NOV JUL Aug 19 2012 2014 2015 4 captures 13 Nov 09 - 19 Jul 14

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Vocabulary

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Dódóon Máyel Bethu

Bíide eríli ham diídin miwitheha boha shinenil wáa. Meshóod with woho thenanal. Mesháad ben nudi i núudi miwitheha o, i medilan, i mehada. Melalom i mehalehale ben. Ham mewoliri wodimilin menedebe; meliyen i melayun i melula ben. Mehel with anath menedebe diídineda neda. Hathal i háya hi; mehelahela with woho.  ¶

Bíide izh loláad ra Máyel thenath wáa. Ham zholh méwithethu. Meshi ra liri dimilinethu behideth. Di háawith behidedi, “Bíilan wil thena diídineya,” i di behid bedi binanal; nadelishe be hiwáan.  ¶

Bíide memime with woho wáa, “Báath ril loláad ra Máyel thenath bebáawáan?” En rawith. Id di beye Shósho bedi Máyel bethu.  ¶

Bíide bithim Shósho Máyel beth wetheha nédeshubewáan wáa, i di be behidedi, “Wil sha, Máyel. Báa tháa ne?”  ¶

Bíide di Máyel bedi wáa, “Wil sha, Shósho. Bíi tháahil le wa.”  ¶

Bíide di Shósho behidedi wáa, “Báa di ne ‘tháahil’ bebáawáan? Báadi thi ne lameth?”  ¶

“Em, Shósho. Bíi thi le lameth wa.”  ¶

“I báadi thi ne anath i ranath?”

“Em, Shósho. Bíi thi le anath i ranath wa.”  ¶

“I báadi thi ne betheth? I owa be wemaneya, i rahowahil wumaneya?”  ¶

“Em, Shósho. Bíi do belid letho wa.”  ¶

“I bud; báadi thi ne bud? She be neth? Shi be neth?”  ¶

“Em, Shósho. Bíi thi le wothal wobudeth wa.”  ¶

“I báadi den beye neth widahath them ne deneth?”

“Em, Shósho. Bíi thi le deneth widahath them le beth wa.”  ¶

“Báadi thad sháad ne e nudi e núudi widahath néde ne hith?”

“Em, Shósho. Bíi thad sháad le nudi i núudi nédewáan neda wa. Báa mime ne daleth hin bebáawan?”  ¶

Bíide di Shósho wáa, “Bíi dubedi le beyeth wa.”

“Báa néde lothel ne bebáath?”

“Bíidi thi ne dal menedebe wáa. Them ne radal. Báadi tháahul ra ne bebáanal?”  ¶

“Bíi eril le raláadá wa. Eril meban beyen binith menedebe ledi, i eril loláad le rawínáth. Doól ril en le bishibenal, i loláad le wénáhul.”  ¶

Bíide lámála Shósho Máyel beth i di wáa, “Bíi ne wothal wowithid, izh rabalinehal neda wa. Wil thena diídineya,” i nasháad.  ¶

Bíide dilan Máyel Shósho bedi wáa, “Wil thena diídineya! I áala.”  ¶

Bíide sháalede hi aril, widahath di beye behidedi, “Wil thena diídineya,” di behid hadihad, thenanal, “Wil thenaháalish diídineya!”

Morpheme-by-Morpheme Analysis

Free Translation

The Rectification of Michael

Long ago there was a holiday in the town between the mountains. Everyone was joyfully busy. They came and went hither and thither around the town, and spoke-in-celebration and laughed. They sang and made music. There were many colorful ornaments; they were green and orange and purple. The people made many foods only for the holiday. This was a good and beautiful time; everyone celebrated.

But Michael wasn’t joyful. There was the noise of the crowd. The colors of the ornaments dspleased him. A child said to him in celebration, “Happy holiday!” and he spoke angrily (for no reason) to her; she began to cry because of this.

Everyone asked, pained, “Why does Michael feel no joy?” No-one understood. And then someone spoke to Magic Granny about Michael.

Magic Granny met Michael, intentionally, in the street and said to him, “Hello, Michael. How are you?”

Michael said to her, “Hello, Magic Granny. I’m okay.”

Magic Granny said to him, “Why do you say ‘okay’? Do you have your health?”

“Yes, Magic Granny. I have my health.”

“And do you have food and drink?”

“Yes, Magic Granny. I have food and drink.”

“And do you have a home? And is it warm in winter and cool in summer?”

“Yes, Magic Granny. My house is strong.”

“And clothes; do you have clothes? Do they comfort you? Do they please you?”

“Yes, Magic Granny. I have good clothes.”

“And does someone help you when you need help?”

“Yes, Magic Granny. I have help when I need it.”

“Can you go hither or thither when you want to?”

“Yes, Magic Granny. I can go hither and thither, simply because I desire it. To what end do you ask me these things?”

Magic Granny said, didactically, “I am trying to learn something.”

“What do you want to know?”

“You have many things. You need nothing. In what way are you not doing very well indeed?”

“I have been deaf, blind and stupid. Many given me many gifts, and I was ungrateful. At last I now understand, suddenly, and I’m so very grateful.”

Magic Granny hugged Michael and said, “You are a good man, merely quite young. Happy holiday,” and departed.

Michael said, in celebration, “Happy holiday! And thank you.”

From that day forward, when someone said to him, “Happy holiday,” he always said, joyfully, “Happy, happy, happy holiday!”

Comments

In the title, I translated “Dódóon” (causing to be correct) as “Rectification;” it could as easily have been “Correction.”

Láadan handles emotions in more detail than English (or any other man-language) does. For now, we have a few emotion-nouns that will have to stand alone; we�ll get context to fill in around them later—in the lessons dealing with the First Declension Nouns and the Second Declension Nouns. Among these are rawíná, wéná, thena, and bina, all of which we used in this lesson.

When Magic Granny asks Michael, “Báadi thad sháad ne e nudi e núudi widahath néde ne hith?” that “hith” may confuse you. Of course, it’s the demonstrative pronoun “hi” in Object case, but what “this” or “that” is being referred to? Human languages abhor repeating identical strings of information. Thus, it is incredibly awkward to say, in English, “Can you go hither or thither when you want to go hither or thither?” In Láadan, it is just as awkward to say, “Báadi thad sháad ne e nudi e núudi widahath néde sháad ne e nudi e núudi?” So we drop the duplicate information and use a single word to refer to it. The translation of the Láadan adverbial clause “widahath néde ne hith,” is literally “when you want this/that,” but idiomatically “when you want to.” In the English, the “to” refers to the clause about being able to “come/go hither or thither.” In Láadan, we use “hi” in the same way: to refer to “sháad ... e nudi e núudi.”