Odd character warning:
This file contains the following unicode characters:
ā(a-macron) ē(e-macron) ī(i-macron) ō(o-macron) ū(u-macron)
(used to denote long vowels)
λ(lambda) ñ(n-tilde) þ(thorn)
(used for a palatal lateral, a palatal nasal, and a dental fricative)The text:
jacēssota pa 'nsāla: anīl pa 'nmāli antārianīl pa 'nmāli antāri
ñi mārnāi pa 'npōþa
ñi mamēλa pa 'nhēna
ñi jawēni jajāēli pa 'nejīlne-nleanīl pa jērān japēxen
la mētūma jawūra
la makīma jakāca
la mērānnonien ānen anakkapīññe wāanīl pa 'nmāli antāri
ñi anlā 'nīλāeli ī
ñi anlā 'nīlcīlri ī
ñi anmārienn' ā malāci ē mamōīñianīl pa jērān japēxen
ē ñalna 'njāra ā liēþ
aþ ñamma 'nīl ā malō
se 'nāstiþa mo 'nnōña jaþēma to 'nmāli
-nle my, our anakkapīññe mercy, pity anāstiþa obscure-ness, obscurity anejīlne food anhēna old-ness, old age anīl time, season anīlcīlri cold season, winter anīλāeli harvest time anjāra dance anlā existence anmārienne laughter annōña death anpōþa illness ansāla song, chant aþ and then (implies causality) ā names the agent of a ñi clause ānen with ē and ī 1)and also; 2)again jacēssota hunting camp jajāēla growing thing jakāca claw jamāla leaf japēxen last thing jatāra fallen thing jaþēma sign, trace jawēna plant jawūra mouth jērān hunt liēþ 1p.plural makīma predator animal, kinda like a velociraptor malāca daughter, girl malō sun mamēλa young ones mamōīñ son, boy mārnāe predator animal, large & bulky, not seen during winter mērānnon hunter mētūma flying predator, kinda like a roc, but reptilian mo Names the goal/beneficiary of a se clause ñalna The relational ñi plus a 1p.exclusive.paucal agent ñamma The relational ñi plus a 3p.singular agent to Names an inanimate or non-volitional source of a se clause wā not, none
Apostrophes mark an elided vowel, usually -a-
Noun Classes & Number:
There are three kinds of Nouns: Animate, Inanimate, and Stative. Animate nouns have the prefix m(a)-, Stative nouns have the prefix an-, and Inanimate nouns have j(a)- or an- depending on the number. Stative nouns have no number. Animate and inanimate form a plural with the suffix -i. Animate plurals have a collective connotation. Inanimate plurals do not. Inanimate collectives have the prefix an- and the suffix -i. To make an animate plural without collective connotation, use the distributive suffix -ien instead.Nouns in Apposition:
Two nouns together are in apposition. If both nouns are of the same class and number, they refer to the same entity. If the nouns are of different class and/or number, the second noun is considered to be a part/an attribute/a subset of the first noun.Relationals & Case Markers:
pa is the whole/part relational. This piece follows the dialectal variation of placing pa between the whole and its part.ñi is the change-of-state relational. It has one object and an optional agent. ñi's object is something that is or has undergone a change of state.
la is the existence relational. It simply declares that something is. se is the source/goal relational. It has one object and an optional goal/ beneficiary and an optional source/agent. se states that its object exists due to a source or that its object is in transition from the source to the goal. Think 'give' or 'send'.
Word Order:
[Conjunctions] - Relational - Object of Relational - [Everything Else]
A Hunting-Camp Chant: Time of Fallen LeavesTime of fallen leaves
ārnāi become sick
the young become old
the grown plants become our foodTime of the last hunt
the ētūma's mouth
the kīma's claw
the hunters are without mercyTime of fallen leaves
harvest-time comes again
winter-time comes again
the girls and boys are laughingTime of the last hunt
and we make the dance
so that the sun makes time
the leaves obscure the sign of deathNotes
Okay, I cheated a bit. The piece I got from John Cowan was in the form of poetry. 3 stanzas of 3 lines and 2 of 4. The Kēleñi never do things in threes if they can avoid it. 6's are okay, but 4's are the thing. So, a first pass translation left something that could with a little bit of effort become 4 stanzas of 4 lines.In Cowan's text, the title of the poem is repeated at the beginning of the first three stanzas. Since it was obvious to me that this was a poem about harvest and getting ready for the winter, I added the line "anīl pa jērān japēxen", making this a hunting-camp song, and began each stanza with first one line and then the other.
Then came the challenge of translating ecologies. Bear became mārnāe, that one was easy. I couldn't tell if his line "kon dwt de chii adwe" had both nouns referring to the same entity or not, so I separated them. Kon became mētūma, which at least flies, though it's not avian. Adwe/eagle became makīma, which doesn't even fly, but is noted for its ferociousness and wicked claws. Oh, and the Kēlen planet doesn't have flowers, so I dropped that reference in favor of leaves. Hey, at least I had seasons. :-)
Oh, as far as the Kēleñi are concerned, the sun doesn't give life, that's the goddess's perogative. The sun makes time. And, girls come before boys when referring to both.
In Cowan's piece, the game of the boys and girls seemed directly related to winter's return. I couldn't figure out how to imply that without breaking my structure. (And, yeah, I added the bit about harvest-time, it was needed.)