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We’ve seen the most basic words for some functions of the healthy female body; it shouldn’t surprise you to find that there are more, richer terms for this realm of women’s experience.
Some of the words in the vocabulary of this lesson were coined using non-standard processes, eliding (deleting) various parts of the constituent words. The etymologies given here, where not straightforward, are “best guesses” as to the sources that inspired these words.
lila
to female-sex-act previously presented in Lesson 38
lilahá
lover; one who carries out the female sexual act (not of males)
abathede
clitoris [aba (fragrant) + thede (jewel)] {RB, BG, PJ}
hib
ovary(ies) [hibid (testicle) subtract
liliháaláa
labia [lili (wet) +
lul
vagina
nemeháalish
clitoris [nem (pearl) +
thol
breast
wodama
exterior female genitalia [wohóol (entire female genitalia) + dama (touch)] {SH}
wohóol
entire female genitalia [woho (all; every) + óol (moon)] {SH}
From Suzette Haden Elgin:
[An] example of an English word that distresses me […] is “menstruation.” [It’s] ugly; it’s hard to pronounce; it hovers on the very edge of violating English phonology. And then there’s the fact that it’s the name of an experience every woman has for most of her life—but its first syllable is men! Etymology or no etymology, there sits “men” at the beginning of that word. It’s infuriating. But there it is, and there’s no way to get rid of the darned thing. Which is one reason why I gave it so much attention when I constructed Láadan…
osháana
to menstruate; menstrual previously presented in Lesson 10
ásháana
to menstruate joyfully
desháana
to menstruate early
elasháana
to menstruate for the first time
husháana
to menstruate painfully
wesháana
to menstruate late
zhesháana
to menstruate in synch with another woman [zhe (similar) + osháana (menstruate)]
lawida
to be pregnant previously presented in Lesson 9
lalewida
to be joyfully pregnant
lewidan
to be pregnant for the first time
lóda
to be wearily pregnant
widazhad
to be pregnant, late in term and eager for the end
zháadin
to menopause previously presented in Lesson 3
azháadin
to menopause uneventfully
elazháadin
to menopause when it’s welcome
While we’d seen zháadin before, what we hadn’t seen was its etymology: [zháa (wrinkle (in the skin))].
We’ve already seen ili (water) and óol (moon), the bases for most of these words.
luhili
blood [ili (water)] {SH}
luwili
birth blood [luhili (blood)] {SH}
óolewil
menstrual blood [óol (moon) + luwili (birth blood)] {SH}
óolewod
sanitary napkin [óolewil (menstrual blood) + od (cloth)] {SH}
nilewod
tampon [nil (inside) + óolewod (sanitary napkin)] {SH}
bom
penis
hibid
testicle(s)
hibidim
scrotum [hibid (testicles) + dim (container)] {YML}
Beware puns “confusing” bom (penis) with bom (household oil)! Hee hee!
Some friends have agreed to help by providing sentences for us to translate—and one even gave us some short poems! The exercises for this lesson are going to be a little different from what we’ve seen before; the original English will be followed by a note or two as to the why and wherefore of the translation provided, and then space for you to translate into Láadan and then back into English. A translation will follow, along with morphemic analysis and a re-translation into English.
You may want to cover the provided translation, do your own, and then compare the two.
1
She menstruated joyfully when she knew that she was not pregnant.
This sentence is translated using “úwáanú” (due to) rather than “úyahú” (when).
Bíi eril ásháana be wáa úwáanú lothel be lawida rahóo behé.
Bíi
DECL
eril
PAST
ásháana
MenstruateJoy
be
X1
wáa
TRUSTED
úwáanú
CONJcoz
lothel
Know
be
X1
lawida
BePregnant
rahóo
NEG + FOCUS
behé.
X1 + EMBED
She menstruated joyfully because she knew that she was NOT pregnant.
2
Bethany, being very pregnant, dreams of chocolate.
Heather made it clear that her intention was for the English phrase “very pregnant” to be translated “widazhad” (pregnant, late in term and eager for the end).
Do you remember the idiom for “about X”? We use “bethu” [be (X) +
Bíi ozh widazhad Bétheni beháa ahanath bethu wáa.
