Re: Conlang Travellers' Guide (was Re: I have a dream)

On Fri, Jul 19, 2002 at 11:16:31AM -0400, Roger Mills wrote:
[snip]
> A TRAVELER'S PHRASEBOOK >
> >Section 1:  Pleasantries
>
> >Hello!
Hmm. Ebisedian has quite a variety of ways to greet, depending on the
particular situation. A few common ones are:

1) Greeting a male stranger:
        0so' Ta'l3n chi'du.     [?A"so "t_hal@\n "Sidu]
        "May happiness be to you (masc. dist. pronoun)"

2) Greeting a female stranger:
        0so' Ta'l3n jhitu'.     [?A"so "t_hal@\n Zi"tu]
        "May happiness be to you (fem. dist. pronoun)"

3) Greeting a male relative or close friend:
        0so' Ta'l3n co'mu.      [?A"so "t_hal@\n "tSomu]
        "May happiness be to you (masc. intim. pronoun)"

4) Greeting a female relative or close friend:
        0so' Ta'l3n jobu'.      [?A"so "t_hal@\n dZo"bu]

> >Goodbye!
Again, depends on whom you are speaking to:

        0so' Ta'l3n chi'du isu'.        [?A"so "t_hal@\n "Sidu ?i"su]
        "May happiness be to you (masc. dist. pronoun) to the future."

As with the previous greetings, the _chi'du_ may be replaced with _jhitu'_
(female stranger/distant acquiantance), _co'mu_ (male relative/close
friend), or _jobu'_ (female relative/close friend).

> >Yes
ji'e.   ["dZi?&]

> >No
my'e.   ["my?&]

> >Please
uso' ...        [?u"so]         "I prefer to ..."
uso' kele.      [?u"so k&l&]    "Let it be as you said."

> >Thank You
If you are male:
        0so' eb0' bach3'.       [?A"so ?&"bA ba"S@\]
        "I(masc) am obliged to be grateful."

If you are female:
        0so' `ybo' bach3'.      [?A"so Hy"bA ba"S@\]
        "I(fem) am obliged to be grateful."

You may add a pronoun (_chi'du_, _jhitu'_, _co'mu_, _jobu') "to you" as
appropriate for the situation.

A shorter form (although not recommended if you want to be maximally
polite):
        0so' beshi'.    [?A"so b&"Si]
        "May [there be] gratefulness."

> >Do you speak (English/Spanish/French/Dutch/<whatever>)?
a'ne chi'di hing3li'chot3m3?
["?an& "Sidi hiN@\"liSot@\%m@\]
"Are English-words in you?" (I.e., "Do you know the English language?")

OR,

uso' chi'd0 ta'ma ing3li'chot3m3?
[?u"so "SidA "tama ?iN@\"liSot@\m@\]
"Can you please speak English?"

As before, _chi'di_/_chi'd0_ should be replaced with the appropriate
pronoun for the person you are speaking with.

> >I don't speak (conlang) very well.
If you are male:
        eb0' my'l3r3a tww'ma n3 3bis33'di d3 3t3m3'.
        "I(masc) not-flowingly speak the language of the people." I.e., "I
        don't speak the language of the people fluently."

If you are female:
        `yb0' my'l3r3a tww'ma n3 3bis33'di d3 3t3m3'.
        "I(fem) don't speak the language of the people fluently."

> >My name is...
If you are male:
        ni ebu' d3 g3mi' ...    [ni ?&"bu d@\ g@\"mi]
        "The name unto me [is] ..."

Note that you will want to prefix your name with _e-_ [?&], since all
proper names in Ebisedian must carry a proper name prefix. You will also
probably want to suffix your name with _-i_ [i], or change the last vowel
to _i_ [i]. For multi-word names, each word should bear the prefix and
preferably with the [i] ending.

If you are female:
        ni `ybu' d3 g3mi' ...   [ni Hy"bu d@\ g@\"mi]

Note that females should prefix their name with _`y-_ [Hy]. Do not use the
wrong prefix, or you'll get very strange looks... :-)

(If you want to be a perfectionist, you should note that masculine names
ought to stress the initial syllable after the _e_ prefix, and feminine
names ought to stress the final syllable.)

> >What is your name?
ghi' ni chi'du d3 g3mi'?
["Gi ni "Sidu d@\ g@\"mi]
"What is the to-you name?"

Again, _chi'du_ should be replaced with the pronoun appropriate for the
person you are speaking to.

> >How are you?
ghe' chi'di?
["G& "Sidi]
"What is happening with you?", or, "what about you?"

Obviously, _chi'du_ should be replaced with the appropriate pronoun.

> >I am well.
Male:
        Ta'l3n ebi'.    ["t_hal@\n ?&"bi]
        "Happiness is in me."

Female:
        Ta'l3n `ybi'.   ["t_hal@\n Hy"bi]

Or, you may also say:
        Ta'l3n ebu'.    ["t_hal@\n ?&"bu]       "Happiness is unto me."
        Ta'l3n `ybu.    ["t_hal@\n Hy"bu]

> >I am not well.
Depends on whether you are just unhappy, or feeling ill, or deathly sick,
or in trauma:

1) Unhappy:
        my'Tal3n ebu'.  ["myt_hal@\n ?&"bu]     "No happiness is unto me."
        my'Tal3n `ybu'. ["myt_hal@\n Hy"bu]

2) Feeling quite ill:
(male)  vww3' ni ebi' d3 Ka'ji. [Bu":"?@\ ni ?&"bi d@\ "k_hadZi]
        "I have a bad headache". Literally, "there is a vortex in my
        head."
(female) vww3' ni `ybi' d3 kacii'. [Bu":?@\ ni Hy"bi d@\ ka"tSi:]

[*NOTE: for females, be sure to pronounce the final _i_ *long*, otherwise
you might be misunderstood to be saying something about red flowers in
garbage dumps...]

3) Feeling deathly sick:
(male)  eb3' chasi'd!   [?&"b@\ Sa"sid]
        "I am deathly ill!"
(female) `yb3' chasi'd! [Hy"b@\ Sa"sid]

4) In trauma, or in emotional anguish:
(male)  f3K3' ebu'.     [F@\"k_h@\ ?&"bu]
(female) f3K3' `ybu'.   [F@\"k_h@\ Hy"bu]

        Or, you could simply shake your head, Ebisedi-style, and sigh:
                fiKi'   [Fi"k_hi:::]
        (Warning: this will make you look like a Romeo/Juliet
        impersonator.)

> >I am the walrus, coo coo ca choo.
(male)  ebi' eki'gi. gigigigi...        [?&"bi ?&"kigi. gigigigi]
(female) `ybi' `yki'gi. gigigigi...     [Hy"bi Hy"kigi. gigigigi]

"I am Mr./Ms./Mrs. Clown, hehehehe (mad cackling laughter)."

:-P


T

--
Life would be easier if I had the source code. -- YHL