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Translations: "Happy Holidays" and Language Quotes

From:Arthaey Angosii <arthaey@...>
Date:Monday, December 9, 2002, 2:31
Since the holiday season is upon us, why not translate "Happy Holidays!"
into your conlang?  It can either be a literal translation, or what is
typically said to people during a festive time.  I'll start off with my own
language, Asha'ille:


Che'énillev ne senichunim.
/tSe"EnIlEv nE sEnItSunm=/
che-  énillev    ne  senichun        -im
may   enjoy.(2s) OBJ celebration-day PLURAL
"May you enjoy the celebration-days."


This is a semi-formal phrase.  I imagine it being said to guests (whom you
don't see frequently) as they leave for the evening, or in written form.

What's the best/clearest/most linguistically accurate way to translate
"may"?  |che| is related to |cha|, which is the imperative prefix.  As
opposed to being a command, |che| indicates that the speaker hopes you do
it (implying that the speaker believes it's in your best interest to do it
and you would want to do it anyway) -- I've been translating this as "may".

In casual speech, people are more likely to say a shortened form of the phrase:


Ch"énillev n"om.
/"tSEnIlEv n:om/
che- énillev    ne  no   -m
may  enjoy.(2s) OBJ PRON PLURAL
"May you enjoy them."


The /n:/ is supposed to be a lengthened /n/.  I'm not sure if the /:/ can
be applied to consonants, but there it is.  This phrase is somewhat
ambigous, with its antecedentless pronoun.  If it's said during
festivities, it's obviously what you mean.  |Ch"énillev n"o| can be said
any random old day, and is equivalent to the "Have a nice day" sentiment.
It literally means "May you enjoy it."  Context would determine whether you
meant the stock phrase or specifically that you hoped someone would enjoy a
thing you were previously talking about.

Note that in the transcription of Asha'ille, a single apostrophe ' is used
between vowels that must be pronounced separately, while a double
apostrophe " is used to indicate where letters have been deleted.

Later I was surfing the web for quotes related to language and found this one:

"To have another language is to possess a second soul."  -- Charlemagne


Jhor'llashav ne daedith dasharíd t'lorénev daedith shalnen ne air.
/ZorlVla"Sav nE "dedIT daSar"Id tVlor"EnEv "dedITH "Sal`_nEn nE?er/
jhor- llashav ne  daed -ith dasharíd te    lorénev daed -ith shalnen ne  air
EQUIV speak   OBJ two   ADJ language EQUIV inhabit two   ADJ soul    OBJ one
"Speaking a second language is a second soul inhabiting a person."

my "r" = X-SAMPA's "r\" -- I couldn't get away from my American rhoticity :P


Finally, another quote that isn't for translating, but just for sharing:

"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other
languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets
for new vocabulary." -- Booker T. Washington


--
Arthaey


CONLANGER CODE: CCS/LI v1.1 l%§ cN:R:S:H a+ z! n!:1 !B* A- E L
 N1<2 Ic/s/v k+++ ia--@:+ p--@ s@ m+ o++++ P--@ S--- Asha'ille

Replies

Joseph Fatula <fatula3@...>
Sylvia Sotomayor <kelen@...>
Arthaey Angosii <arthaey@...>