of : nu
to produce : su
to result in : che
to perceive : te
to feel inside : mi
to appear as : ne
to compare to : lo
to regard : pi
to possess : ni
to attribute to : ke
to receive : si
to source : na


mathias