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Conlang-to-conlang translation excercise: a prophecy

From:Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Date:Tuesday, June 22, 1999, 9:01
Since I'd put the first line in a sig a while back, I decided, why not
send the whole thing to Conlang?  So, here it is: the famous Human
Prophecy

Naifass=EDl wafil=E1ita wayan=EDsa wazyan=FA
Planyiny=FAn pisan=ED pikl=FA ku wasyaat=E1la
Naiyazkus=FAntanva sugl=E1az pifbiin=EDpaaviv pifkap=E1iv
Zi naiyin=EDtan tinazkuft=EDl, sunaibiilafsaayiny=FAntasnu n=EDsfunayul

S =3D Singular
I =3D Irrational
R =3D Rational
P =3D Plural
Abl =3D Ablative
Part =3D Participle
G =3D Gender

Nai-fassi'-l waf-ila'-i-ta  wa-yani'sa wa-zyanu'
Fut-come-3SI G6P-star-P-Abl G6-people  G6-strange

Plan-yinyu'n  pi-sani' pi-klu' ku  wa-syaata'la
Part-seek     G7-home  G7-new  and G6-freedom

Nai-yazkusu'n-tan-va su-gla'a-z pif-biini'paav-i-v pif-kapa'-i-v
Fut-hide-3PR-Hab     G3-all-Dat G7P-island-P-Loc   G7p-distant-P-Loc

Zi  nai-yini'-tan ti-nazkufti'-l, su-nai-bii-lafsaa-yinyu'n-tas-nu
But Fut-find-3PR  G2-trader-Erg,  AP-Fut-place.of-refuge-seek-3SR-Perf
n-i'sfuna-yu-l
G2-(s)he/it-abs-erg

This last line has a complicated construction, the -yu is an ending used
for absolutive when other cases are added, the ergative suffix indicates
that it agrees with the ergative of the previous clause, that is, the
trader.  It also has a complicated incorporation, one rarely found in
ordinary speach, where the instrumental (derived from the displaced
absolutive in the anti-passive) is incorporated into the verb, that
noun, in turn, was a derived noun.

Incidentally, you may have noticed a similarity between _yini'_ (find)
and _yinyu'n_ (look for, seek).  This is no co-incidence, _yini'_ comes
from Old W. _yine'_, to which was added the suffix -(h)o'ne" (try,
attempt to) to make _yineho'ne"_, literally "try to find", that is,
"look for".  This is the same suffix that exists in _pyasu'n_
(study/learn, "try to know") and _azkasu'n_ (hide, "try to be
overlooked", related to _daka'_ "ignore", originally "overlook").  It is
unproductive in Modern Watakassi', but was once very productive.

--=20
Yaw=EDntasva natab=ED plansaf=ED nlak=FAsi
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