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Lesson 31
Vocabulary Practice 5


Vocabulary

baneban

to forgive [ban (to give)]

Bée

Type-of-Sentence Word: Warning

betheb

mirror [beth (home) + theb (beth “mirrored”)]

both

hotel

dash

tooth

han

south (direction)

–hel

Degree Marker: to a trivial degree; slightly; hardly

hene

east (direction)

heshehoth

park [hesh (grass) + hoth (place)]

hon

west (direction)

hun

north (direction)

íizha

although

ithel

shine; glow [ith (light) + el (make)] {YML}

lali

rain

ne–

Prefix (verb): repeat VERBing; VERB again

né–

Prefix (verb): VERB back; VERB in return {AB}

rizh

Conjunction: except [ra– (NON) + izh (but)] {AB}

shili

mist [ili (water)] {SH}

thóohim

visit [thóo (guest) + im (travel)]

yime

to run {CH}

With the new Type-of-Sentence word, “bée,” comes the verb “dibée” (to warn); of course, as a noun, “dibée” would mean “warning.”

Case assignments in Láadan can sometimes be confusing for English speakers who are not familiar with cased languages. The new word “baneban” (forgive) takes as its Object the wrong forgiven and as its Goal the person forgiven. Likewise, “thóohim” (visit), follows the pattern of its antecedent verb, “im” (travel), taking the person or place being visited as its Goal.

Examples

Bíi wil hal ne wa. listen to this pronounced

Would that you work.

Báa them hal ne? listen to this pronounced

Do you need to work?

Bóo hal ne. listen to this pronounced

Prithee work.

Bó hal ne. listen to this pronounced

Work!

Bée them hal ne wa. listen to this pronounced

(WARN) You need to work.

Bé eril hal ne wa. listen to this pronounced

I swear you worked.

With the addition of bée (WARN), we have now seen all the Type-of-Sentence words of Láadan.

Exercises

Translate the following into English

1

Báa eril néde eb woden wowithid belideth amedarahádim? listen to this pronounced

2

Bíi eril úuya omá wáa; dutha edashá beth, i ril netháa be. listen to this pronounced

3

Bé ril nédeshub baneban wobalin wohimá rashaleth shem Hérel bethadim wa. listen to this pronounced

4

Báa eril di edaná nedim únanú mewida lalomá losh bezhethoth hunedim? listen to this pronounced

5

Bée ril liliháalish wohan woholin íizha eril ham rohorohel lalithu neda waá. listen to this pronounced

6

Bíi ril dush rilin áwith laleth wi; aril thad dashobin be dehenith dashenan. listen to this pronounced

7

Bóo ril menésháad nizh ralóolonal heshehothedim, lu. listen to this pronounced

8

Bíi ril il Máyel beyóoth oyinan bethebenan wa; shi ra woboóbin wodelith betha beth. listen to this pronounced

9

Bíi ril methal both woho rizh Both Shili Líithi wa; bée thóohim ra ni núudim. listen to this pronounced

10

Bée ril meyime romid woho nu radim wa; mebenem íizha mehéeya shamid; báa aril ham donithen? listen to this pronounced

In #2, did you correctly interpret “edashá” (dentist) [e– (SCIof) + dash (tooth) = edash (dentistry) + –á (DOER)]?

In #5, did you have any trouble with the word “rashal” (discourtesy; rudeness, ill-manners) [ra– (NON) + shal (courtesy; politeness; manners)]?

In #7, how did you do interpreting “nésháad” (return; come/go back) [né– (BACK) + sháad (come; go)]? This is the first time we’ve seen the prefix né– in action. It makes “back” or “back again” forms of many verbs, eg, “néban” (return; give back), “néheb” (buy back; sell back), and “nésheb” (revert; change back).

Naming in Láadan proceeds from the general to the specific. In the case of the name of the hotel in #9, we begin with the type of place, “Both” (hotel), then the word “Shili” (mist), and then the modifier of the mist “Líithi” (white).

