Re: conlang greetings? (was Re: Let me introduce myself)
| From: | Matthew Pearson <matthew.pearson@...> |
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| Date: | Friday, November 30, 2001, 23:02 |
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--- Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
Okay, anyone else? I'll collect greetings in people's conlangs and
compile them onto my website (with permission, of course).
--- end of quote ---
The standard greeting in Tokana is _nalak_ ['na.lak] when meeting one person, or
_nalakin_ ['na.la.gin] when meeting more than one person. It means simply "(I)
greet you". The suffixed pronoun is often dropped in informal speech, leaving
just _nala_.
When welcoming somebody, it's customary to say _huile itskan'a_ ['hwi.lE
its.ka.'na], meaning something like "may (you) be healthy arriving".
When leave-taking, one says _elie et'a_ ["E.ljE:.'ta], which means something like
"may (you) go with ease".
Matt.
Matthew Pearson
Department of Linguistics
Reed College
3203 SE Woodstock Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
503 771 1112 x 7618