tsana'i ijabahua'an
| From: | H. S. Teoh <hsteoh@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 7:17 |
|---|
biriki ku. tofei sirai sei hena
kirai huabe' ipai kimbere.
borokof sa mimsi atan,
data mome so hena akuabe dabe.
jana jabahua' na jibin huun tse ka,
parat akitsit na kari tasan na ei!
jana kauna jubejuba na,
kibe hena baratasa hiapahas na eimei!
tara' na arap sinku' foparas sei ikat,
hena ka surat haranara makia makasomenas na hike.
kuen itumtum aba berana tara' sa ham;
tara' sa hena kibat ma'anaikan diti man.
itara' ma'anaikan ufas iti hena,
hitatai jabahua' itsinta kisan kisi sa
marai murapuesat eke papa;
fei sa hena tapa burumpaikan bata.
jira, buna! jira, buna! sinku' foparas sei hena
tsatsat kakat piri; fei sa hena suha' dunan;
tara i'oha' fein banan sa hena
kahuhan umai para.
tse ka hena jabahua' sa sahai ta?
bama ina tse beinin na huu ka jinai!
ai, baran fahajain! bahua! pahua! e'aniin.
mei so tsakuera tara' ka nari.
biriki ku. tofei sirai sei hena
kirai huabe' ipai kimbere.
borokof sa mimsi atan,
data mome so hena akuabe dabe.
:-)
*****
Alright, alright, I'll give an interlinear with some comments. (And
IPA as well; the sound and intonation really does add an extra level
of expressiveness to it. :-))
tsana'i ijabahua'an.
speech Jabberwock-COMPS
["tsana?i idzaba"hwa?an]
*COMPS = compositive. This title literally means "Jabberwock-speaking"
or "Jabberwock-talk". Hence, "story of the Jabberwock", or
"Jabberwocky". :-) (And for those of you who haven't clued in yet:
this is a translation of Lewis Carroll's nonsense-poem "Jabberwocky"
into Tatari Faran. You can get the original text here:
http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html )
1a. biriki ku. tofei sirai sei hena
brillig COMPL tove slithy CVY-FEM and
["bi4iki ku. ,tOfej "si4aj sej hEna]
1b. kirai huabe' ipai kimbere.
gyre wabe at COMPL
[ki4aj "hwabE? ipaj kimbE4E]
*Some comment is necessary here. _biriki_ is just a mangling of
"brillig" into Tatari Faran; however, I paired it with the complement
_ku_ which refers to noontide or afternoon (as per Carroll's own
explanation of "brillig"). The fact that it's a complement makes it
non-intrusive to the overall nonsensical utterance, but also adds the
suggestiveness that _biriki_ has something to do with the afternoon.
*_tofei_ is just a transliteration of "tove", as is _sirai_; I've
taken the liberty to assign feminine gender to _tofei_. I was tempted
to translate "tove" as _tuitui_ (top), 'cos when I read the original
Jabberwocky, these lines evoke the image of smooth, spinning sentient
tops in a wabe-bowl. :-) But since this interpretation doesn't quite
jive with the explanations of the poem given by Carroll and Humpty
Dumpty, I decided to stick with a transliteration.
*Note that Tatari Faran conjunctions are post-initial (is the the
correct term?) - they like to appear as the 2nd element in a
sentence. That's why _hena_ follows _tofei sirai sei_.
*For "gyre" and "gimble", I decided that instead of coining two
nonsensical verbs, I'd turn them into verb and complement instead;
hence _kirai_ and _kimbere_. "Wabe" is transliterated as _huabe'_,
which I believe is a very good Tatari Faran rendering of "wabe". :-)
1c. borokof sa mimsi atan,
borogove CVY-MASC mimsy COMPL
["bO4OkOf sa "mimsi atan]
*_borokof_ and _mimsi_ are straight transliterations of "borogoves"
and "mimsy". But since adjectival statements require a complement, I
used _atan_ which means "sadly", as per Humpty Dumpty's explanation of
"mimsy".
1d. data mome so hena akuabe dabe.
rath mome CVY-EPI and outgrabe COMPL
[data "mOmE so hEna a"kwabE dabE]
*The unfortunate coincidence _data_ is just an innocent
transliteration of _rath_ into Tatari Faran, which renders all initial
/r/ as [d].
*_akuabe dabe_ deserves some comment. The prefix _ak-_ is suggestive
of the "out-" in "outgrabe", but is non-generative. I thought this is
in keeping with the spirit of the poem as suggestive of real verbs but
not actually having a real verb. Also, Tatari Faran does not allow
clusters like /gr/ or /kr/, and since I need a nonsense complement to
go with "outgrabe", I decided to make the verb and complement rhyme
(in a similar spirit to other TF verbs, like _tapa bata_). Hence,
_akuabe dabe_, the _dabe_ being a transliteration of "-rabe".
