Wihəs/CBBCR VI
The text used in the CBB Conlang Relay VI.
Text
E wohanuw
Mì pohi mohi mì p’ai pauñu. Mì sàhanu‘ohi p’ai xət. Kaiyə powtə e wohanuw. Wiheaw sai tñu‘ihu, poi kəraw sai, mì nàiya‘ihi tmei ñoi, mèiwə powtə xauhi mu ealə wimei, sauw yoiyəmo‘owtə mài uwə. Wi ñoi mearə‘ohi pumi sàhimomowə pok, pau sauwə powtə kamo ñoiwuñup. Kaiyə sai wuhwoina sauwohu oisaiw, sàrauw wi kəñəhə nòamoñoi xuhu əhən. Poi eayə sai, mì nàiya‘ihi səka tmei soi pumi sàhaiñu‘owə ñoi.
Mì xəhənohi wi ksəhau. Mì sàhanu‘ohi womoi ai anauwi. Wi kəraw kmei ai mìrə mwoawi‘owtə p’ai ñahi. Sàrauw koi, mì mu moñohi wi saimow ai əhən. Yòi mì mu ñòhe‘ohi, ñəp mì ksaiwohu‘iwə. Yàuna səka pumi‘ohu sàrauw sai. Mì mu pukñu‘ohi, wiheaw sai mu nəhi‘ohu.
English
Two portraits
He was alone in the room. He looked at the wall. There were two portraits hanging. If it were bright, in the first one he would see a young woman with brown curly hair covering her shoulders. She was wearing a well-tailored dress with many ornaments. These were rarer now than fifty years before. In the second one he would see an even younger and better-dressed woman.
He stopped the thoughts. He looked through the window. The first lights of the morning shone in the backyard. As usual, he hadn't felt the speed of the time. But he didn't like to fall asleep. Everything was better than that. He didn't sleep when he hadn't to.
Gloss
- Mì
- 3an
- pohi
- be.past.an
- mohi
- one
- mì
- 3an
- p’
- at
- ai
- def.gen
- pauñu.
- room
- Mì
- 3an
- sàhanu‘ohi
- look.past.an
- p’
- at
- ai
- def.gen
- xət.
- wall
- Kaiyə
- there
- powtə
- be.past.pl
- e
- two
- wohanuw.
- picture
- Wiheaw
- when.rel
- sai
- 3in
- tñu‘ihu,
- be.bright.cond.in
- poi
- in
- kəraw
- be.first
- sai,
- 3in.gen
- mì
- 3an
- nàiya‘ihi
- see.cond.an
- tmei
- be.young
- ñoi,
- woman
- mèiwə
- rel.an.gen
- powtə
- be.past.pl
- xauhi
- be.brown
- mu
- neg
- ealə
- straight
- wimei,
- hair.pl
- sauw
- rel.in
- yoiyəmo‘owtə
- cover.past.pl
- mài
- 3an.gen
- uwə.
- arm.pl
- Wi
- def
- ñoi
- woman
- mearə‘ohi
- wear.past.an
- pumi
- be.good
- sàhimomowə
- tailor.past.pass
- pok,
- dress
- pau
- on
- sauwə
- rel.in.gen
- powtə
- be.past.pl
- kamo
- be.numerous
- ñoiwuñup.
- decoration
- Kaiyə
- there
- sai
- 3in
- wuhwoina
- be.less
- sauwohu
- occur.past.in
- oisaiw,
- now
- sàrauw
- how.rel
- wi
- def
- kəñəhə
- be.before
- nòamoñoi
- fifty
- xuhu
- year
- əhən.
- time
- Poi
- in
- eayə
- be.second
- sai,
- 3in.gen
- mì
- 3an
- nàiya‘ihi
- see.cond.an
- səka
- be.more
- tmei
- be.young
- soi
- and
- pumi
- be.good
- sàhaiñu‘owə
- dress.past.pass
- ñoi.
- woman
- Mì
- 3an
- xəhənohi
- block.past.an
- wi
- def
- ksəhau.
- thought.pl
- Mì
- 3an
- sàhanu‘ohi
- look.past.an
- womoi
- through
- ai
- def.gen
- anauwi.
