|
|
| Translated by: |
Paul Bennett |
| Torch: |
O theya.s khënëkhi.s! Poks'ë.mayi.s pokë.p pokos'ë.pëngoo.k:
Thuuro.p kaare.ta.k rupi.rare.k kënka.p...
Othorii.k kënka.t. Aka.r makhme.payi.r powe.p.
Othorii.t ap toru.p, pheni.ta.k.ne kënka.t, othrii.k.ne kënka.t.khe.
Poks'ë.mewë.m, "O khëni.maso.s, othrii.mawë.s am pheni.m!"
Phomu.p thuurtho.payi.p ngero.p. Othorii.k kënka.t.
Mamko.taa.r arme.payi.r.ne noke.p. Phithiphe.k kënka.t.
Khëni.maso.t phithiphe.k suuma.tayi.m ak kënka.t.
Poks'ë.mewë.m, "O khëni.maso.s, phithphe.mawë.s am pheni.m!" |
| Smooth translation: |
Oh, creating god! Say to me that which will be said:
The strength becomes as swift as the wind... He starts to hear. Water enlarges
the meal. Hearing this distant thing, he grows unhappy, and stops listening.
This compels me to say, "Oh, my creation, hear that I am good!" The tree
strengthens the house. He starts to hear. Children fear the dark. He starts to
see. My creation begins to see that we are married. This compels me to say, "Oh,
my creation, see that I am good!" Transcription/Pronunciation notes:
Everything's fairly sensible (I hope), with the addition of these:
s' /S/
c /tS/
ë /@/
ng /N/
r /4/ (Voiced Laminal Postalveolar Tap?)
Vowels are roughly Italian/Spanish. Doubled vowels are long.
In the interlinear gloss below, "PRF" shows perfective, "IMP" shows
imperfective, and "PL" marks plural. I have avoided giving the aspect for the
inceptive auxilliary verb "kënka", it is always in the perfective. (What's the
imperfective of "start to (be)", anyway???). |
| Translation of previous torch |
Missing |
| Interlinear |
Note - Morpheme boundaries can be hard to spot in Wewnetaak, so I've dotted
everything. Note, this is not the smallest possible breakdown, but it's into units
that make it the most understandable without having to impart a deep instinctive
understanding of the mechanics of the language.
O theya.s khënëkhi.s! Poks'ë.mayi.s pokë.p pokos'ë.pëngoo.k
VOC god. g2 create-IMP. g2 say-PRF. to-g1. g2 word.
g5 say-IMP.FUT.g6 ap: it-g5
Oh, creating god! Say to me that which will be said:
Thuuro.p kaare.ta.k rupi.rare.k kënka.p...
strong. g4 swift. ATTR.g6 wind. LIKE. g6 become. g5
The strength becomes as swift as the wind...
Othorii.k kënka.t. Aka.r makhme.payi.r powe.p.
hear-IMP. g6 become-PRF.g3 water.g4 enlarge-PRF. to-g5. g4 food.
g5
He starts to hear. Water enlarges the meal.
Othorii.t ap toru.p, pheni.ta.k.ne kënka.t,
hear-IMP.g3 it-g4 far-g3. g4 happy. ATTR.g6. NOT become.g3
othrii.k.ne kënka.t.khe.
hear-PRF. g6.NOT become-PRF.g3.AND
Hearing this distant thing, he grows unhappy, and stops listening.
Poks'ë.mewë.m, "O khëni.maso.s, othrii.mawë.s
say-PRF.ought-g1. g1 VOC thing.made-by-g1.g2 hear-PRF.
want-g1.g2
am pheni.m!"
it-g1 good. g1
This compels me to say, "Oh, my creation, hear that I am good!"
Phomu.p thuurtho.payi.p ngero.p. Othorii.k kënka.t.
tree. g5 strengthen. to-g5. g5 house. g5
hear-IMP. g6 begin. g3
The tree strengthens the house. He starts to hear.
Mamko.taa.r arme.payi.r.ne noke.p. Phithiphe.k
child-PL.group.g4 friend. to-g5. g4. NOT darkness.g4 see-IMP.
g6
kënka.t.
begin. g3
Children fear the dark. He starts to see.
