Zompist Phrasebook. kulupu nimi pi jan Zompist

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janMato
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Zompist Phrasebook. kulupu nimi pi jan Zompist

Post by janMato »

I wanted to see if I could write an new set of Zompist phrases with less information loss than the traditional rendering of the Zompist phrases. Here's my start.

EDITS in bold.

toki pi ijo ale
General Expressions

mi wile pana e nimi pi pilin ike tawa jan lawa.
I wish to complain.

ale ijo pi ma Mewika li pona mute tawa mi. lon ni li pona lili tawa mi.
It's better in the States.

sina kepeken e mani pi musi ala la nampa suli seme li ni?
How much is that in real money?

kin la sina toki ala toki kepeken toki Inli?
Don't you speak English?

lon tomo lape
At the hotel

meli pali pi tomo pona li meli sina. kin la ale li kon ala kon e kon jaki?
Do all your maids smoke?

jan lili musi o mi kama!
I'm coming, you silly runt!

o sona e ni: "seme li lukin e musi Letterman" tawa mi
How do I get Letterman?

sina tawa ma Mewika la sina kama sona e ni: mani pi nanpa luka luka li mani mute.
If you go to the USA, you'll find that a dime is a lot of money.

jan moli li lon supa lape mi. jan pona o esun e lipu lape tawa lipu sin.
There's a corpse on the bed. Please change the sheets.

jan pali pi poki tawa li kama jo ala e ko walo wawa tawa mi.
The bellboy won't score me any coke.
Last edited by janMato on Thu Jan 21, 2010 6:36 pm, edited 3 times in total.
janKipo
Posts: 3064
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:20 pm

Re: Zompist Phrasebook. kulupu nimi pi jan Zompist

Post by janKipo »

janMato wrote:I wanted to see if I could write an new set of Zompist phrases with less information loss than the traditional rendering of the Zompist phrases. Here's my start.

toki pi ijo ale
General Expressions

mi wile pana e nimi pi pilin ike tawa jan lawa.
I wish to complain.

lon ma Mewika li pona mute tawa mi. lon ni li pona lili tawa mi.
It's better in the States.
But this does not talk about something. It either lacks subjects or is about spatial locations "an American country place" and "this place." I'm not sure how to patch this up; maybe 'lon' can be stretched to mean the whole situation, in which case 'lon pi ma Mewika' would do. But, I'm not sure it can be.
sina kepeken e mani pi musi ala la nampa seme li ni?
How much is that in real money?
Well, 'nanpa' but I am not sure how to do amounts of money at all -- the old number problem yet again. I (being prissy) don't think this would be a good sentence to use anywhere. Maybe 'mani lon' for "real money" but more likely not.
kin la sina toki ala toki kepeken toki Inli?
Don't you speak English?
Why 'kin la'?
lon tomo lape
At the hotel

meli pali pi tomo pona li meli sina. kin la ale li kon ala kon e kon jaki?
Do all your maids smoke?
Why complex? 'meli pali pi tomo sina li moku ala moku e kon seli' But 'kon' probably should mean "breathe" inter alia.
jan lili musi o mi kama!
I'm coming, you silly runt!
Again, not recommended. Somehow "silly little runt" doesn't come across wither affectionately or literally.

o sona e ni: "seme li lukin e musi Letterman" tawa mi
How do I get Letterman?
Who will look at the Letterman show for me? 'mi kama lukin e musi Letaman kepeken seme?'
o tawa tawa ma Mewika la sina kama sona e ni: mani pi nanpa luka luka li mani mute.
If you go to the USA, you'll find that a dime is a lot of money.
Not sure what an imperative means in a condition, but probably not that. Just 'sina tawa ma Mewika la' Still not sure how to do currency -- deliberately omitted, I think.
jan moli li lon supa lape mi. jan pona o ante e lipu lape tawa lipu sin.
There's a corpse on the bed. Please change the sheets.
I suppose what you want is not aa magic trick {"Pooof! They're new!") but an exchange of one for the other, old sheets going out, new coming in: 'o esun e lipu lape ni tawa lipu sin.'
jan pali pi poki tawa li kama jo ala e ilo nasa wawa pi nena sinpin tawa mi.
The bellboy won't score me any coke.
I expect "coke" has a shorter form, 'ko walo nena' say.
janMato
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Re: Zompist Phrasebook. kulupu nimi pi jan Zompist