- window
- Wi
- def
- kəraw
- be.first
- kmei
- light.pl
- ai
- def.gen
- mìrə
- day
- mwoawi‘owtə
- shine.past.pl
- p’
- at
- ai
- def.gen
- ñahi.
- backyard
- Sàrauw
- how.rel
- koi,
- always
- mì
- 3an
- mu
- neg
- moñohi
- feel.past.an
- wi
- def
- saimow
- speed
- ai
- def.gen
- əhən.
- time
- Yòi
- but
- mì
- 3sg
- mu
- neg
- ñòhe‘ohi,
- like.past.an
- ñəp
- comp
- mì
- 3sg
- ksaiwohu‘iwə.
- make.sleep.cond.pass
- Yàuna
- everything
- səka
- be.more
- pumi‘ohu
- be.good.past.in
- sàrauw
- how.rel
- sai.
- 3in
- Mì
- 3sg
- mu
- neg
- pukñu‘ohi,
- sleep.past.an
- wiheaw
- when.rel
- sai
- 3in
- mu
- neg
- nəhi‘ohu.
- must.be.past.in
Torch
Mutations
Consonants can be lenited:
- «m n ñ» change to «w l x»
- «p t k s» change to «m n ñ r»
- «w x y» change to «h»
- «r h» don't change
Vowels can be labialized:
- «ə a» change to «u o», unless preceded by «s r y»
Nouns
The usual word order of the noun phrase is:
- determiner or possessive
- quantifier
- attributive
- head noun (obligatory)
- genitive
- adpositional phrase
- relative clause
The head noun can be replaced with a pronoun.
Verbs
All the verbs in the text are either in the past tense or conditional mood. The lexicon lists them in the root form.
The past tense is created by:
- (copula)
- suppletive form: pow
- (ending with a consonant)
- lenition
- then -ow is added
- (ending with a vowel)
- labialization
- then -‘ow is added
The conditional is created by:
- (copula)
- suppletive form: miw
- (ending with a single consonant)
- lenition
- -u‘iw is added after labials
- (ending with a vowel)
- labialization
- then -‘iw is added
The subject must be marked:
- sg animate: -w changed to -hi
- sg inanimate: -w changed to -hu
- plural: -w changed to -wtə
- mediopassive: -w changed to -wə
The verb used as an attributive is unmarked.
Lexicon
- ai — of the;
- anauwi — window;
- e — two;
- ealə — straight;
- eayə — second;
- əhən — time;
- kaiyə — that, there;
- kamo — to be many;
- kəñəhə — to be before;
- kəraw — first;
- kmei — lights, rays;
- koi — always;
- ksaiwow — to put to sleep;
- ksəhau — thoughts;
- mài — his/her;
- mèiwə — whose (rel.);
- mì — he/she;
- mìrə — day, morning;
- mohi — one;
- mok — to feel;
- mu — not;
- mwoawi — to shine;
- nàiya — see;
- nəhi — to be necessary;
- nòamoñoi — fifty;
- ñahi — backyard;
- ñəp — that (complementizer);
- ñòhe — to love, to like;
- ñoi — woman;
- ñoiwuñup — decoration;
- oisaiw — now;
- p’ai — in the, at the;
- pau — on, on the surface;
- poi — in, at;
- pok — dress;
- pukñə — to sleep;
- pumi — to be good;
- sàhaiñə — to dress;
- sàhanə — to look;
- sàhimop — to stitch, to sew;
- sai — it;
- saimow — speed;
- sàrauw — how, like, than (rel.);
- saum — to occur;
- sauw — what, that (rel.);
- sauwə — of what (rel.);
- səka — to be more;
- soi — and, so, therefore;
- tmei — to be young;
- tñə — to be bright;
- uwə — arms, shoulders;
- wi — the;
- wiheaw — when, if (rel.);
- wimei — hair;
- wohanuw — image, picture;
- womoi — through, via the inside;
- wuhwoina — to be less;
- xauhi — to be brown;
- xət — wall;
- xuhu — year;
- yòi — but;
- yoiyəmo — to hide, to cover;
