uma afunta
oo-mah ah-foon-tah
At the Farm
uma
afunta
oo-mah ah-foon-tah
At the Farm
| apule ah-poo-lay chicken
|
apulenu ah-poo-lay-noo rooster
|
ikofa ee-koe-fah to visit
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| amuka ah-moo-kah cow
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amukanu ah-moo-kah-noo bull
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amuka'nape ah-moo-kah-nah-pay calf
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| akonxo ah-koen-show pig; hog
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akuta ah-koo-tah horse
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amalu'naka ah-mah-loo-nah-kah duck; water fowl
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| ite ee-tay to eat
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inite een-ee-tay to feed
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axata ah-shah-tah vegetable
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| ami ikofa afunta
uso isi apule. ah-mee ee-koe-fay ah-foon-tah oo-soe ee-see ah-poo-lay I visit the farm to see the chickens.
|
uwe ami isi oka
amalu'naka e akuta? oo-way ah-mee ee-see oo-kah ah-mahloo-nah-kah eh ah-koo-tah? Will I also see ducks and horses?
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| uwe ata'nafunta imi
amuka? oo-way ah-tah-nah-foon-tah ee-mee ah-moo-kah Does the farmer have a cow?
|
ami ite owi axata
e akonxo. ah-mee ee-tay oe-wee ah-shah-tah ay ah-koen-show I will probably eat vegetables and pork.
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| ata'nafunta inite
uka apule. ah-tah-nah-foon-tah ee-nee-tay oo-kah ah-poo-lay The farmer feeds the chickens.
|
apena oxuni u ata'nafunta
inite uka akonxo. ah-pay-nah o-shoe-nee oo ah-tah-nah-foon-tah ee-nee-tay oo-kah ah-koen-show The farmer's little girl feeds the pigs.
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BUILDING WORDS: Since we know
afunta is "farm" and
ata is "person", we can tell
at a glance that
ata'nafunta is "farmer".
But look at this pair:
ite is the verb "to eat"
and inite is the verb "to
feed" as in feeding the chickens. Notice the prefix
in~ that was added to
ite to change it into a verb
meaning to cause something to happen. If we cause the chickens
to eat then we have fed them. Notice also the preposition
uka used in these sentences.
There's a big difference between "I feed the chickens" and "I feed the chickens
to the fox." In Elomi we must always use the preposition
uka to show who the food
is being given to, even if the food itself is not mentioned in the sentence.
In English we may drop the preposition from "I feed grain to the chickens"
and say simply "I feed the chickens", but if you said that in Elomi the listener
would ask "But to what do you feed the chickens?" The literal
word-for-word translation of the Elomi sentence
ami inite uka apule is
"I cause-eating (of some food not mentioned)
by (the) chickens." Or simply "I feed the chickens."
To say "I feed vegetables to the chickens, we would use
ami inite axata uka apule
or "I cause-eating (of) vegetables by (the) chickens.
Notice the use of u to mark the possesive. The farmer's cow is amuka u ata'nafunta. |
| antopi'ninka ahn-toe-pee-ning-kah onion
|
antopi'nosuta ahn-toe-pee-noe-soo-tah carrot
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antopi'napata ahn-toe-pee-nah-pah-tah potato
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afumento ah-foo-men-toe wheat
|
iloso ee-loe-soe to take; to carry; to transport
|
| antopi'nope ahn-toe-pee-noe-pay turnip
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alaka ah-lah-kah fire
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ikuko ee-koo-koe to cook
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apata ah-pah-tah pot; kettle
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amite ah-mee-tay us; you and I
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| asetu ah-say-too basket
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afomo ah-foe-moe egg
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ipexa ee-pay-shah to buy
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inipexa ee-nee-pay-shah to sell
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ilisu ee-lee-soo to use
|
| o inite utu
akonxo. o ee-nee-tay oo-too ah-koen-show Feed the pigs!
|
amite o ikuko
antopi'napata. ah-mee o ee-koo-koe ahn-toe-pee-nah-pah-tah Let's cook potatoes.
|
| o isi
alaka. o ee-see ah-lah-kah Look at the fire!
|
ami o imi
apata. ah-mee ee-mee ah-pah-tah I will have a kettle.
|
| uwe ami ilisu asetu
u ate uso iloso afomo? o-way ah-mee ee-lee-soo ah-say-too oo ah-tay oo-soe ee-loe-soe ah-foe-moe May I use your basket to carry eggs?
|
inye a ate isa
ilisu atopa'naketa afomo u ami. een-yay ah-tay ee-sah ee-lee-soo ah-toe-pah -nah-kay-tah ah-foe-moe oo ah-mee No, but you may use my egg box.
|
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NOTES: The particle
o modifies the verb to make
it a command (imperative) or a suggestion ("Let's go!" "We should go.") or
, in the first person only, an expression of my intent to do something ("I
will go." "I must leave.").
You will notice that quite a few vegetable names are compounds built with antopi as part of the name. You might be able to guess what that word means, but you can also look it up in the dictionary. In fact, it would be good practice for figuring out what the pieces of a compound word actually mean. Use the links at the top and bottom of each lesson page to open the dictionary. Then figure out the component pieces of each compound vegetable name. Remember the 'n' that has been added to the compound will have to be stripped off before looking up the word, so that antopi'napata is made from the separate words antopi and apata.
|
| anselu ahn-say-loo goose
|
osuta o-soo-tah orange
|
ope o-pay white
|
omi o-mee red
|
uxaka oo-shay-kah behind; in back of
|
| amalu ah-mah-loo bird
|
atete ah-tay-tay garden
|
ipo ee-poe able to
|
iponi ee-poe-nee unable to
|
aku ah-koo it, inanimate thing
|
| axupi'niloso ahn-shoe-pee-nee-loe-soe donkey, burro
|
inumi ee-noo-mee to contain; to include |
alu'nipexa ah-loo-nee-pay-shah marketplace; market |
atesa ah-tay-sah house; home
|
afomo ah-foe-mah egg
|
| anselu
ope. ahn-say-loo o-pay The goose is white.