In #10, did you correctly interpret “donithen” (earthquake) [doni (earth) + then (break)]?

Translate the following into Láadan

11

Some-many beautiful needleworkers brought shining lamps to Anthony’s door; did he speak warningly to them?

12

I dream Marsha promises to give Bethany food and a kettle of a sweet beverage.

13

(WARN) Something extremely large departed westward; what was it?.

14

The philosopher pays attention (internally) to fear and rejoicing; clearly they are the same.

15

(WARN) The journey eastward to Arkansas will take a long time.

16

The diligent worker is unwillingly showing signs of minor weariness, imo.

17

Did Anna marry the baker or the carpenter?

18

I swear Elizabeth is about to arrive at the farm by car.

19

The botanist will choose how (in what manner) the aliens listen to these-many growing plants.

20

Do the bankers know what you-many did with (using) your money?

In #13, did the English construction “something extremely large” give you any trouble? If so, consider that it’s shorthand for “something that is extremely large;” we have a Láadan construction that fills the same niche when there is only one verb and one nominal. The verb “be large” is “rahíya;” “be extremely large” would be “rahíyahul;” the nominal (pronoun, in this case) “something” is, of course, “beye;” therefore, “something extremely large” could very nicely be expressed “worahíyahul wobeye.”

In #15, how did you do with the English idiom “take a long time?” Consider that this idiom means simply that the thing it refers to will be of great duration; how about “rahahí?”

You may be wondering what “eba” (spouse) might mean when used as a verb. It probably won’t surprise you to find that it means “to marry.” Unlike in English, however, in which one person marries another (grammatically, a Subject marries an Object), in Láadan the verb “eba” requires two Subjects; two persons marry (or “spouse”) together.

In #17, this grammatical feature of “eba” presents a challenge; if “eba” took a Subject and an Object or some other case, we could present the choices in that other case. However, since all the options are in the Subject, we have to find another way. My solution is to present Anna and each potential spouse with an “e” (or) between the couples.

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Answers

1

Does the helpful man want to sell a house to the dancer?

2

I understand a teacher was in pain; the dentist healed her/him, and now s/he thrives again.

3

I swear the old traveler intends to forgive Carol’s offspring for the rudeness.

4

Did the linguist tell you how (using what) the singers carried their money northward?

5

(WARN) I’m not sure the southern forest is now extaordinarily wet, although there was only a trivially strong rainstorm.

6

Clearly the baby now must drink milk; in the future s/he will be able to chew meat using teeth.

7

Please, you-several-honored, return quickly to the park.

8

Michael looks at himself using a mirror; his braided hair doesn’t please him.

9

In my opinion all the hotels are good except the White Mist Hotel; (WARN) don’t visit thither.

10

(WARN) All the wild animals are running anywhere but hither; the domestic animals are staying, although they’re afraid; will there be an earthquake?


11

Bíi eril mebel mewoháya wodathimá beyen mewohithel wohithedal áath Ánetheni bethodim wáa; báa di be dibéenal benedim? listen to this pronounced

12

Bíi ril dibé ban Másha anath i dizh womeénan woranathuth Bétheni bedim we. listen to this pronounced

13

Bée eril nasháad worahíyahul wobeye honedim wáa; báa be bebáam? listen to this pronounced

14

Bíi lohil ehená héeyath i loth; mezhe bezh wi. listen to this pronounced

15

Bée aril rahahíhul im henedim Araneshadim wáa. listen to this pronounced

16

Bíi ril dam óohahil woshel wohalá ranimenal wa. listen to this pronounced

17

Báa eril meheba Ána i ebalá e Ána i belidá? listen to this pronounced

18

Bé ril théenosháad Elízhabeth mazhenan ábededim wa. listen to this pronounced

19

Bíi aril bem edalahá únalú mehil néehá mewonáwí wodalath hin oyunan wa. listen to this pronounced

20

Báa ril melothel loshá úthú eril meshub nen losh nenethonan? listen to this pronounced

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