Re: For translation: A story about strawberries

In message <19990218034836.22417.qmail@...>, Adam Walker
<dreamertwo@...> writes
>Conlangers,
>
>Someone over on the ENFP (my MBTI type) list posted this and I thought
>it might make a fun (if sorta long) translation exercise.  Anyone want
>to have a go at it??
>The Origin Of The Strawberry
> As told by Rogers Clinch/Western Band Cherokee
>
A nice story and fun to translate.  Here's an Elet Anta version,
and I admit I had to make words for jar, nostril, persimmon and
even cherry...

There was a discussion earlier about languages without proper
personal pronouns.  EA is one such.  In place of pronouns it uses
a group of shortened nouns (EA: amtolon).  For example, in this
piece 'are' (man, male) is used to refer to the man, regardless
of who is speaking: so he uses it for 'I', Goodmind uses it for
'you' and the narrator uses it for 'he'.  But 'he' when it refers
to Goodmind is 'avo' (lord), which correct when referring to a
god or spirit.

The word used for 'love' is 'pariam', which is love (agape) for
family, friends, humanity in general.  For sexually-based love
'cwayla' is the usual word, but if we used that in the story
then it wouldn't be the same as the  word in the moral at the end.

c=/k/, k=/x/, y=/j/, w=/w/, sh=/S/, ch=/tS/, th=/T/, rh=voiceless r

CAWL-ERDISU LOMDAYE

Back when there was just one man and one woman on earth, they
began to argue, and the woman kept getting angrier and angrier
and turned and walked away from her husband.  For a time he tried
calling her back, but she just totally ignored him and wouldn't
look to the left or the right or  up or down, just looked
straight ahead and kept walking.

Orga i, oan lui an arecwa tal lui an avicwa loanvay.  Yu cawl
afat esak, tali avicwa chon cawl sof crawlu, cawl lofo dali, irut
alepyenonvow.  Okaramlaw are yalar avilaw ya, 'nel crol layta,
meti avi anotwa ovonda arena, donac ya, shifew loc tarlew loc
optew loc olgew parl, lui adarcw' ocwa chon irut.

They had done this for three days, and the man was following
after her and  getting very discouraged and his head was hanging
down.  And the woman in her anger still just kept walking as hard
and as fast as she could.  On the evening of the third day she
was out on the horizon, and each of them camped where they were.

Ene chon oc caro tanatwa, tali are mlori avisa cawl vas shoevian
cufa rontwa.  Tali avi ta-crawlusuma shildawa chon lui irut
irvew, oc menelwa traycawa tal raktwa.  Caroy tanatye bethenwa
avi urfa loareconva, mish oshi blafato ow, cwalof tando.

Then on the fourth day, as the sun came up, the woman began her
journey and was disappearing from sight when the one that we
called Goodmind came down and spoke to the first man and asked
him, "Does this woman walk in your soul?"  In other words, did he
love her; we don't have that word. He said, "Oh yes, I wish that
I could walk in her soul as she walks in mine."

Yafgaw cordye tanatwa opte sar, yu avi crol cawl evarnsuma, tali
chon cawft celtis, yu o, cwavona naket aha Cavasamaar, olge any'
arecwanvew falonwa rhayal, "Ar-avicwa lyu irut areye
hathanonvaw?" I venia ya, are lyu pariam avisa; pariam ro
tolonefta aha.  Are falon, "Na, na, are trisu ya, are menel irut
avie hathanonvaw frent ivaw, avi oc areyuronvaw."

And Goodmind asked him, "Well, if she comes back to you, do you
care for her so much that you'll never argue with her so hard
that she'll run away from you like this again?"  And the first
man promised, "Oh yes."

Tali Cavasamar rhayal arelaw ya, "U avi cwu crol layta arenvew,
ow are lyu clan ucari avisa yuvaw, ale dand esak avilaw clan
traycawa yuvaw, avi frent copon rascish arena?"  Tali any' arecwa
amasti, "Na, na".

So Goodmind went ahead of the  woman and began to plant all of
the berry bushes that we know today but that up until then hadn't
existed.  Still she just ignored them and walked straight on.  He
began to plant along the path all the trees that bear fruit, like
the cherry tree, the persimmon, the plum, and many others.  Still
she ignored them and wouldn't look to the left or right or up or
down, just straight ahead and kept walking.

