Friday, January 30, 2009

Samples of Conversation in Apatani

Samples of day to day conversation:

Sample 1

Tapu : Niika armyan knii hiila pe?[What is your name?]

Kano : Ngiika armyan hii Kano. Niikii no? [My name is Kano. Yours?]

Tapu : Ngo Tapu. No, VKV ho masii ha, puri du’nii? [I’m Tapu. Do you study in V.K.V?]

Kano : IIn, hiila cho. No niitan pa chin’du? [Yes, I do. How do you know?]

Tapu :Lonyi lohin kapyo pa, ngo niimi, Taka agin ho, ka’pa to. No uniform gii’to la, dane. [I saw you with Taka some days back. You were on uniform.]

Kano : Oh. Ngiinyi classmate sii nyan. No Taka mi ka’chin du, ha? [Oh. We are classmates. You know Taka?]

Tapu : Mo, ngiika atebo ako ka oho. [He is my cousin.(son of one of my paternal uncle)]

Sample 2

Tapu : Hi, ngo Tapu. [Hi, I’m Tapu.]

Kano : Hi, ngo Kano. [Hi, I’m Kano.

Tapu : Niih school hokii? [From which school?]

Kano : Government secondary school.

Tapu : Tajang, ha? [Tajang?]

Kano : Ma, Hapoli. No no? [No, Hapoli. What about you?]

Tapu : Ngo Frontier school hokii.

Kano : Seminar 10 baji hokii sii mii’kin donii. Kiije arun-are ako da du’mo sa. [Seminar starts on 10. Let’s go and sit somewhere.]

Tapu : Inka restaurant ho a’la sah hejalo tankin mabyo ha? [What about going over to that restaurant and have tea or something?]

Kano : Hii la, mii je sa. kiije.[That’s fine. Let’s go.]

Sample 3

A: Hello, no seminar pa ha, a’du nii? [Hello, you come to attend the seminar?]

B: IIn.[Yes.]

A: Ngo tere hiila a’du. Arun-are so restaurant nyima sii ha? Du’mo la sah heja lo, tan’sa kan. [Me too. Is there any restaurant around? What about going over there and have tea or something?]

B: Inka arun so, ako do. Kiije a’sa. [There is one at that corner. Let’s go.]

Sample 4

A: Hello. Gandhi market noh hope donii? [Hello. Could you tell me where the Gandhi Market is?]

B: Inka lanchan car mi, ka’pa do nyan an? [Do you see that red car?]

A: IIn. [Yes.]

B: Hii market a’gya si domo tola do. [It’s parked just in front of the entrance of the market. ]

A: Paya pacho lu’ko biilyi nii. [Thank you for telling me.]

Sample 5

A: Talya tola. Post office noh hope do’nii ka’laa masu pe ha? [Excuse me. Do you know where the post office is?]

B: Lembo ho parda a’nge- inka lembo pading siiko ho, lachi dalyi bo’nge- lembo ka labi dalyi ho sign board ka’pa todii ke. [Go straight – turn left at the crossing – you will see the signboard in the right side of the road.]

A: Aro pacho. [Thank you.]

Sample 6

A: Talya tola. Old Ziro cha’do koda niitan pape cha’kin donii? [Excuse me. Can you tell me how I can get to Old Ziro?]

B: No bus jalo tempo la’tu lakin do. Hiika atan inka arun so domo du. [You can catch bus or tempo. They stop right over here.]

A: Ngo taxi pai lakin dope ha? [Can I get taxi?]

B: IIn. Hii pa no taxi stand bo’do lyikin do. [Yes. For that, you have to go to taxi stand.]

A: Sokii la ado dope ha? [Is it too far from here?]

B: Ma. Hiimkane ado make. Inka labi dalyi lembo byanyo bosi Para lembo- hopa sida bo’nge, boter ja ho taxi stand mi ka’pa kendo ke. [No. you’ll get there in few minutes. Just over there, from the right side of this road, you’ll find a narrow road, that is Para road – go straight across and you’ll find the taxi stand.]

A: Paya aro pacho. [Thank you.]

Sample 7

A: Excuse me. Old Ziro, sokii la, ano ado dope ha? [Excuse me. Is Old Ziro too far from here?]

B: So kii la 7 KM masa do. [It’s about 7 KM.]

A: Niitan pape cha’kin donii lu’ko laakin dope ha? [Could you tell me how I can get there?]

