Re: vocab/translation #8
From: | Michael Poxon <m.poxon@...> |
Date: | Sunday, March 21, 2004, 22:11 |
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rachel Klippenstein" <estel_telcontar@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2004 8:14 AM
Subject: vocab/translation #8
> i('m) Begin(ning) to write a letter to a friend of mine.
>Laisinalde bai eredilde daninguri
[write letter - abstract - dative] [one (particular)] [friend - my - dative]
[Aux 1ps subj + 3ps obj - inceptive aspect]
> do you Believe in god?
> Einere eriainalde ellemnaire nilauko
[thoughts - your] ["in favour of"] ["holy father"] [him - them (i.e., your
thoughts) - question marker]
Notes:
1) Eriainalde translates something like "come down on the side of", "lean
towards", that sort of thing. So "are your thoughts partial to the idea
of..." In speech, this would be shortened to "Einere ainalde".
2) Ellemnaire is the nearest Omeina I can get to the idea of a monotheistic,
vaguely masculine god figure.
> my parents' house is Big.
> Aldu danordien mar na
[house] [parents - my - genitive] [large] [Aux. 3ps]
Notes:
1) This means something very different in Omeina. Since the basic unit of
Auleri society is the aldugaia (lit. "all those in the house") rather than
the family, parents are thought of as being "all the adults in the aldugaia"
rather than the birth parents, who are referred to as 'aidia', a word in the
dual form, and which is not often used, since it may not be clear who the
father of a child is.
> a Bird flew in the house and it didn's tant to go out.
> Kiske siritsi alduro na, o menetinalde bemaina
[small bird] [flutter] [house - adessive] [Aux 3ps], [and] [go out - abs. -
dative] [Neg. - Aux ("want") - 3ps]
Notes:
1) The adessive case is used as the bird flies into the house ('motion into'
rather than 'action inside')
> a Bird-of-prey hunted and ate an animal.
> Iginaiste sukasaika mendi nain
[bird of prey - erg] [hunt + eat] [small animal] [Aux.3ps Subj + 3ps Obj.]
Notes:
1) Iginaisa is formed by igi "curved thing tapering to a point" and the word
for nose or beak, naisa (whence naiska "heron" = 'nosey')
2) When two verbs relate to the same object, Omeina is fond of making one
compound verb; so suka "hunt" + saika "eat meat, tear at"
Mike