|
anselu ope iponi
ilele. ahn-say-loo o-pay ee-poe-nee ee-lay-lay The white goose can't run.
|
| o isi antopi'nosuta
a aku osuta. o ee-see ahn-toe-pee-noe-soo-tah ah ah-koo o-soo-tah Look at the carrot. It is orange.
|
aku iponi
ilele. ah-koo ee-poe-nee ee-lay-lay It cannot run.
|
| axupi'niloso uxaka
atesa. ah-shoe-pee-nee-loe-soe oo-shah-kah ah-tay-sah The donkey is behind the house.
|
enansi o iloso
akonxo utu alu'nipexa. oo-way ah-kahn-soo ee-poe ee-see ahn-kay Nancy, take the pig to market.
|
Naming Names
Names in Elomi always begin with the letter 'e'. Native Elomi names will contain only the native Elomi letters of the alphabet, but in adapting foreign names to Elomi it is permitted to use the rest of the alphabet.
"Nancy" is not a native elomi name, but it can be adapted to Elomi as
enansi.
"Robin" might become
elobinu, or
erobina, whatever suits the
person using it. The first substitutes 'L' for 'R' since 'R' is not a native
Elomi letter. The second uses the foreign letter 'R'. Both ways are permitted.
You might also like to make up a native Elomi name for yourself to use when
speaking or writing to friends in Elomi.
Pausing and Linking
The particle a is often placed between clauses in a sentence to mark a pause, or written comma, or to link to a continuation of the thought that builds on the previous thoughts. This is a particle you will find yourself using a lot in Elomi, but its use is sometimes hard to explain. Instead, you should rely on developing a natural feel for its use by studying and practicing the sample sentences that use it. You may see many such sample sentences by clicking on a in the dictionary concordance.
An example of this usage, might go something like this, with a dramatic pause often following the 'eh?" or 'a':
You know that hat eh? the one with vegetables on top of it eh? the horse ate it. alupa a unimi axata uta aku a akuta ite. This type of structure is called a clause chain. The last clause in the chain is usually the focus of the sentence; the punch line, as it were, that the rest of the clauses are building up to.
First translate the questions to English. Then answer the questions aloud in Elomi; then write the answers in Elomi and check them at the bottom of this page.
| 1. uwe aku'nisi inumi anselu? 2. uwe ate isi apulenu umi aku'nisi? 3. uwe akuta ite axata? 4. uwe apulenu ope? |
 |
 |
etomo (Tom) e enansi iloso akonxo utu alu'nipexa.
5. uwe anansi iloso asetu? |
8. uwe afe ikuko axata umi asetu?
9. uwe afe iloso axata utu alu'nipexa uta axupi'niloso?
Answers to questions
Translations
1. uwe aku'nisi inumi anselu? Does the picture contain a
goose?
2. uwe ate isi apulenu umi aku'nisi? Do you see a rooster in the
picture?
3. uwe akuta ite axata? Does the horse eat vegetables? or
Is the horse eating vegetables?
4. uwe apulenu ope? Is the rooster white?
5. uwe anansi iloso asetu? Is Nancy carrying a basket? or
Does Nancy carry a basket?
6. uwe etomo ipexa akonxo? Is Tom buying the pig?
7. uwe enansi ilisu anke uso iloso afomo utu atesa? Nancy will use
what to carry eggs home? or What will Nancy use to carry eggs
home?
8. uwe afe ikuko axata umi asetu? Does one cook vegetables in a
basket?
9. uwe afe iloso axata utu alu'nipexa uta axupi'niloso? Does one carry
vegetables to market on the donkey?
Answers
1. uwe aku'nisi inumi anselu? awa, aku'nisi inumi anselu.
2. uwe ami isi apulenu umi aku'nisi? awa, ami isi apulenu umi
aku'nisi.
3. uwe akuta ite axata? inye, akuta ite afumento.
4. uwe apulenu ope? inye, apulenu omi.
5. uwe anansi iloso asetu? awa, enansi iloso asetu.
6. uwe etomo ipexa akonxo? inye, etomo inipexa akonxo.
7. uwe enansi ilisu anke uso iloso afomo utu atesa? enansi ilisu asetu
uso iloso afomo utu atesa.
8. uwe afe ikuko axata umi asetu? inye, afe ikuko axata umi
apata.
9. uwe afe iloso axata utu alu'nipexa uta axupi'niloso? awa, afe ipo
iloso axata utu alu'nipexa uta axupi'niloso.
Extra Credit - Story Time
etanti e axupi'niloso
etomo ikofa etanti ata'nomusi.
ami u ixo iloso axata ame utu alu'nipexa a etomo ipa.
enwi uwe ami isa ilisu axupi'niloso u ate?
etanti ata'nomusi ipa ami iniku ose axa uta anpi.
etomo unyu otoni aya! ami ipo itonse axupi'niloso uxaka atesa u ate.
etanti unyu uwe ate ipeli anke ami a axupi'niloso?
Extra Credit Vocabulary
ata'nomusi - clown; fool;
joker
u ixo - to be obliged to;
to need to - 'u' makes the verb passive.
ame - many; much
ipa - to say; to speak; to
talk about
enwi - therefore
iniku - to give
ose - already; before - marks
past tense
anpi - another; a different
person
otoni - a lie; falsehood
aya - Hah! By God! Marks
an exclamation for emphasis.
itonse - to hear; to listen
to
ipeli - to believe; to trust