B: No bus jalo tempo la’tu laakin do. Hiika atan inso domo du- inka dukan ka hata ho- porda tonto dako dukan hata ho. [You can catch bus or tempo. They stop there – just in front of that shop – the one with curtain drawn.

A: Paya aro pacho. [Thank you.]

Sample 8

A: Talya tola. Bus niida har’ne yu ah? [Excuse me. When does the bus leave?]

B: 10:30 ho har’ne do hendo. [I think it leaves at half past ten.]

A: Old Ziro sokii la niimkane na ado donii? [How far is Old Ziro from here?

B: 7 KM masa do. No so a’tu papo a’du nii? About 7 KM. Are you new to this place?

A: IIn. Ngo Itanagar ho du’du. Ziro cha’tu pa cha’du. [Yes. I live in Itanagar- I come here for the first time.]

B: Oh. No Tanii atu sii nyan ah? [Oh. You are an Apatani, if I am not wrong?]

A: IIn, ngo Tanii atu siicho, hojalo, Ziro ronge tere cha’ka ma. [Yes I’m an Apatani, still, I haven’t come and see Ziro, even once earlier.]

Sample 9

A: Excuse me. Bus niida har’ne yu ah? [Excuse me. When does the bus leave?]

B: 9:30 ho har’ne do hendo. [I think it leaves at 9:30.]

A: Abulya niimkane ado do? [How far is Abulya?]

B: 3 KM masa do. [It’s about 3 KM.]

A: Bus bara nehena, ladu nii? [What’s the bus fare?]

B: Bus bara barngo he ladu- Old Ziro cha’su dojalo ayin pasu, lasu dunii. [Bus fare is five rupees- it’s the same even when you go to Old Ziro]

Sample 10

Akha : Tam ba’ri totii ka. [Wake up Tam.]

Tam : Nehe baji do. [What’s the time now?]

Akha : 5:30.

Tam : Nyibya haja doke. Ngiimi imi kiine to. [It’s too early. Let me sleep.]

Akha : Tam oha ba’ri totii ka. No ngiika agin ho bus station ho abo kendo ke.[Come on Tam - wake up. You are coming with me to bus station.]

Tam : Knii, mih in’kin neku po? [Somone leaving or what?]

Akha : Hen’der siidu ha, ngo cho in’kin donii. Ngiika dukhu-pajo mi jo’lii monpii kan. [I’m leaving, fathead! You got to help me carry my luggage and all.]

Tam : No diyobar alo hosu masu ha enna in’kin nennii. Siilo Diyobar ha enna? [But you were leaving on Sunday. Is it Sunday already?]

Akha : Siilo ma niinan! Tam nyibya patii ka- ngiimi bus harnu biilyi ke. [Of course it is! Hurry up Tam – I’m getting late for bus.]

Sample 11

Nanya : Ata, guri tama po? 5:30 doku ka ah. [Ata, won’t you wake up? It’s 5:30 already.]

Yaka : Ho nii hiila? Ngiimi imi kiine to. [So what? Let me sleep.]

Nanya : No aha-ahii biidu po? [Have you forgotten?]

Yaka : Knii mi aha ahii biidu po hiila? [Forgotten what?]

Nanya : No lemba cha’te ma ha- Aku Kano ka, Ayo mi ka, lulii niimi, lu’ko du’pa? [Aren’t going to village to tell Aku Kano’s message to Ayo.]

Yaka : Oh, hiila kendo cho. No ngiika agin ho, cha’bo laakin do ha? [Oh, yes. I have to. Will you come with me?]

Nanya : Hiila san. [OK]

Sample 12

A: Inka milobo si whuna? [Who is that boy?]

B: Niih bo? [Which one?]

A: Tarsi hoka te’da tola danii bo. [The one leaning on the wall.]

B: Mo Tapu ka anu. Ngo armyan mi aha-ahii biido. [He is Tapu’s brother. I forgot his name.]

Sample 13

A: No inka car hoka, du’nii bo miyu mi, ka’laa du ha? [Do you know that man in the car?]

B: IIn. Mo Obing ka aba. [Yes. He is Obing’s father.]

A: Radhe Obing ka ha? [Radhe Obing’s?]

B: IIn. [Yes.]