Yarkaw Cavasamar avicwante, cawl onvaleth cirishye lac marina,
cwura so stawa menda, meti yirvew do erdi.  Irvew lui ovonda ala,
adarcwa chon irut.  Avo ovodaplaw cawl onvaleth ta-coshus sucarye
lac althana, cwala venla shicishal, persial, mundial, vas
tocal. Irvew avi ovonda ala, tali donac ya, shifew loc tarlew
loc optew loc olgew parl, lui adarcw' ocwa chon irut.

So, finally, he went ahead of her and planted a big patch of
strawberries in all stages of development.  And as she walked
along, in her anger, she began to step on these ripe strawberries
and a good smell came up to her nostrils.  She stopped and looked
down, and she saw those beautiful red berries, the green leaves,
and the white flowers, and she remembered that she hadn't eaten
for three days.  She was hungry, so she knelt down and she began
to taste these berries, and she found that they were both bitter
and sweet -- like life.  She ate a few more.

Lacafgaw yarkaw avo avinte, onvaleth arnye plenc lomdara lac
ivarteye. Tali avi ta-crawlusuma shildawa chon irut, yu cawl
tungc chosty' ol-lomdara, ilafrie comindusu cawl moficopte.
Avi fon irut parl olgew, tali celtis salaythye clasanty'
ic-cirisha, lathye flecsara, saylye layra, tali fathi ya, caro
tanatorgow do foruc. Larba, yarkaw yin calpar, cawl pelpeth
ic-cirisha, arcol ya, ur verce tal lyesca frent zeniasuvay.
Avi foruc tena sof ura.

She looked over her shoulder, and way in the distance she could
see her husband coming.  She ate a few more and a longing began
to grow in her heart to be with him.  So she gathered up a
handful of the berries and stood up and began to walk in his
direction.  And every once in a while she would take one of those
berries and eat it as she walked along, and each time she did
this she would go a little faster until finally she was running
as hard and as fast as she could run.

Ultew parl, tali menel celtis vas vas urfay alepyena laytaye.
Foruc tena sof ura, tali rovodonvaw cawl shilda trisusuma ii,
arendu. Yarkaw lesh la tref top cirisha, yin tando, tali arenvew
cawl irut. Okarand craft an cirisha, foruc ura chon irutwa, tali
shand, cwand oc, tena sof raktwa irut.  Lacafgaw chon terisc
menelwa traycawa tal raktwa.

Her husband in the distance saw her coming and ran to meet her.
As they stood face to face, the woman looked in her hand and
she only had one berry left.  This she put in her husband's
mouth.  So it's because of the strawberry that all of us are in
the world today.

Urfay alepyen celtis avisa laytaye, avindew la terisc.  Afat
izdaw tandowa avicwa parl adonvew, celeti ya, lui an chin
lomdalva.  Ura avi topa alepyenye yasconvew.  Ent na lomdarkaw
ant ro yenald staw' erdi loanvaw.

Strawberries are a reminder today, that we are suppose to love
one another.  If you look at a strawberry, you notice that the
seeds are on the outside, and that's the way our love is supposed
to be. So many people,  they say they love someone, but they'll
never show it.  We're supposed to  show our love.

Ol-lomda stawa cos fathi sona ii, pe acarti i, ant afat pariam.
Cwu so parl lomdara, ow pareli ya, icra ip-pint.  Ivaw frenu
antye pariamsu, i pe acarti.  Clan vas yencwa falon ya, pariam
fena, meti dand ya cos asparlu.  Pe acarti i, ant cos asparlu
pariamsuma antye.

Even today, in a traditional Cherokee home, you'll find that the
woman keeps a jar of fresh strawberries packed in honey.  And if
she ever has an  argument with her husband, she won't keep it
going. She'll go to her kitchen and take down that jar of
strawberries and begin to eat them while  she cools down.  And
when she's calm enough, then she'll get up and she'll  take one
of those berries to her husband and put it in his mouth and
remind him of the promise that first man made to Goodmind in the
beginning.

Sok stawa canactye Cherokee ro ahaye canvaw, so arcol ya, avicwa
ama mani clishoc zensye lomdara bezonvaw pe bolcye.  Tali cwu
shand avi tal alepyen afat esak, ow ya avi do cos chondor.
Prashfanonve, craft clishoc lomdara, cawl foruc ura cawl lambawa.
Tali cwand lema la lamba, ow yin tando, cos alepyenonve an
lomdara, topa ura arey' yasconvew, cos fathi arena oo, cwasuma
amasti any' arecwa Cavasamarlaw lacorgaw.


--
John Fisher   john@drummond.demon.co.uk   johnf@epcc.ed.ac.uk