Bíi
DECL
ozh
Dream
widazhad
BePregnantNearTermEager
Bétheni
Bethany
beháa
X1 + EMBEDrel
ahanath
Chocolate + OBJ
bethu
X1 + PARTV = About
wáa.
TRUSTED
Bethany, who is pregnant, near term and eager for the end, dreams about chocolate.
It’s interesting to note that the Relative Embedding, no matter how convoluted the English translation, contains only one Láadan verb and one noun. We could simplify the grammar quite a bit by using the Relativizer instead, giving the following. We do have a novel situation in that there is a prefix—rather than the usual suffix(es)—that we’ll have to supply a pronoun to carry.
Bíi ozh wowidazhad Bétheni wobe ahanath bethu wáa.
Bíi
DECL
ozh
Dream
wowidazhad
REL + BePregnantNearTermEager
Bétheni
Bethany
wobe
REL + X1
ahanath
Chocolate + OBJ
bethu
X1 + PARTV = About
wáa.
TRUSTED
Bethany, who is pregnant, late in term and eager for the end, dreams about chocolate.
3
No one understands her clitoris like her new lady lover.
Grammatically, we cannot modify “lover” with both “new” and “lady”; the relativizer will operate on only one verb at a time. We’ll therefore incorporate “lady” into “lover”: “lilahá” (doer of the female sex act). The feminine suffix is superfluous when considering the verb “lila;” it is the female sex act, after all.
Bíi en rawith nemeháalish bethath zhe en wobun wolilahá betho wáa.
Bíi
DECL
en
Understand
rawith
NoOne
nemeháalish
Clitoris
bethath
X1 + POSSbirth + OBJ
zhe
BeAlike
en
Understand
wobun
REL + BeNew
wolilahá
REL + FemaleSexAct + DOER
betho
X1 + POSS
wáa.
TRUSTED
No-one understands her clitoris like her new lover does.
4
Hot flash at midnight! She runs naked out into the Blind Snow Storm.
The first sentence isn’t, in fact, a sentence; it seems more in the nature of a warning.
We needed a word for “hot flash”; that word is “zháahóowadin” (hot flash, primary indicator of full menopause) [zháadin (menopause) + óowa (fire)] {AB & LA}; it was coined during the writing of this lesson in response to Layne’s expressed need for a word for this meaning and has been added to the official Láadan dictionary.
Another word we require is “honáal” (the hours between midnight and dawn) {SH}.
The phrase “Blind Snow Storm” doesn’t mean that the storm cannot see; it means that the storm is so severe that we cannot see in it—seems like a job for a degree marker.
Bée zháahóowadin honáaleya wo! Yime be bud raden rohorohálish hishethudim nil.
Bée
WARN
zháahóowadin
HotFlash
honáaleya
HoursMidnightDawn + TIME
wo!
MADEUP
Yime
Run
be
X1
bud
Clothing
raden
NON + ASSOC = Without
rohoroháalish
Storm + DEGextraord
hishethudim
Snow + PARTV + GOAL
nil.
Inside
[warning] Hot-flash in the wee hours! She runs, without clothing, into the extraordinarily intense snow-storm.
5
She is the wrinkled Sage
She turns blood into water
And then drinks her fill
Beneath the blood moon
We’re translating “turn blood into water” as “[CAUSEto + Become] [Blood + OBJ] [Water + IDENT]” consistent with the case assignments for “nahin” (to become)—the reasons for which will be explained in a not-too-far-off lesson.
“To drink her fill” we’re translating as “[Drink] [X1] [Be full] [X1 + EMBED + TIME] [Until]”. The rest should be fairly straightforward.
Bíidu bi wozháa wowothám;
Bíidu
DECL + POETIC
bi
XHon1
wozháa
REL + Wrinkle
wowothám;
REL + Wisdom + DOER = Sage + IDENT
[Statement, poetic] She is [a/the] wrinkled sage;
Dónahin bi luhilith ilim
Dónahin
CAUSEto + Become
bi
XHon1
luhilith
Blood + OBJ
ilim
Water + IDENT
She causes blood to become water
Id rilin bi ume bihéya hathobéeya
Id
AndThen
rilin
Drink
bi
XHon1
ume
BeFull
bihéya
XHon1 + EMBED + TIME
hathobéeya
Until
And then she drinks until she is full
Óol luhilithusha yil wo.