A: Hopa lo. Ngo niitan payu ngiimi ka’laa donii hen’han kiile. Mo, ngiimi, ngiika lemba hokii ka to’lyi ku ho, gari pa ba’gii ku. Mo, ngii mi, noh ho da’du, knii mii du, hii la ta’ka ne. Momi, ka’pa tonii hiilyan-hiilyan hensu to, whu ya pe hiila hen’der kuma to. [That’s why. I wondered how he knew me so well. He gave me lift yesterday when I was returning from village. He asked me where I’m now, what I’m doing and all. I thought I’ve seen him somewhere but could not make out who he is.]

B: Mo, Obing hiilyan, lu’ju-lu’myo aya do, ano so’la-ngar’la duta. [He is a nice fellow – polite and humorous – just like Obing.]

A: Obing noh hona da’du kunii? Mo mika ka’pa kuma nii ano adoh duku. Kami japa ka’pa kuniin hii ngo hen do nii nyango duku do. Mo siisi knii mii’du ku? [By the way, where is Obing? I haven’t seen him for ages now. The last time we met was – I think – five years back. What is he doing now?]

B: Mo siisi Shillong ho law puri la da. [He is now in Shillong, studying law.]

Sample 14

A: Inka pulu tarii gii’nii bo nyimii mi ka’laa du ha? [Do you know that girl with white shirt?]

B: Ma, ngo ka’chin ma. Niimpa? [No, I don’t. Why?]

A: hiila sii. Ngo momi ka’pa tonii hiilyan do. [Simply. I think I saw her somewhere.]

Sample 15

A: Inka cycle har’nii bo milobo si whu na? [Who is that boy – riding a bicycle?]

B: No ka’chin mapo? Mo Tubin nyan. [Don’t you recognise him? He is Tubin.]

A: Tubin hiin? Ngo ta’je maka ah. Mopa iche heter ka’ma. Momi sensii riika pa hiila si ngo biinyan vacation ho ka’pa siito nii. [He is Tubin? I don’t believe. He doesn’t look like him. He was lean and thin when I saw him the last vacation.]

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

keep it up...m a tanii too ..ur work is commendable.

GT said...

@ tashi
thnx. do visit again and give ur inputs and comments

Anonymous said...

Your page is interesting. It reflects the hard-work you must have put in to develop them. I wish to lay down a few of my observations which might be of any use:-
1. There are too many words with (‘) sign in the middle of word, eg du’mo, ka’laa, to’pa, khe’du, a’ba, in’ba, etc. You may have attempted to show the way they should be pronounced but instead of conveying any positive direction they create confusion. These words should best be written plainly, I mean, without the use of (‘) signs. Pronunciation of a word may be shown separately, preferably after it within two slashes (/.../) as exemplified in the Apatani Dictionary. There are words in English which are pronounced quite differently from the way they are written. Yet we know how to pronounce them. Let’s see these English words –
Girl, Knife, psychology, Culture, Digestion, tsar, psoriasis so on ......

Here the sequence of alphabets used in the words and the actual manner they are pronounced are quite different from the layman’s point of view. But we do pronounce them correctly because the manner in which they should be pronounced are shown through the use of phonetic symbols in English dictionary. We may also employ similar method by using IPA or any other symbols which suit ours. It may not be possible always to coin such word which exhibits its own accurately pronunciable characteristic in itself. In such case pronunciation can be shown through the use of phonetic symbols. There should be no separation in the body of the word through the use of any symbol. I tried to write down your words in long hand; they presented a very messy appearance.
2. We should, as far as possible, have differently spelled words for different connotations, that is, each word should able to convey its own meaning. Let’s see these English words-
sell, shell, cell, etc
Fill, feel, pill, peel, etc

Although their pronunciations are quite alike yet the letters that constitute each word are different; and we know just at a glance what each word conveys. Let’s examine some of our words as coined in the Apatani Dictionary-
Annii (mother)
Anii (the person who has come)
Aniih (to swallow)
Anniih (leaf)