2a. jana jabahua' na jibin huun tse ka,
watch Jabberwock RCP-MASC child mine VOC ORG-MASC
["dzana dzaba"hwa? na dzi"bin ,hu:n tsE ka]
*The verb _jana_ means "to watch", i.e., "watch out for". _jana_ is
commonly used as an instruction to guards to watch out for enemies, so
I think it's an appropriate verb to substitute for "beware".
2b. parat akitsit na kari tasan na ei.
mouth bite-REL-ORG RCP-MASC claw grab-REL-RCP RCP-MASC and
[pa"4at aki"tsit na . ka"4i "tasana ej]
*_akitsit_ and _tasan_ are relativised verbs. Note that both NP's are
receptive, and actually are a continuation of 2a.
2c. jana kauna jubejube na,
watch predatory_bird JubJub RCP-MASC
["dzana kaona dzubE"dzubE na]
*There are several words for "bird" in TF. I chose _kauna_, which
means "predatory bird". Note that in my mind, I consider the
Jabberwock as distinct from the Jubjub bird and the Bandersnatch, and
so translate them as such. (Some people apparently think they refer to
the same creature.)
2d. kibe hena baratasa hiapahas na eimei.
stand_aside and bandersnatch frumious RCP-MASC COMPL.
["kibE hEna ba4a"tasa hjapa"has na ejmej]
*_baratasa_ isn't quite a straightforward transliteration from
"Bandersnatch", but I thought I should translate "snatch" to _tasa_
("to capture", "to grab hold of"), to add some suggestiveness to the
nonsense word. Also, _hiapahas_ is composed of _hia_ and _pahas_
"angry". _hia_ is meaningless, but suggestively similar to _ihia_,
"out of breath", which I think captures the intended description of
the Bandersnatch rather nicely. :-)
3a. tara' na arap sinku' foparas sei ikat,
3sp RCP-MASC take blade vorpal CVY-FEM COMPL
["ta4a? na a4ap "sinku? fOpa"4as sej ikat]
3b. hena ka surat haranara makia makasomenas na hike.
and ORG seek day_and_night enemy manxome RCP COMPL
[hEna ka "su4at ha4ana4a ma"kja maka"somEnas na hikE]
*_haranara_ means "day after day" or "day and night"; I liberally used
it here to translate "long time". _makasomenas_ is a half-
transliteration of "manxome", suitably massaged so that it rhymes with
_makia_ and has more syllables to add to its formidability.
*The complement _hike_ here is noteworthy: the usual complement for
_surat_ is _tarian_; _hike_ is used to mean "to bring trouble/bad
news" or "to look for someone in order to pick a fight with him". I
think that's a good description of what the hero is doing here. :-)
3c. kuen itumtum aba berana tara' sa ham,
tree Tumtum-COMPS under pause 3sp CVY COMPL
["kMn itum"tum aba . bE4ana "tara? sa ham]
*I used _berana_ "to pause", "to take a break" to translate "rested",
since the hero probably didn't rest in the sense of sleep.
3d. tara' sa hena kibat ma'anaikan diti man.
3sp CVY and stand think-REL-ORG a_little COMPL
["ta4a? sa hEna "kibat ma"?anajkan diti man]
*The literal translation of this sentence is "and he stood thinking
for a little bit". _ma'anaikan_ is the participial form of _ma'anai_.
The literal translation of the original "and stood awhile in thought"
wouldn't make sense, as "in thought" in TF doesn't quite mean what it
means in English.
4a. itara' ma'anaikan ufas iti hena,
AUX_CVY-3sp think-REL-ORG uffish when and
[itara? ma"?anajkan u"fas iti hEna]
*The literal translation is, "and when he was thinking uffishly".
_ufas_ is just a liberal transliteration of "uffish", with the -as
suffix to be suggestive of an adverb.
4b. hitatai jabahua' itsinta kisan kisi sa,
whiffle Jabberwock AUX_CVY-eye fire-GEN part_of CVY
["hitataj dzaba"hwa? i.tsinta "kisan ki"si sa]
*_hitatai_, while nonsensical, is composed of _hi_ (suggestive of
breathing or a gust of wind) and _tatai_ (to hurry). Note that because
of Tatari Faran syntax, the verb has to appear on this line rather
than the next as in the original. Also, my mental image of the
Jabberwock is a tall humanoid with large hands and feet, and a large
mouth with thick lips and ropy hair, rather than the dragon-like
creature so often used as an illustration for the poem. So in
translating "came whiffling", I have the mental image of a large
humanoid making extravagant wide strides through the forest and
causing a gust of wind as he passes. Hence, _hitatai_ rather than some
other verb adapted from flying or gliding.
4c. marai murapuesat eke papa;
forest tulgey across COMPL
["ma4aj mu4a"pMsat EkE papa]
*My mental image of "tulgey wood" is a dark forest with twisty trees,
hence the compound _mura(s)_ (dark, grey) + _puesat_ (twisted,
gnarly). Note that _papa_ complements the verb in line 4b.
