TRANS: a child's exercise

This is a narrative exercise that a 10-year boy,
Det-Naffer Kelmnon[*], got for homework. He had to
describe some exciting experience he had had,
and being the firstborn of a rich family of
fish-market merchants, he wrote the text below.
Try it if you want to... and forgive Kelmnon's
lack of style. He's only a child!

[*] The child's name clearly shows his seaside origin:
    _k=E9lmanon_ means 'caulker' (the one that uses tar
    to seal a boat's openings).



The exercise:
------------

Askiem i vas

Gi san stadduth i qgedas qestel onth, edbadnien s=E1kutaq uli vans.
Nian measmev=E4s askiemth =FCs detel s=E4n=FCat. =C1skiem=FCr th=FCeq odh=
 stadn
renth na rros=FCr g=F3kononeq b=FCtth rremanth. Rroi beseq rremanth,
i meaff im=E1ldnotsenq. I f=F6` g=FC'f=FCfeq. Niarn=FCr ennedaq ulies sau=
ron,
tadh na rr=E9mathes renhadh farth=FC=E1q i sauron. Rin nif ars=E8n, qamp
smokmanq d=E4ss padhan k=E1nimboteq. Gentel ningenaq veng tumbas
tadh, toi t=E0beseq kis meaff rremanth, na maqas qat=E0priveq. St=F6m=FCr
v=FCs=FCl avgindiut, toi famp t=E1nk=FCval fl=EEninaq. Farth=E4thaq ulin,
tadh gi rin nif ar=FCt, g=E8n th=E4thaq sarn.



Interlinear translation:
-----------------------

Askiem   i vas
boat.DIM * trip
'A boat journey'

        Note the DIMinutive; it's just a small fishing boat, not
        a battle cruiser or a cargo.

Gi     san   stadduth i qgedas qestel onth,
due_to 1sPSS ten-year * gift   being  that
'As a gift for my ten-year [birthday],'

        The years and days tend to form compounds with the numerals,
        as happens in Japanese. In particular, one's _stadduth_ means
        one's first ten years of life, and also the day they are
        celebrated, which is usually not the actual birthday, but
        the first new year's day after it. _Onth_ 'that' just refers
        to the following sentence.

edbadnien s=E1kutaq       uli vans.
amuse.OBJ appoint.3sPST dad trip.ACC
'my dad set up a journey to amuse me.'

        Hmm... Kelmnon's teacher probably corrected _vans_ to _vasn_,
        which is Central Standard Drasel=E9q. N-infixion for ACC mark
        is a feature of the M=E1quartis dialect that Kelmnon and all
        around him speak (they are from Darvidhion, in the north coast).
        This unless the teacher had learned that prescriptivism doesn't
        lead anywhere.

Nian   measmev=E4s      askiemth  =FCs     detel s=E4n=FCat.
1p-PSS fish-catch.GEN boats.DIM inside one   go.1p-PST
'We went in one of our fishing boats.'

        measmev=E4s =3D meav- 'fish', -es- GEN, mev- 'take, catch',
        -as verbal noun, -es GEN (collapsing -as-es > -=E4s).

=C1skiem=FCr     th=FCeq       odh   stadn renth=20
boat.DIM.LOC exist.3pPST about ten   men
'On the boat there were about ten men'

na rros=FCr  g=F3kononeq       b=FCtth  rremanth.
to sea.LOC throw.DUP.3pPST 3p.REL nets.ACC
'who kept throwing nets into the sea.'

Rroi beseq      rremanth, i meaff  im=E1ldnotsenq.
then pull.3pPST nets.ACC  * fishes fill.MV.3pANT
'Then they pulled the nets, that had become full of fish.'

I f=F6`   g=FC'f=FCfeq.   =20
* sweat do.DUP.3pPST
'They sweated/were sweating a lot.'

        This pattern, _i_ + concrete noun + _g=FCften_ 'to do, to make'
        is *extremely* common (and useful!), since the Dr=E1selhadh don't
        really like to create verb stems from nouns.

Niarn=FCr ennedaq             ulies   sauron,=20
1p-.LOC CAU.blow_wind.3sPST dad.GEN shadow.AGT
'Dad's shadow-maker blew wind at us,'

        Tolkien fans: I *swear* _sauron_ 'shadow maker' wasn't
        created on purpose! A _sauron_ is of course a servant
        that holds an umbrella over his/her master and/or waves
        it to create some refreshing wind.

tadh na  rr=E9mathes renhadh farth=FC=E1q        i sauron.
but  for nets.GEN  men.GRP NEG.exist.3pPST * shadow.AGT
'but there was no shadow-maker for the men of the nets.'

        Good observer, this child. Let's hope he doesn't get
        strange ideas after this. :)

Rin  nif  ars=E8n, qamp smokmanq  d=E4ss  padhan k=E1nimboteq.
with heat being  when hit.3sANT fresh wave   happy.MV.3pPST
'Since they were hot, they were happy after a cool wave had hit [them].'

        We don't actually know if a particular wave hit the men
        and they became happy, or if it was happening all the time.
        Either way, note the time correlation, ANTerior vs. simple PaST.

Gentel ningenaq     veng  tumbas tadh,
then   appear.3sPST black cloud  however
'But then a black cloud appeared,'

toi     t=E0beseq        kis     meaff  rremanth,
at_once AUG.pull.3pPST without fishes nets.ACC
'[and] at once they pulled the nets without fish,'

na maqas   qat=E0priveq.   St=F6m=FCr   v=FCs=FCl   avgindiut,
to shelter SUP.row.3pPST dock.LOC finally unboarded.1p+PST
'[and] rowed hard towards the harbor. Finally we got off in the dock.'

        _maqas_ means both 'shelter' and 'harbor' in a general sense.
        A concrete 'harbor' would be _maq_. More or less the difference
        between 'food' and 'meal'.

toi     famp t=E1nk=FCval   fl=EEninaq.      Farth=E4thaq       ulin,
at_once now  thundering rain.DUP.3sPST NEG.please.3sPST dad.ACC
'Right at that time, it [began] raining [and] thundering.=20
 My dad didn't like it.'

        This kid has some trouble saying 'it began to rain'. Not
        totally unrelated to Vallyese: 'Now it's like, it rains
        and rains, and...'.=20

tadh gi     rin  nif  ar=FCt,    g=E8n    th=E4thaq      sarn.
but  due_to with heat be.1sPST indeed please.3sPST 1s.ACC
'but since I was hot, I liked it a lot.'


So, what do you think? Did I pass? ;)


--Pablo Flores