Óol
Moon
luhilithusha
Blood + PARTV + PLC
yil
Below
wo.
MADEUP
Below the moon of blood.
6
desháana: a rose tattoo left behind on the upholstered seat
This is given as a definition, so it is translated as “in teaching”—despite the poetic nature of its form.
We have no word for “tattoo”; we’ll use “uzh” (symbol—of notation, alphabet, orthography)—loosely, “glyph.”
We also have no word for “upholstery” or “upholstered”; we’ll translate this as “the cloth of the chair;” the word for “chair” is dalelewodewan [dalel (object; made-thing) + wod (sit) +
The phrase “left behind” is an idiom for which we have no counterpart in Láadan; we’ll render it using the clause “she departs” as an embedded Time-case element.
Bíidi desháana náham woshahina wohuzh od dalewodewanethusha nasháad behéya arileháam wa.
Bíidi
DECL + DIDACT
desháana
MenstruateEarly
náham
CONT + BePresent = Remain
woshahina
REL + Rose
wohuzh
REL + Symbol
od
Cloth
dalewodewanethusha
Chair + PARTV + PLC
nasháad
BEGIN + ComeGo = Depart
behéya
X1 + EMBED + TIME
arileháam
FUT + EMBEDrel + IDENT
wa.
MYPERC
Early menstruation is the rosy glyph that remains on the fabric of a chair after she departs.
7
wesháana was her worry, but all she could do was wait
Note how Láadan is creeping into Layne’s sentences; it’s so much more convenient to have the right word!
We’ll need a word we haven’t seen heretofore: “neril” (to wait).
Bíi eril wesháana lhitharil bethom, izh thad neril neda be wa.
Bíi
DECL
eril
PAST
wesháana
MenstruateLate
lhitharil
Worry
bethom,
X1 + POSS + IDENT
izh
But
thad
BeAble
neril
Wait
neda
Only
be
X1
wa.
MYPERC
Menstruating late was her worry, but she could only wait.
8
with herb tea and a pillow nest,
painful menstruation made her take a rest
It feels odd in Láadan, but for poetic emphasis we’re deviating from standard Láadan word-order to more closely mirror the English.
We’ll also need a verb here that we haven’t seen before: “dul” (to refresh; to give rest); in this construction husháana, rather than “refreshing” (dul) her, causes her to “refresh” (dódul) “herself” (beth beyóoth).
We also lack a word for “nest”, so we’ll use a circumlocution, drawing a word-picture of many pillows around her.
Bíidu zhu theshethunan i thomenan menedebe besha o,
DECL + POETIC
zhu
Tea
theshethunan
Herb + PARTV + INSTR
i
And
thomenan
Pillow + INSTR
menedebe
#>5
besha
X1 + PLC
o,
Around
Using tea of herbs and many pillows around her,
eril dódul husháana beth beyóoth wo.
eril
PAST
dódul
CAUSEto + GiveRest
husháana
MenstruatePain
beth
X1 + OBJ
beyóoth
X1 + REFLX + OBJ
wo.
MADEUP
painful menstruation caused her to refresh herself.
9
Labia hide the beautiful clitoris,
Both wet with wanting
to share
sweet lover’s touch
We’ll need a verb we haven’t seen before: “rumad” (to hide; to cover; to put away) {SH}.
Another word we’ll need is “shimá” [shim (to sex-act +
Bíidu merumad liliháaláa woháya wohabathedeth,
Bíidu
DECL + POETIC
merumad
PL + Hide
liliháaláa
Labia
woháya
REL + BeBeautiful
wohabathedeth,
REL + Clitoris + OBJ
Labia hide the beautiful clitoris,
Melili bezh woho mahawáan;
Melili bezh woho mahawáan;
PL + BeWet
bezh
X2-5
woho
#All
mahawáan;
SexDesire + COZ
They all are wet from sexual desire;
Menéde mehedethi bezh woho
Menéde
PL + Want
mehedethi
PL + Share
bezh
X2-5
woho
#All
They all want to share
wolema wodama shimáthoth wo.
wolema
REL + BeGentle
wodama
REL + Touch
shimáthoth
SexAct + DOER + POSS + OBJ
wo.
MADEUP
sexual partner’s gentle touch.
