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LEARN TANERAIC THROUGH
READING
LESSONS SEVEN
(Basic Level)
by Javant Biarujia
Veqi serebiat
Pasnintati, e vavenda uma qabi e Park,
vaqaindi nuri esnulis nuyole vastoubovatta ye sendebbona. Uma bahuda e ni ayo vayole
purasun. Vabemieudiyo busai yenda:
«Dentu desus, sas. Nunien vayole
serebiat. Avi saut vayole javant. Nu vayole abui saut?»
«Jalan serebiatta. Avi saut vayole Abdullah.
Ni bumouda buhai sendebbon e Dalgarno?»
«Hoje! Zaranda yole aisya vaqaindibu gan
mepa aibandi aiban desqou dajuzono, cye rah gintanda. Nu selida?»
«Xayar, asban jalan.»
Abdullah vayole jitovun e Indonezia.
Sirosya, vamoudicyanda oher vas boubdi naipauranatten oge mepalunati, busai vayer paurandi
qaize e Indonezia. Vego uza vadas abrab oher garupanpadi avi aicyo qaize e Indonezia
gasta ayo! Mehoje, cer rah yosyidi nun.
Veqomaqaizet
Translation
Last night, as I was walking up to Park
Street, I saw a fellow whom I recognised from the boarding-house.
pasnintati, last night
e, as, when (= go)
venda, walk (on the pavement)
uma, toward[s]: uma -i, as
far as, up [to]
qab, street: uma qabi, up
the street
qaindi, see sth
nuyole, whom
stoubovatti, recognise s.o.
I wondered if he was an Aborigine. I went
up to him and said:
"Hello. How do you do? I'm Javant.
What's your name?"
purasun, Aborigine: person native
to the land
bemieudi, approach, go up to
sth/s.o.
"How do you do? I'm Abdullah. Are you
staying at Dalgarno Boarding-house?"
"Yes! I thought I'd seen you there
having dinner in the dining-room, but I wasn't sure. How are you?"
aisya, ever: aisya vaqaindibu,
I have seen you
aiban desqou, dinner
dajuzon, dining-room: dajuzono,
in the dining-room
"Well, thank you."
Abdullah is an Indonesian. Strangely
enough, I intend to go to university later this year and I want to learn Indonesian.
Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to practise my Indonesian on him! Of course, he doesn't
know that yet.
jitovun, citizen: jitovun e Indonezia,
an Indonesian
sirosya, that which is strange:
strangeness
moudicyanda oher, intend to [do
sth]
vas boubdi, attend, go to sth (swh)
naipauranatten, university (institution):
naipauranajon, university (set of buildings on a campus)
oge, later
mepalunati, this year
yer: want, desire (n): yer[da
eher] paurandi, want to learn
qaize, language: qaize e Indonezia,
Indonesian [language]
vego, perhaps, maybe
abrab, opportunity
garupanpadi, practise: garupanpadi
nur gasta nuris, practise sth on s.o. [lit, with]
aicyo qaize, expression: avi
aicyo qaize e Indonezia, my Indonesian (as opposed to another's command of
it)
mehoje, of course
Uzeut
Remarks
1. Aisya is an aspectual equivalent
to the present perfect in English. It is used after certain introductory expressions: zaranda
yole aisya [bes] vaqaindibu, I think (thought) I have seen you [before]; nunien
vayole usya mara yole aisya yoqaindi Alpa, this is the first time that he has seen
the Alps; Asenda oher Cyikaga ga aisya vaqaindi Oprah, It was in
Chicago that I saw Oprah. Aspectuals should be used sparingly, for often adverbials of
time (eg, pasaiveti, yesterday) convey tense. There is no need to use aspectuals
for an action or state considered to be true at all times (syouqa cahda, the
earth is round); for an action or state occurring or existing at the moment of writing (ge
bugadiocyada mepadesqesati! how pale you are this morning!); or for an action or
state occurring or existing at regular intervals, begun in the past, continuing in the
present, and presumably continuing in the future (rah vadas jebo aibanda go airecada,
I'm not hungry when I'm tired).
2. Uza is an aspectual equivalent
to the future tense (even when in English the present tense often suffices, although
futurity is implied): eher cyaur, uza vaqabda iher Bali, I'm going on a
holiday to Bali; syau rah uza valesegada, I'm not helping any more; avi
sedaub go uza buresda, call me when you're ready. It is permissible to drop aisya
or uza if there is no danger of loss of sense.
3. Mepa plus a verb may correspond
to the English gerund: vaqaindibu mepa aibandi nuri pula beden, I saw you
eating an apple. (An alternative to this construction is to use the conjunction yole,
that, after the intransitive: vaqainda yole [mepa] buaibandi nuri pula beden,
lit, I saw that you were eating an apple. After verbs of perception or volition [ibisda,
qainda, yorgada, yerda, etc], the infinitive [simply the radical (levis)
plus verb desinence] alone may be used: rah vayerda yole beiji uma audepatti hamoja,
I don't want the cat sitting on the rug.) Mepa also used for the present participle
in English: mepa virdi Godot, waiting for Godot; yogaruda mepa xarandi
garugayaron, he took the train home. NB, this is just one way the English gerund
is expressed in Taneraic.
4. Nuyole, whom (or, in vernacular
English, who), that, which, may function as the direct object relative pronoun (or
a subjective completion); rephrased, the intransitive verb is transitive with a direct
object: gotou nuyole vaqainda, the woman [who(m)] I saw < vaqaindi
gotou, I saw the woman; nu ga vas hamojat nuyole buresoda? where is
the rug [that] you mentioned? < buresodi hamojat, you mentioned the rug; garugayaron
nuyole vaxaranda, the train [which] I took < vaxarandi garugayaron,
I took the train. NB, the indirect object relative pronoun (eg, the woman who I
smiled at [to whom I smiled]) will be dealt with later.
5. A) While there are no articles in
Taneraic, the desinence -at may be added to give the sense of specificity; ie,
"in question" or "under discussion/consideration" (the a is
dropped when a noun ends in a single vowel): hamoja, a rug, the rug[s] > hamojat,
the rug[s] (in question); beiji, a cat, the cat[s] > beijit,
the cat[s] (in question). If the noun is otherwise qualified (eg, possessive or
demonstrative adjectives), or the noun represents a primary relationship or an agent, -at
is not used: *nuni beijit, *avi mat, *esnulisat.
B) A finished process or product
is shown with -at: sara, coffee-shrub (Coffea arabica)
> avi sarat, my coffee (avi sara, my coffee-shrub); aiban,
food > aibanat, food[stuff].
C) Reference to activity or events of a
period of time is shown with -at: aive, a day, the day[s] > ge
aivet! what a day! desqesat, the (whole) morning, lunat,
the (whole) year
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