Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Paro - La Espero

Kicking around Youtube this evening, I found some songs in Esperanto.  Inevitably, I suppose, these two great conlangs in my life have finally met.  Certainly there was some pollination from Esperanto in Sandic's early days (The greatest example of influence I can think of off of my head is the inclusion of -ian (Esperanto -en) as an allative.), but carefully I kept the baby language incubated away from this larger, better-developed and loved language.

Now that Sandic stands on its own and hardly skins its own knees anymore, I've decided it's safe to play with others.

So when I found a video of "La Espero" and remembered the beauty of that song and the happiness it brought into my life during my learning of Esperanto, I thought- what better way to pay homage to the language that instilled in me the idea that a constructed tongue can be as wonderful and functional as a naturally-arising one by translating the best-known work in that language?

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pa imprîab baxféd recsa nabei, 
ó imprîâ malēî paelai biab bamée.
lēacan ba lēyuc katiadi,  
dé mead meadian obaféd

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Into the world came a new feeling
on the earth a strong call showed itself
by the wings of the helping wind
may it go from place to place.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Jae - Language


Found this on Reddit* last night and liked it so much that I actually sat down to think about how to handle the idea of a "ford" (turns out it's simple- "path through a river").  

Order of texts: Sandic -- Smooth English of Sandic

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Jae baahl fiahc ba peradab ba srît dru
meadanian ta jutin bamée, lēiaia pet aŵ biab oxféd 
a biab kaneot méâ ân féd ba kémâ, kaevob erini katem

Language is a path across the river of time
it shows the way to the places of the others who went before our attempt
But that person cannot go along it who fears deep water.



* here and here.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Dabin erinin otiab opétade san! - Learn important things!

I forget what this story's original title was, but I do remember that I found it in an anthology of stories by the Brothers Grimm.  I never finished it, but rather left it at this level middle part.  I liked it because it dealt with "invented" languages.

This story was first translated in 2009, which makes it one of the first substantial things to have ever been written in Sandic.  This is the updated 2012 version, which I've re-done for the anthology that I will hopefully be finishing early next year. :)

Order of texts: Sandic - Smooth English of Sandic
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Baxahl ân pa Kura kaxmect kémâ lēlai, wî ân jéd ba kémâ tré drialēzkab kaxlēlét nu. Ba drialēzka kaxahlra jémai, wî kaxneot méâ ân masan frn ân ma daniab.

Ada ka, kaxmî: “Iab opébra, pé ofoŵ me. Pian yneot méâ ân ma ân opésa frn ân ma daniab. Opéféd ébian, wî kémab opésu, faé me frnsai okaahl siad. Iad jéb ba kémâ opétade san ân ma daniab!”

Ba ada kaxgre ivlúb, wî eĵ safpaian kaxféd ba drialēzka, wî ba ada kaxbas: “Pé ofoŵ me, kiab péxade san?”

“Pé ada me, jaeactab ta kolén biab exade san!”

“Ah!” kaxmî ba kame lēlai, “Bal frn ba jaeact ta kolén péxma san?! Eĵ dé me ébian opéféd, wî eĵ opétade san ân ma daniab!”

Eĵ kaxgre ba ada ba tavel jémai, wî lēiaia ivlú, eĵ safpaian kaxféd ba drialēzka.

Eĵ kian kaxmî ba ada: “Pé ofoŵ me, kiab péxade san?”

Rial kaxmî ba drialēzka: “Jaeactab ta thîân biab exade san!”

“Pé ba jémarai! Ivlúbin oahl jé otiab exgre ân opéma san frn ân ma daniab, a nu péxade san jaeactabin ujinin! Opéféd éj ébian- a fî ân gre ba ivlú péteneot sa frn ân ma daniab, siad eteneot mî ân yahl ada pé!” Kajilēri ébian kaxféd ba tavel jémarai, wî kaxgre ba ada ân okaféd eĵ. Gre ba ivlú, eĵ kaxféd ba tavel, wî so lēiaia ba bas ada ka, kaxmî: “Jaeactab ta kaéthan biab exade san.”

Éngúrai kaxahl ba ada, wî kaxmalēî ta kemanian ka. Otian kaxmî:

“Ynnéhî kémâ, faé me kaahl neousai. Siad yneot wîc ân raug kiab.”

--
There was living in Kura an old man, and this man had only one son.  The son was a complete idiot, and he did not know how to learn to do anything at all.

The boy's father said: "Listen to me, my son.  I cannot teach you to do anything.  Go from me now and find a person wiser than I.  With that person's help, learn to do something!"

The father waited for a year, and then the son came back home again and the father asked: "My son, what have you learned?"

"Oh my father, I have learned the language of the dogs!"

"Ah!" The old man said.  "Have you only learned the language of the dogs?!  Go away from me again, and learn once more to do something!"

And so the father of the idiot boy waited again, and before the year was up, the son came home once more.

And to him the father said yet again: "O my son, what have you learned?"

In reply the son said: "I have learned the language of the birds!"

"You idiot!  I have waited two years for you to learn to do something, and you have only learned imaginary languages!  Go away agin- but if after another year you will not have learned to do anything, I will no longer say that I am your father!"  In tears the boy left once more, and the father waited for him to come home again.  After the year, the young man came home again and before his father could ask, he said: "I have learned the language of the crickets."

Enraged, the father called to his servants.  He said to them:

"Behold this person, which is unknown to me.  I do not wish to see him any more."