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Tower of Babel Story

Original English

Láadan Translation

Re-Translation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5Izh sháad Lahila láad Bi miwitheth i shumathethehéwan.

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

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."

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

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 anything they intend to do, as I see it.

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

7"Wil ndórawedeth Lin dan benethoth mehen ra ben hin hinethehéwan."

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

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

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

8The Holy One sundered them one from the other around 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.

9Babel zha hothetho hiwáanehóo--bróo dórawedeth Lahila dan Donithuth woho núuhahóo. Dóralolin Lahila beneth núude Donidim wum.

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 entire Earth.

Morpheme-by-Morpheme Analysis

1Bíide

Statement + Narrative

eríli

Far Past

thi

Have

Doni

Earth

daneth

Language + Object

nede

One

neda

Only

i

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

i

And

menahabelid

Plural + Begin + Dwell

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

i

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

udethuth

Stone + Partitive + Object

i

And

donimutheth

Earth + Tar = Bitumen + 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

leyóoneda,

We (6+) + Reflexive + Beneficiary

i

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

i

And

hoth

Place

hihóo

This + Focus

beth

home

lenethohéwan.

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

5Izh

But

sháad

Go/Come

Lahila

Holy-one

láad

Perceive

Bi

Third-person, Honored

miwitheth

City + Object

i

And

shumathethehéwan.

Tower + Object + Embed + Purpose

6Di

Say

Lahila,

Holy-one

"Bíi

Statement

bre

If...

ril

Present

menashub

Plural + Begin + Do

mezhe

Plural + Be similar

with

Person

i

And

ndi

Plural + Speak

with

Person

wozhe

Rel + Be similar

wodanetheháa

Rel + Language + Object + Embed: Rel

hith,

This + Object

ébre

...then

aril

Future

methad

Plural + Be able

meshub

Plural + Do

ben

They (6+)

menédeshub

Plural + Intend

meshub

Plural + Do

ben

They (6+)

daleth

Thing + Object

wahasháath

Any + Embed Rel + Object

wa.

My perception

7"Wil

Optative

ndórawedeth

Plural + Cause to + Obscure

Lin

We (6+), honored

dan

Language

benethoth

They (6+) + Possess + Object

mehen

Plural + Understand

ra

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

o,

Around

i

And

menóhel

Plural + Stop + Make

ben

They (6+)

miwitheth.

City + Object

9Babel

Babel

zha

Name

hothethu

Place + Partitive + Identifer

hiwáanehóo

This + Cause + Focus

--bróo

Because

dórawedeth

Cause to + Be obscure

Lahila

Holy-one

dan

Language

Donithuth

World + Partitive + Object

woho

All

núuhahóo.

There + Place + Focus

Dóralolin

Cause + Non- + Gather

Lahila

Holy-one

beneth

They (6+) + Object

núude

There + Source

Donidim

Earth + Goal

wum.

Entire

Translator's Note

First Draft--2007May14

I've coined two words here:
» udel [ud (stone) + el (make)] for "brick"
» 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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