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Tower of Babel Story

Original English

¹Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.

²As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

⁴Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

⁵But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.

⁶The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."

⁷Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

⁸So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

⁹That is why it was called Babel -- because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Láadan Translation

¹Bíide eríli thi Doni daneth nede neda, i ndi with woho beth wáa.

²Widahath memina with henedim, meredeb ben raboth Shinareha, i menómina ben núuha.

³Ndi ben hin hinedim, "Wil mehel len udeleth menedebe i mehóowahal len beneth." Meduth ben udeleth menedebe hotheha udethu i doniyibometh hotheha dóshidihudethu.

⁴Id ndi ben, "Wil mehel len miwitheth leneyóoda, i wil thi miwith wohíthiháalish woshumatheth aril mehan with woho leneth i hothehóo beth lenethohéwan."

⁵Izh sháad Lahila láad Bi miwitheth i shumathethehéwan.

⁶Di Lahila, "Bíi bre menashub mezhe with i ndi with wozhe wodanetheháa hith, ébre methad meshub ben menédeshub meshub ben beyeth wohoháath wa.

⁷"Wil dórawedeth Li dan benethoth mehen ra ben hin hinethehéwan."

⁸Dórashidi Lahila beneth hin hinede Doniha o, i menóhel ben miwitheth.

⁹Babel zha hothetho hiwáanehóo--bróo dórawedeth Lahila dan Donithoth woho núuha. Dóralolin Lahila beneth núude Donidim woho.

Re-Translation

¹Long ago Earth had only one language, and all people spoke it.

²When people moved to the east, they found a plain in Shinar and they stopped there.

³They said to each other, "Let's make many bricks and fire them well." They used bricks instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.

⁴And then they said, "Let's make a city for ourselves, and let the city have a tall, tall tower so that all people would know us and this place shall be our home.

⁵But the Holy One came so as to perceive the city and the tower.

⁶The Holy One said, "If they who are the same and who speak the same language are beginning to do this, then they will be able to do everything they intend to do, as I see it.

⁷"Let Me confuse their language so that they do not understand one another."

⁸The Holy One sundered them one from the other around the Earth, and they stopped building the city.

⁹Therefore is Babel the name of the place--because there the Holy One confused the language of the whole Earth. The Holy One scattered them from there to the whole Earth.

Morpheme-by-Morpheme Analysis

¹Bíide

Statement + Narrative

eríli

Far Past

thi

Have

Doni

Earth

daneth

Language + Object

nede

One

neda

Only

And

ndi

Plural + Speak

with

Person

woho

All

beth

It + Object

wáa.

Trusted report

²Widahath

When

memina

Plural + Move

with

Person

henedim,

East + Goal

meredeb

Plural + Find

ben

They (6+)

raboth

Plain + Object

Shinareha

Shinar + Place

And

menómina

Plural + Stop + Move

ben

They (6+)

núuha.

There + Place

³Ndi

Plural + Speak

ben

They (6+)

hin

These (6+)

hinedim,

These (6+) + Goal

"Wil

Optative

mehel

Plural + Make

len

We (6+)

udeleth

Stone + Make = Brick + Object

menedebe

Many

And

mehóowahal

Plural + Fire + Very

len

We (6+)

beneth."

They (6+) + Object

Meduth

Plural + Use

ben

They (6+)

udeleth

Brick + Object

menedebe

Many

hotheha

Place + Place

udethu

Stone + Partitive

And

doniyibometh

Earth + Wax = Tar + Object

hotheha

Place + Place

dóshidihudethu.

Cause + Be together + Stone = Mortar + Partitive

⁴Id

And then

ndi

Plural + Speak

ben,

They (6+)

"Wil

Optative

mehel

Plural + Make

len

We (6+)

miwitheth

City + Object

leneyóoda,

We (6+) + Reflexive + Beneficiary

And

wil

Optative

thi

Have

miwith

City

wohíthiháalish

Rel + High + Extraordinary

woshumatheth

Rel + Tower + Object

aril

Future

mehan

Plural + Know

with

Person

woho

All

leneth

We (6+) + Object

And

hothehóo

Place + Focus

beth

home

lenethohéwan.

We (6+) + Possess + Identifier + Embed + Purpose

⁵Izh

But

sháad

Go/Come

Lahila

Holy-one

láad

Perceive

Third-person, Honored

miwitheth

City + Object

And

shumathethehéwan.

Tower + Object + Embed + Purpose

⁶Di

Say

Lahila,

Holy-one

"Bíi

Statement

bre

If...

menashub

Plural + Begin + Do

mezhe

Plural + Be similar

with

Person

And

ndi

Plural + Speak

with

Person

wozhe

Rel + Be similar

wodanetheháa

Rel + Language + Object + Embed: Rel

hith,

This + Object

ébre

...then

methad

Plural + Be able

meshub

Plural + Do

ben

They (6+)

menédeshub

Plural + Intend

meshub

Plural + Do

ben

They (6+)

beyeth

Something + Object

wohoháath

All + Embed Rel + Object

wa.

My perception

⁷"Wil

Optative

dórawedeth

Cause to + Obscure

I, honored

dan

Language

benethoth

They (6+) + Possess + Object

mehen

Plural + Understand

Not

ben

They (6+)

hin

These (6+)

hinethehéwan."

These (6+) + Object + Embed + Purpose

⁸Dórashidi

Cause to + Non- + Be together

Lahila

Holy-one

beneth

They (6+) + Object

hin

These (6+)

hinede

These (6+) + Source

Doniha

Earth + Place

Around

And

menóhel

Plural + Stop + Make

ben

They (6+)

miwitheth.

City + Object

⁹Babel

Babel

zha

Name

hothetho

Place + Possess + Identifer

hiwáanehóo

This + Cause + Focus

--bróo

Because

dórawedeth

Cause to + Be obscure

Lahila

Holy-one

dan

Language

Donithoth

World + Possess + Object

woho

All

núuha.

There + Place

Dóralolin

Cause + Non- + Gather

Lahila

Holy-one

beneth

They (6+) + Object

núude

There + Source

Donidim

Earth + Goal

woho.

All

Translator's Note

First Draft--2007May14

I've coined three words here:
» udel [ud (stone) + el (make)] for "brick"
» doniyibom [doni (earth) + yibom (wax)] for "tar"
» dóshidihud [dó- (cause to) + shidi (be together) + ud (stone)] for "mortar;" this is related to another word I coined: dóshididal [dó- (cause to) + shidi (be together) + dal (thing)] for "glue"

I've invented an idiom for "instead of X" or "in place of X" or "in lieu of X." It's "hotheha X-thu" [hoth (place) + -ha (place case) | X + -thu (partitive)]

I've also invented an idiom for "one another" or "each other." It's "hizh/hin hizh/hin+case" (literally: these/those <preposition> these/those). Eg: "to one another" "hin hinedi"; "for each other" "hizh hizheda." The two pronouns will be in the same plural form, since plurality is inherent in the meaning of the idiom, and the same people are both parties.

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