copyright © 2005-2008 Dennis Paul Himes
The contents of this page are preliminary. They won't become canonical until the first version of the Tale of Tifa Walbatnuwa Siina is up. - DPH
In these examples I will first write the Seezzitonian, then an interlinear, then the English translation, and possibly some notes.
There's a list of abbreviations at the bottom of the page.
Feesttapo umimeettiij nniisttap maamzuweezzaamiit essilumiit.
give-IND-PRES-1OP kiss-ACC-P-IND-PRES you(S)-BEN-IND-PRES 24-5-IND-PRES-3TP and-6-IND-PRES-3TP
I give you 126 kisses.
126 is 56 base 24.
Neettebobaa, maneettepovbo bojizz tejasiso sijis ttadadizzisit.
know/believe-NEG-IND-PRES-1O reflexive-know/believe-SUBJ-PRES-1O I-ACC-SUBJ_PRES buy-IND-PAST-1OS mouse-ACC-IND-PAST be_pregnant-SUBJ-PAST-3TS
I don't know, but I think I bought a pregnant mouse.
Neettepo, neettebob in the indicative means "know". In the
subjunctive it means, "believe" in the sense of "think it's probably so, but
not be sure." Like most verbs which semantically take phrases as their
objects, it syntactically takes the subject of that phrase as its direct
object (here bojizz, from be, "I").
Note that teja, "buy"
is in the indicative, and ttadad, "be pregnant" is in the
subjunctive. That's because it's the pregnancy, and not the purchase, which
the speaker is unsure of.
A sit is not really a mouse, but it's a close equivalent.
Otee, ttapaapo neettiim, nnepiit dadiij laidjomidyiit dobubait, liimliij daddapistee vazee ttaptebaistee, neeneemissee seem peem.
be-true-IND-PRES-3U, talk-IND-PRES-1OS dream-ASS-P-IND-PRES to-be-IND-PRES-3TP child-ACC-P-IND-PRES brain-ASS-TP be-busy-NEG-IND-PRES-3TP which-ASS-TP-ACC-TP beget-IND-PAST-3U fantasy-NOM be-useful-NEG-IND-PAST-3U as-be-thin-IND-PRES-3U air-ASS-IND-PRES substance-ASS-IND-PRES
True, I talk of dreams; which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy; which is as thin of substance as the air.
1) This was written by William Shakespeare. Mercutio says it in Romeo &
Juliet.
The following abbreviations are used in the interlinear:
NEG is the abbreviation for a negative form.
F | Feminine |
M | Masculine |
P | Positional |
T | Transportable |
U | Uncountable |
P | Plural |
S | Singular |
ABE | Abessive |
ABL | Ablative |
ACC | Accusative |
ADE | Adessive |
ASS | Associative |
BEN | Benefactive |
CAU | Causative |
COM | Comitative |
DER | Derivative |
DIS | Distributive |
ILL | Illative |
INE | Inessive |
INS | Instrumentive |
LOC | Locative |
NOM | Nominative |
POS | Possessive |
PRO | Prolative |
VOC | Vocative |
1O | First Person Ordinary |
1I | First Person Intimate |
2 | Second Person |
3F | Third Person Feminine |
3M | Third Person Masculine |
3P | Third Person Positional |
3T | Third Person Transportable |
3U | Third Person Uncountable |
FUT | Future |
PAST | Past |
PRES | Present |
ANAL | Analytic |
IND | Indicative |
HYP | Hypothetic |
OPT | Optative |
SUB | Subjunctive |
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