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Re: Multilingual translation exercise, part 1

From:Christopher B Wright <faceloran@...>
Date:Friday, June 14, 2002, 18:23
I take it that you meant us to post conlang translations. Right? I didn't
manage it all, but I did what I could in the time I gave myself.

This is my showcase of Raleh. I should explain the notation and tell a
little bit about the language. PAST is past tense. PS is present tense.
-P is patient. -D is dative. -O is oblique. I don't know what the
official definition of oblique is, but I meant it to be for vague
inalienable relationships and prepositional objects. Observe "talkfeul u
kilgashoki bet sad Kostimif", "notorious an admiral by he Masons
(oblique)".

Raleh is ergative, with a word order of VPA. It's isolating /
inflectional, and verb particles should be the third element in the
sentence. (I...hope I followed that rule....) By element, I don't mean
word. If there is a noun phrase after the verb, move the verb particles
to follow it. If the sentence has a dual subject (gnah, I don't know the
right terms; example "rabbi and trio"), put the verb particle after the
first subject.

Stop that! You're confusing me. And the ultraviolet color looks more blue
to me. Well, maybe not.

Today, by radio, and also on giant hoardings [billboards],
Raysvel aemhek, bet kevis, ibha bih yasveukif, tyes
Inform today, by radio-O, and also on billboards-O, PAST

a rabbi, an admiral notorious for his links to Masonry, a trio of
u raboki, talkfeul u kilgashoki bet sad Kostimif, u yenoki
a rabbi-P, notorious an admiral-P for he Masons-O, a trio-P

cardinals, a trio, too, of insignificant politicians (bought
karvinanif, u yenoki fas hameskif kedales, (yiv
Cardinals-O, a trio also politicians-O insignificant, (they

and paid for by a rich Anglo-Canadian banking corporation),
ehirayeut diast bet u klushis fiyen Anglo-Kanadias)
passive-buy past by a bank rich Anglo-Canadian),

inform us all of how our country now risks dying by starvation.
siveut trest neph-ay bhiag in taen iveshk roukeneh baesoki bet kelaeshis.
us-D all aboutow risk now PS our country death-P by starvation-O.

A rumour, that's my initial thought as I switch off my radio, a
U hizeltis, elk remh voc defeloki tarnes, waez phonesh voc vires kevoki,
u
A rumor-O, that be my thought-P first, as ensleeped I my radio-P, a

rumour or possibly a hoax.  Propaganda, I murmur anxiously
hizeltis ti bolseik u saekasis. Meskasveh, pharein voc einyab taen
rumor or possibly a hoax. Propaganda, murmur I anxiously PS

-- as though, just by saying so, I might allay my doubts -- typical
-- difel, riez bet ya rafeh, phatev-ar voc vires faerei -- folin
-- thought, just by the saying, stop-might I my doubts -- typical

politicians' propaganda.  But public opinion gradually absorbs it as a
fact.
meskasveh hameskif. Gof, kalceph daecteh lubhis taen gel hamh u zeiveh.
propaganda politicians-O. But, absorb opinion public-O it as a fact.

On pronunciation: I explained the digraphs before. All the letters are
intuitive except for x />\/, h /X/, and c /C/. You shouldn't have shown
me that IPA website. :))

Laimes,
Wright.

Reply

John Cowan <jcowan@...>