10
All she did was sit and weep
But the other got busy and began to sweep
All she did was wonder why
As the other washed the windows and looked out to the sky
Notice the parallel construction in the English distinguishing “she” from “the other.” In Láadan we have no way to phrase “the other” so Layne approved the recasting of the poem in terms of “I” and “she.”
Bíidu eril wod i delishe neda lehóo,
Bíidu
DECL + POETIC
eril
PAST
wod
Sit
i
And
delishe
Weep
neda
Only
lehóo,
I + FOCUS
I only sat and wept,
Izh i nawush behóo wo.
Izh
But
nashóod
BEGIN + BeBusy
i
And
nawush
BEGIN + Broom
behóo
X1 + FOCUS
wo.
MADEUP
But she began to be busy and began to sweep.
Bíidu dibáa neda lehóo bebáawáanehée,
Bíidu
DECL + POETIC
dibáa
Question
neda
Only
lehóo
I + FOCUS
bebáawáanehée,
Qprn1 + COZ + EMBEDq
I only asked why
Úyahú obée dóhéthe behóo demeth i il behóo thosheth wo.
Úyahú
CONJtime
obée
During
dóhéthe
CAUSEto + BeClean
behóo
X1 + FOCUS
demeth
Window + OBJ
i
And
il
PayAttn
behóo
X1 + FOCUS
thosheth
Sky + OBJ
wo.
MADEUP
While she cleaned the window and regarded the sky.
11
Put some bom in the palm before putting the palm on the bom and the bom palm will palm the bom quite pleasantly.
There’s a new word (invented for this exercise, and since added to the official Láadan dictionary): “niloma” (palm of the hand) [nil (inside) + oma (hand)] {AB}. Added to the dictionary along with “niloma” was “raniloma” (back of the hand) [ranil (outside) + oma (hand)] {AB}.
There’s another word that we’re encountering for the first time: “méeshim” (sexual pleasure) [méesh (pleasure, not sexual) + shim (to sex-act)].
As with so many plays on words—even ones, like this one, intended to work on puns in another language—the translation is nowhere nearly so elegant as the original. Indeed, part of my difficulty with the punning aspect of this piece is that we’re not using “niloma” (palm) as a verb. Try your hand (oh, my! pun discovered) at it; you may do better than I.
Bíida bere dóham ne bom nilomasha nil dama ne bometh nilomananehéya eril, ébere dama wobom woniloma bometh méeshimehalenal wa.
Bíida
DECL + JEST
bere
If…
dóham
CAUSEto + BePresent = Put
ne
You1
bom
Oil
nilomasha
PalmOfHand + PLC
nil
Inside
dama
Touch
ne
You1
bometh
Penis + OBJ
nilomananehéya
PalmOfHand + INSTR + EMBED + TIME
eril,
PAST
ébere
…Then
dama
Touch
wobom
REL + Oil
woniloma
REL + PalmOfHand
bometh
Penis + OBJ
méeshimehalenal
SexPleasure + DEGunusual + MANN
wa.
MYPERC
[Jest] If you put oil in the palm before you touch the penis with the palm, then the oily palm touches the penis quite sexual-pleasurably.
On the other hand (there’s that pun again), what if we did use “niloma” as a verb? And, if we’re going that far, what about using “bom” as a verb, as well? We might come up with something quite a bit more elegant….
Bíida bere bom ne nilomath niloma ne bomethehéya eril, ébere niloma wobom woniloma bometh méeshimehalenal wa.
Bíida
DECL + JEST
bere
If…
bom
Oil
ne
You1
nilomath
PalmOfHand + OBJ
niloma
PalmOfHand
ne
You1
bomethehéya
Penis + OBJ + EMBED + TIME
eril,
PAST
ébere
…Then
niloma
PalmOfHand
wobom
REL + Oil
woniloma
REL + PalmOfHand
bometh
Penis + OBJ
méeshimehalenal
SexPleasure + DEGunusual + MANN
wa.
MYPERC
[Jest] If you oil the palm before you palm the penis, then the oiled palm palms the penis quite sexual-pleasurably.
Yes, this version is much more elegant. This very elegance is a testament to the versatility of Láadan, wherein we can convert verbs to nouns and vice-versa with so little fuss.
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