Post by janMato »

janKipo wrote:
janMato wrote: lon ma Mewika li pona mute tawa mi. lon ni li pona lili tawa mi.
It's better in the States.
But this does not talk about something. It either lacks subjects or is about spatial locations "an American country place" and "this place." I'm not sure how to patch this up; maybe 'lon' can be stretched to mean the whole situation, in which case 'lon pi ma Mewika' would do. But, I'm not sure it can be.
Oh I see. I was just being dumb and put a prep phrase in the nominative slot. I see that this really should be like "It's raining"-- the speaker doesn't want to get specific about exactly what is "better in the States"
janKipo wrote:
sina kepeken e mani pi musi ala la nampa seme li ni?
How much is that in real money?
Well, 'nanpa' but I am not sure how to do amounts of money at all -- the old number problem yet again. I (being prissy) don't think this would be a good sentence to use anywhere. Maybe 'mani lon' for "real money" but more likely not.
I've seen suli used to mean "size/quantity"
janKipo wrote:
kin la sina toki ala toki kepeken toki Inli?
Don't you speak English?
Why 'kin la'?
It's implied, "you're kidding me, you really don't speak English?"
janKipo wrote:
jan lili musi o mi kama!
I'm coming, you silly runt!
Again, not recommended. Somehow "silly little runt" doesn't come across wither affectionately or literally.
Yup, back to where the flipside of politeness (how to insult) is underdeveloped.
Silly = not very smart
Little = BIG is GOOD, SMALL is BAD metaphor
runt = defective member of a litter of animals.

What is salient here is that it is an insult and no characteristic is being singled out.
janKipo wrote:

o sona e ni: "seme li lukin e musi Letterman" tawa mi
How do I get Letterman?
Who will look at the Letterman show for me? 'mi kama lukin e musi Letaman kepeken seme?'
Gloss- I come-to watch the comedian Letterman with what (tool)? A TV.

Hard to say what what the guy is really saying. Does he expect there to be Letterman on and he wants to know what channel? Is it a rhetorical question expressing this is a crappy country because all they got is stuff in a funny language? Is he asking how to use this foreign equipment and wants a short lesson?

Maybe the vague, "mi wile e jan Letaman lon insa pi ilo pi sitelen tawa mi. ni li lon ala tan seme?"
janKipo wrote:
jan moli li lon supa lape mi. jan pona o ante e lipu lape tawa lipu sin.
There's a corpse on the bed. Please change the sheets.
I suppose what you want is not aa magic trick {"Pooof! They're new!") but an exchange of one for the other, old sheets going out, new coming in: 'o esun e lipu lape ni tawa lipu sin.'
Ah! The new words. I've been slow to switch to them. Still using lukin for alasa, pilin ike for monsuto, etc.
janKipo wrote:
jan pali pi poki tawa li kama jo ala e ilo nasa wawa pi nena sinpin tawa mi.
The bellboy won't score me any coke.
I expect "coke" has a shorter form, 'ko walo nena' say.
White bump dust. That would cover boobs, nose, maybe buttocks. Don't want to get talcum powder or make-up powder.

Well known idioms to the rescue! ko wawa, ko walo wawa. I guess well getting away from well known idioms doesn't help understanding, ironically--because idioms are supposed to be opaque compared to a noun with descriptive modifiers.
janKipo
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Re: Zompist Phrasebook. kulupu nimi pi jan Zompist

Post by janKipo »

1. Yeah, that is what happens in this expression : "it" is just indefinite, maybe 'ijo', maybe not.
2. Yes, but given that, how do you say how big the quantity is" We still don't have the phrases to make this work.
3. But 'kin la' doesn't mean nor implicate "You're kidding, right?" It's just, "moreover" or something like that.
4. Actually, its status is unclear and it is as likely an endearment as an insult. In tp, it is taken as merely a convenient identifying description, without affect.
5. Probably what he want is 'kepeken nasin seme' "What's the drill?" Maybe presupposes an affirmative answer to 'mi ken ala ken lukin e musi Letaman ?'
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