[Printable (pdf) version of this lesson]
áalaá
butterfly
bin
bowl
bire
layer
bod
line (on a surface; of text; of computer program)
demeren
curtain [dem (window) + ren (carpet)]
dumidal
fox [mid (creature)]
hed
drinking glass
hom
nectar
huhid
king [hu (boss; ruler) +
lub
poultry, fowl
lush
mystery
ni
cup
oódóo
bridge
oyimahina
violet (the flower) [oyi (eye) + mahina (flower)]
rahol
to waste; to squander
rin
plate
rushi
wine
shahina
rose (the flower) [sha (harmony) + mahina (flower)]
yum
beetle
zhu
tea
You might be interested in knowing a little more about the words for “bridge” and “butterfly.” One of the things that women do in their language behavior, in all of the languages I know, is a whole lot of body language work. I wanted that work to be less in Láadan, and the language is therefore constructed to lexicalize body language. (That is, to give it a pronounced form, instead of leaving it all to be done by tone of voice and gesture and facial expression and so on.) That’s why you have the set of words that tell whether the sentence coming up is a statement or question or something else; and that’s why you have the endings that tell whether the sentence is meant as a joke or a lesson or a narrative or something else—to reduce the communications labor for the women speaking.
The word for bridge, when its tone markers are in the right place, has a sound pattern like this: —¯ ¯—. The word for butterfly is like this: ¯— —¯. Since intonation (the melody that carries the spoken words) is part of body language, this is another way of lexicalizing it. For both of these words, the voice makes the shape of the thing named, in the ear’s space and the ear’s time. Shapes “in the air,” you perceive, but for the ear rather than for the eye.
The word “bod” (line) above is a homonym (same sound) of “bod” (dish). This can happen in any language, and Láadan is no exception. Fortunately, the “semantic domains” (the areas of discussion in which they are likely to be used) of these two words are sufficiently distant from each other that no confusion is likely.
The word “bire” (layer) was originally coined as “bre,” beginning with “br,” a consonant-cluster forbidden in Láadan. This was an historical accident (occasioned by the fact that “r” isn’t a consonant in the same sense that “b” is), and has been corrected by the second generation developing Láadan. We will not be using the archaic “bre” form—which was also ambiguous, being a homonym for “bre,” now “bere,” (if)—but you should be prepared to recognize it, should you happen across it.
1Bíide eril melolin i meyod lod wum óowasha o háanáaleya úyahú nohal le wa. 2Thalehul anadal. 3Meham bal hobeden i thuden, i lub i máa wohaba wohódoneden binesha, i mewoliyen womeda rinesha. 4Merilin len rushith mewowedeth wohedede i yobeth mewolíithi wonide. 5Mehalehale i mehamedara len anadaleya aril. 6Úyhahú menahóoha len, mesháad belidedim nil, i naháana le. 7Thi le mewoháya wohozheth. 8Shumáad le áalaádan menedebe i un le beneth dun oyimahinathusha rayil id yáaninedim boó oódóosha thoma we. 9Noháana le didenal; dóhu le demereneth, i láad le nahóolíithinehel wohene wothoshehéth oyinan wa. úyahú nalíithin wohene wothosh wa. 10Ril láad le owath onanan naham roshehéwáan; aril háyahal sháal; rilrili shóo wothaleháalish wobeye.
Of course, since the preceding sentences are presented as a story in paragraph form, no Type-of-Sentence Words are required after the first sentence. Nor are Evidence Words—except when we switch to dream perception and back.
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The teacher asked the child, “Does your horse live on land or in the ocean?”
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“On land,” replied the child.
13
The teacher asked, “Is a horse a wild animal or a domesticated animal?”
14
“A domesticated animal.”
15
“Does a fish live on land or in the ocean?”
16
The child thought and said, “In the ocean.”
17
The child was still. Slowly she began to cry.
18
The teacher asked, “Why are you crying?”
19
The child said in a small voice, “I play music for my horse, but I shall never play for the fish because it would need many weeks for me to travel to the ocean.”
20
The teacher smiled gently and said, “You will be able to do it. If you were never able to play music for the fish, then I would cry too.”
In case you couldn’t follow the (fairly advanced) syntax of the answer to #19, the third clause of the child’s reply is “…rilrili them [im le meladim]ehé sháaleth menedebe…” (…would need [I travel to the ocean] many days…). The embedded clause is the Subject of the verb “them” (need).
In the answer to #20, we employ an idiomatic usage of “hi” (this/that) to refer to a previous clause.
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The entire household gathered and ate around the fire in the evening when I finished working.
2
The meal was extremely good.
3
There were bread with butter and honey, poultry and eggs with fragrant cheese on plates, and green vegetables in bowls.
4
We drank wine from clear glasses and coffee from white cups.
5
We made music and danced after the meal.
6
When we began to tire, we went into the house, and I went to sleep.
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I had beautiful dreams.
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I dreamed I was flying with many butterflies (with pleasure) and led them over a field of violets and then to three trees near a bridge.
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I awoke when the eastern sky was beginning to be grey.
10
I feel warmth on my face due to the sun beginning to shine; it’s going to be an unusually beautiful day; maybe something wonderful will happen.
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Bíi eril dibáa omá háawithedim wáa, “Báa habelid omid netho donisha e melasha?”
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“Donisha wa,” nédi háawith wáa.
13
Bíi eril dibáa omá wáa, “Báa omid romidem e shamidem?”
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“Shamidem wa.”
15
“Báa habelid thili donisha e melasha?”
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Bíi eril lith háawith wáa, i di be, “Melasha wa.”
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Bíi eril wam háawith wáa. Nadelishe be lóolonal.
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Bíi eril dibáa omá wáa, “Delishe ne bebáawáan?”
19
Bíi eril di háawith híyanal wáa, “Bíi alehale le omid lethoda, izh aril alehale ra le thilida rahadihad beróo rilrili them im le meladimehé híyahatheth menedebe wa.”
20
Bíi eril áada omá lemanal wáa, i di, “Aril thad ne hith. Rilrili bere thad alehale ra ne thilida rahadihad, ébere delishe le íi.”
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