From the above example we can immediately identify which word conveys what meaning (once we are used to it). This ensures clarity and dispels confusion. In my opinion the use of letter ‘h’ to make certain word unique is perfectly alright. Through the use of phonetic symbols we can always show which word should be pronounce what way or which letter should remain silent.
You seem to have not made any attempt in this respect. You have spelled many words with same set of letters in same sequence. If we go by your style, we will end up having too many words with same spelling. This is not a healthy trend.
3. The spelling of many words used by you are quite different from the words coined in the Apatani Dictionary. Of course one need not agree on everything whatever is written there. But we should avoid having differences as far as possible. It is high time we started having one source as a model and started drawing from it to maintain uniformity. It is right time you pioneers work together and set the wheel of standardising the written form in motion. Only this way we can progress toward maintaining a standardised form of written Apatani language. Else it is a hopeless case. If this trend of deviative approach continues there is every likelihood of your present work being repudiated by someone with his own version. If this happens then it is Pandora’s Box with its lid opened. I have discussed with some of my friends on this issue. We are of unanimous opinion that the Habung Donyi's Apatani Dictionary is perfect. His work on verb roots and the list of verb particles are superb. We do not think there is much need for modification in the dictionary. Only thing that needed done in the dictionary is its phonetics. This, I think, can be done in due course of time in the manner as stated above. May be the author is already on the job. We fail to understand why this dictionary can not serve as a model?
5. Any imported word should be used in its original form; eg bazaar should not be written as bazar as it has been done.
6. Apa Tani should be continued to be written as Apatani in a single word as this is the popularly used nomenclature in all official records until of course there is a concerted effort by the society as a whole to change it. This is not likely to be an easy task. STC is recognised as Apatani only and not Apa Tani. To change it we will require constitutional amendment.

GT said...

@ anonymous

I agree with you that we shall have commonly agreed pattern of spellings for the words in Apatani; everyone should strive for that. From the day I could get a copy of Apatani Dictionary by HD, I had no doubt in my mind that it should be the basis for developing Apatani language.

The dictionary, though has run into 2nd revised edition, is not even one year old in the hand of public (you know why). One should have patience with people like me who write common-place Apatani (instinctive writing). However, this is not to say that everyone does that (instictive writing).

We have dictionary in Apatani- that is a great asset but there should also be a working guiding principles of the language involving various linguistic parameters such as morphology, phonology, phonetics and syntax. (I can’t help guessing that these thing were put into places during the workshop which was organised by ACLS in 1997. In that case it’s just about publishing it.) You know all these parameters are closely related. A word is not merely a combination of letters it has to represent the sounds and tones of a meaningful utterance.

English is a very complex language. Comparison of English with Apatani should not be made as an excuse but to clarify and make thing simpler. The words such as psychology, tsar, cell etc., in English (if I’m not wrong) are imported words (or words derived from other language) just as we used imported words like bazaar, school etc., in Apatani. In others that you mentioned like know, no, knight, night etc., 'kn-' is pronounced slightly different from 'n-' alone. And 'kn-' is very consistent in sound it represent in different words such as know, knot, knack, knell, knee etc. Same is the case with '-i-' and '-ee-' in words like fill, feel, pill, fill etc. Regarding 'p-' and 'f-' in pill and fill the tips for pronouncing them are taught in lower primary classes. Also let us not forget that it requires 8 to 9 years of studying English that make one able to pronounce and identify the words in English with some degree of competence. Our effort should be to make reading and writing Apatani simple and easy. Teaching Apatani for 8, 9 years in school is not feasible.

Let us examine some words from English such as meaningful, beautiful; movement, moment; chilly, tally; book, hook, look; try, cry etc., Here the sounds represented by groups of letters such as –ful, -ment, -lly, -oo-, -ry etc. are consistent for different words. We also should ensured that the groups of letters such as –mie and –mmi in the words like ‘amie’ [tail], ‘tamie’ [housefly], ‘tammi’ [weeds, grass], ‘ammi’ [elder sister], etc. as entered in HD’s dictionary, should be consistent for different words. It is not the case in some words. For above words, ‘ammi’ for tail and ‘amie’ (or ammie) for elder sister sound more appropriate to me. Similarly, there are many such combination of letters (a, ah, bha, ba, bho, bo, bi, bee, bhi, bih etc.) which I feel are not used consistently in different words. I think discussing such discrepancies should not be misunderstood for inventing wheel again and again.

Regarding use of (’) in words like a’ba, dii’ba etc., I made it clear in footnote in a post entitled ‘Letters and Words inApatani’ which are provided below for you:
“**Note: Apostrophe/accentuated mark [’] is being used after verb root in a word (as in a’ba) to make the verb root distinguisable in a word which helps in pronounciation and comprehension of the word. Its use is not mandatory.”
Again, that is not without reason - in the words containing verb roots, they (verb roots) form stressed syllable in the words in Apatani. Accentuated mark(’) is placed after vowel of stressed syllable. Sometime, even in English instructioal manual, this mark is used to show the point of stress in words while uttering.

Anyway, thanks for your comment and your valuable suggetions. I shall definitely be working towards some of your suggestions.