4d. fei sa hena tapa burumpaikan bata.
3sp-INANIM CVY and came burble-REL_ORG COMPL
["fej sa hEna ta"pa bu4um"pajkan bata]
*I translated this line as a separate sentence due to TF syntax
limitations: "and it came burbling". _burumpaikan_ is the participial
form of the hypothetical verb _burumpai_, which is a cross-breed of
"burble" and the native verb _mumpai_, "to growl/rumble".
5a. jira, buna! jira, buna! sinku' foparas sei hena
one-ABS two-ABS one-ABS two-ABS blade vorpal CVY and
["dzi4a . "buna . "dzi4a . "buna . "sinku? fopa"4as sej hEna]
*The absolutive for the numbers are used when counting. Note again
that my mental imagery of the scene is that the "one, two" refers to
the stride of the Jabberwock.
5b. tsatsat kakat piri, fei sa hena suha' dunan.
flash flashy COMPL 3sp-INANIM CVY and die COMPL
[tsa"tsat ka"kat pi4i . "fej sa hEna su"ha? dunan]
*_tsatsat kakat piri_ is truly nonsensical. However, they are also
very evocative: _tsatsat_ is a nonsense verb that resembles _tsatsan_,
which is a complement meaning "blindingly flash" (in reference to
lightning). _kakat_ is the complement for the adjective "pretty" or
"gaudy", but it carries the idea of flashing colors. It is used here
adverbially in a nonsensical but evocative way. _piri_ is the
complement of _sintai_, "to cut asunder". Together, the phrase carries
the idea of the flashing of the vorpal blade with the overtones of
cutting asunder, and its nonsensical construction evokes the stumbling
over words of an excited narrator at a climactic moment.
*I moved the dying part to this line 'cos of overcrowding on the next
line. It is also hard to literally translate "he left it dead"; so I
decided to just stick with the solemn proclamation "and it died", the
verb _suha' dunan_ referring to death in a battle.
5c. tara' i'oha' fein banan sa hena
3sp AUX_CVY-head 3sp-INANIM-GEN carry-REL_RCP CVY and
["ta4a i"?Oha? fejn "banan sa hEna]
*This is a long complicated NP meaning "and he, who is carrying its
head". TF syntax doesn't really allow the separation of "with its
head" from the subject NP, as is in the original poem.
5d. kahuhan umai para.
galumph back COMPL
[ka"huhan umaj pa4a.]
*_kahuhan_ is composed of the nonsense syllable _ka_ + _huhan_ (to do
a victory dance). The _ka_ is intended as a (nonsensical) way of
indicating a non-usual meaning of the verb---my mental imagery of the
original "he went galumphing back" was the hero with the head of the
Jabberwock under his arm running back triumphantly with a leap in his
step.
6a. tse ka hena jabahua' sa sahai ta?
2sp ORG and Jabberwock CVY slay INTERROG
[tsE "ka hEna dzaba"hwa? sa "sahaj ta]
6b. bama ina tse beinin na huu ka jinai!
hug please 2sp beamish RCP 1sp ORG COMPL
["bama ina tsE bei"nin na "hu: ka dzinaj]
*This line reads "Let me hug the beamish you!", because translating
the idiom "come to my arms" literally into TF would make no sense. The
sentence is an imperative with the particle _ina_ ("please"), in the
sense of "let me". _beinin_ is a nonsense word that takes the first
letter of "beamish" and the latter part of the adjective _teinin_,
meaning "smart".
6c. ai, baran fahajain! bahua! pahua!
yes morning frabjous! callooh! callay!
["aj . "ba4an faha.dzajn . ba"hwa . pa"hwa ]
*_fahajain_ takes its first letter from "frabjous", mixing it with
_kaha_ "great", "awesome", and tacking on _jain_, "to be well". It is
used here as a complement of _baran_, "morning", in the spirit of such
expressions as _baran saan_ "it is morning" and _mubun murimuun_ "it
is nightfall". "Morning" is an idiomatic substitution for "day".
_bahua_ and _pahua_ are completely nonsensical interjections, but made
to sound like native Tatari Faran, as opposed to the literal
transcription of "callooh" and "callay", which would result in
unnatural, foreign-sounding words.
6d. mei so tsakuera tara' ka nari.
this CVY chortle 3sp ORG COMPL
["mej so tsakM4a "ta4a? ka na4i]
*The verb _tsakuera_ is a nonsensical mixture of _tsana_ "to speak"
and _kuera_ "to laugh". The complement _nari_ means "to feel funny or
happy", which is the usual complement for _kuera_. I think this
faithfully captures the intent of the original poem. :-)
(Stanza 7 is a repeat of stanza 1.)
Hope you enjoyed this frabjous bit of Tatari Faran. :-P
T
--
"Life is all a great joke, but only the brave ever get the point." -- Kenneth
Rexroth