Revision of _Sloth Poem_ (was once upon a time was Re: Yet another text for translation)
From: | Jonathan Chang <zhang2323@...> |
Date: | Wednesday, August 2, 2000, 22:56 |
NOTE: Lingwa Frakas is my first ConLang.
Its for the purpose of _ostranenie_ -
creativity -art - as de-familiarization; making the familiar strange.
It has lotsa influences - mainly Chinese Pidgin English, Tok Pisin,
Bislama and other pidgin and creole languages
with Japanese onomatpoeia and various types of slang thrown in.
okay... in the ConLang pidgin-in-progress called Lingwa Frakas: Mutand
Inglis Pidjin (Lingua Fracas: Mutant English Pidgin):
Plentee sheep bleet,
fah fud hangree,
fah haf-hot hangree.
Tuf watah tree wid plentee beeg rut,
deep een watah plentee rut,
in breez ::soyo-soyo:: .
An karawak jast long-taim ai-bal.
Plentee majah ::pika-pika:: green flawah blong tree.
Haf-hot ::wabi-wabi:: wul.
An karawak jast long-taim ai-bal.
ORIGINAL TEXT:
>>The sheep bleats,
>> hungry for food,
>> hungry for warmth.
>>The sturdy mangrove,
>> roots deep in the water,
>> sways in the breeze.
>>And the sloth just watches.
>>
>>Great comforting leaves.
>>Warm distressed wool.
>>And the sloth just watches.
I think only a few things need immediate explanations:
:: ____:: <==== onomatopoetic voice (words derived from Japanese
onomatopoeia)
"karawak" <=== derived from Jack Kerouac (hommage to the Kerouac line: "The
Sloth is a Chinese Poet upsidedown")
I do not like the libel that the word "sloth" connotes (and it seems
other languages - both NatLang and ConLang - continue to slander the poor,
slow, methodical animal).
The sloth is a survivor from the earliest days of the Age of Mammals. That
must
count for something!
Thanx for bearing with my revision of Lingwa Frakas...
zHANg