Khëni.maso.t phithiphe.k suuma.tayi.m ak kënka.t.
thing.made-by-g1. g3 see-IMP. g6 marriage. to-g3. g1 it-g6
begin. g3
My creation begins to see that we are married.
Poks'ë.mewë.m, "O khëni.maso.s, phithphe.mawë.s
say-PRF.ought-g1. g1 VOC thing.made-by-g1.g2 see-PRF.
want-g1.g2
am pheni.m!"
it-g1 good. g1
This compels me to say, "Oh, my creation, see that I am good!" |
| Glossary/mini dictionary |
ak - it (abstractions); ends a relative clause or acts as copula
akar - water
am - me/us; ends a relative clause or acts as copula
ap - it (inanimate); ends a relative clause or acts as copula
armepayirne - dislike of something inanimate by something animate
kaaretak - swift(ness)
kënkap - something inanimate becomes or begins
kënkat - a human becomes or begins
kënkatkhe - as well as doing a previously stated verb, a human becomes or
begins
khënëkhis - you create (imperfective)
khënimasos - you, my creation
khënimasot - he/she, my creation
makhmepayir - something animate enlarges something inanimate
mamkotaar - children (in general)
ngerop - a/the house
nokep - a/the night, the dark
o - vocative
othoriik - to be hearing/listening (imperfective)
othoriit - he is hearing/listening (imperfective)
othriikne - to not hear/ not listen (perfective)
othriis - you hear/listen (perfective)
phenim - a good/happy thing ("1st person" gender)
phenitakne - "ungood", ie bad, or unhappy/sad
phithiphek - to see (imperfective)
phithphes - you see (perfective)
phomup - a/the tree
pokëp - a/the word
poks'ëmayis - you say to me
poks'ëmewëm - I am compelled to / ought to say
pokos'ëpëngook - "predicted to be said (at some point in the future)"
powep - food
rupirarek - to the same extent as the wind does / is
suumatayim - the marriage between him/her and me
theyas - god (in the 2nd person)
thuurop - strong-thing; either "strength" or "a thing that is strong"
thuurthopayip - something inanimate strengthens something inanimate
torup - an inanimate thing that is far from him/her
Roots:
aka - water
arme - to have friendly feelings towards
kaare - swiftness
kënka - become a noun (or adjective), begin a verb
khënëkhi - creating (imperfect verb)
khëni - creation, thing
makhme - to enlarge or improve (transitive)
mamko - children
ngero - house
noke - night, darkness
othorii - hearing (imperfect verb)
othrii - hear (verb)
pheni - good, happy
phithiphe - seeing (verb)
phithphe - see (verb)
phomu - tree
pokë - word, utterance
pokos'ë - saying
poks'ë - say
powe - food
suuma - marriage
theya - god
thuuro - strength
thuurtho - strengthen
rupi - wind
Gender markers:
m - Me
s - You
t - He/She
r - Animate
p - Inanimate
k - Abstract
Infixes:
ayi - towards (mayi = towards me)
oru - distant (toru = far away from him)
aso - created (saso = you have made)
ta - first half of a comparison, marks the thing being compared with
ta - used on its own (without "are") marks a non-comparitive adjective
are - second half of a comparison, marks the attribute being compared
ëngoo - prophetic future tense
ewë - volotive marker used when duty-bound to do something
awë - volotive marker used when someone wants something to be done
taa - marks generalising nouns, "mamnor" = the men, "mamnotaar" = men in
general
Suffixes:
ne - Not. Implies the opposite, rather than a lack.
khe - And. Links the suffixed word with the previous word of the same PoS. |
| Grammar notes |
Nouns are marked with a final gender marker to show their gender.
Verbs are marked with a final gender marker to show the gender of their actor.
Verbs inflected with "k" are infinitives.
Most infixes are preceded by a person/gender marker to show what they relate to,
generally their actor.
Suffixes come in absolutely final position, after infixes and gender markers.
The pronoun root "a-" has a multitude of fairly non-core functions to do with
being or existence. It generally acts as a copula or resumptive pronoun. A
similar English usage is "he" in "That man with the big hat, he is following
me". |
