The Language Creator
– from linguistic questionnaire to grammar, lexicon and texts.

A Collection of Texts in Yof

What follows is a collection of texts intended to illustrate the language in more natural and extended use than the glossed examples found in the grammar.

The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9)

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Was chingw ñar duñebis chim mẽn diwaskis qaa digwaufingw tef qaa disinauningw.

[was t͡ʃiŋʷ ɲar duɲebis t͡ʃim mə̃n diwaskis ʔaː diɡʷaufiŋʷ tef ʔaː disinauniŋʷ]

was
PAST t͡ʃi
have -ŋʷ
active ɲar
all d-
NOM u-
plur ɲeb
human being -is
def t͡ʃim
in_surface mə̃n
whole d-
NOM i-
sing wask
earth -is
def ʔaː
one d-
NOM i-
sing ɡʷauf
language -iŋʷ
not.def tef
and ʔaː
one d-
NOM i-
sing sinaun
dialect -iŋʷ
not.def

“All humans in the whole earth had one language and one dialect.”

 (1)

And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

Was gugwangw waul ben disporis.

[was ɡuɡʷaŋʷ waul ben disporis]

was
PAST ɡuɡʷa
journey -ŋʷ
active waul
3.plur.fem ben
from_inside d-
NOM i-
sing spor
east -is
def

“They journeyed from the east.”

 (2)
Tef was qingw waul quun faung dikafɔingwingw mas quun dibachingw.

[tef was ʔiŋʷ waul kʷun fauŋ dikafɔiŋʷiŋʷ mas kʷun dibat͡ʃiŋʷ]

tef
and was
PAST ʔi
find -ŋʷ
active waul
3.plur.fem kʷ-
masc un
a fauŋ
wide d-
NOM i-
sing kafɔiŋʷ
plain -iŋʷ
not.def mas
in_inside kʷ-
masc un
a d-
NOM i-
sing bat͡ʃ
land -iŋʷ
not.def

“And they found a wide plain in the a land.”

 (3)
Gunaal was quapeengw waul gwaang.

[ɡunaːl was kʷapeːŋʷ waul ɡʷaːŋ]

ɡunaːl
thus was
PAST kʷapeː
dwell -ŋʷ
active waul
3.plur.fem ɡʷaːŋ
there

“Thus they dwelled there.”

 (4)

And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.

Was nẽngw waul quim qiqaichutzungw jas batel tef quim ñaungw jas luqiqaichingw batel manu.

[was nə̃ŋʷ waul kʷim ʔiʔait͡ʃut͡suŋʷ jas batel tef kʷim ɲauŋʷ jas luʔiʔait͡ʃiŋʷ batel manu]

was
PAST nə̃
say -ŋʷ
active waul
3.plur.fem kʷim
1incl.plur ʔiʔait͡ʃ
brick -ut͡su
make -ŋʷ
active jas
imperative batel
COMP tef
and kʷim
1incl.plur ɲau
burn -ŋʷ
active jas
imperative l-
ACC u-
plur ʔiʔait͡ʃ
brick -iŋʷ
not.def batel
COMP manu
thoroughly

“They said: Let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.”

 (5)

And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

Was chingw waul diqiqaichingw tzalong dispẽdingw.

[was t͡ʃiŋʷ waul diʔiʔait͡ʃiŋʷ t͡saloŋ dispə̃diŋʷ]

was
PAST t͡ʃi
have -ŋʷ
active waul
3.plur.fem d-
NOM i-
sing ʔiʔait͡ʃ
brick -iŋʷ
not.def t͡saloŋ
PURP d-
NOM i-
sing spə̃d
stone -iŋʷ
not.def

“They had bricks for stone.”

 (6)
Tef was chingw waul ditunausingw tzalong didichaawingw.

[tef was t͡ʃiŋʷ waul ditunausiŋʷ t͡saloŋ didit͡ʃaːwiŋʷ]

tef
and was
PAST t͡ʃi
have -ŋʷ
active waul
3.plur.fem d-
NOM i-
sing tunaus
slime -iŋʷ
not.def t͡saloŋ
PURP d-
NOM i-
sing dit͡ʃaːw
mortar -iŋʷ
not.def

“And they had slime for mortar.”

 (7)

A Creation Myth

We are not like other people.

Biringw fur quim cham duñebingw.

[biriŋʷ fur kʷim t͡ʃam duɲebiŋʷ]

biri
resemble -ŋʷ
active fur
NEG kʷim
1incl.plur t͡ʃam
other d-
NOM u-
plur ɲeb
human being -iŋʷ
not.def

“We do not resemble other humans.”

 (8)

Their languages were shaped by struggle and time.

Was lawingw diniikingw tef dimẽgwingw waul dugwaufis.

[was lawiŋʷ diniːkiŋʷ tef dimə̃ɡʷiŋʷ waul duɡʷaufis]

was
PAST lawi
shape -ŋʷ
active d-
NOM i-
sing niːk
fight -iŋʷ
not.def tef
and d-
NOM i-
sing mə̃ɡʷ
time -iŋʷ
not.def waul
3.plur.fem d-
NOM u-
plur ɡʷauf
language -is
def

“Their languages were shaped by fight and time.”

 (9)

They copied the sounds of beasts and birds, and they learned to speak like that.

Was fushangw waul jufaspañingw tef jupaachingw dubalis.

[was fuʃaŋʷ waul jufaspaɲiŋʷ tef jupaːt͡ʃiŋʷ dubalis]

was
PAST fuʃa
copy -ŋʷ
active waul
3.plur.fem j-
GEN u-
plur faspaɲ
mammal -iŋʷ
not.def tef
and j-
GEN u-
plur paːt͡ʃ
bird -iŋʷ
not.def d-
NOM u-
plur bal
sound -is
def

“They copied the sounds of mammals and birds.”

 (10)

But our language arose in a different way.

Ngaal was julangw dijofis, daa taangw quim digwaufis, mas chun gul difangwingw.

[ŋaːl was julaŋʷ dijofis, daː taːŋʷ kʷim diɡʷaufis, mas t͡ʃun ɡul difaŋʷiŋʷ]

ŋaːl
but was
PAST jula
arise -ŋʷ
active d-
NOM i-
sing jof
langname -is
def daː
RELPRON taː
be -ŋʷ
active kʷim
1incl.plur d-
NOM i-
sing ɡʷauf
language -is
def mas
in_inside t͡ʃ-
fem un
a ɡul
different d-
NOM i-
sing faŋʷ
manner -iŋʷ
not.def

“But Yof, which is our language, arose in a different way.”

 (11)

It was born whole and perfect in a single breath.

Was batɔingw hee mẽn tef shuchen mas chun ter dichupauquingw

[was batɔiŋʷ heː mə̃n tef ʃut͡ʃen mas t͡ʃun ter dit͡ʃupaukʷiŋʷ]

was
PAST batɔi
appear -ŋʷ
active heː
3.sing.masc mə̃n
whole tef
and ʃut͡ʃen
perfect mas
in_inside t͡ʃ-
fem un
a ter
single d-
NOM i-
sing t͡ʃupaukʷ
breath -iŋʷ
not.def

“It appeared whole and perfect in a single breath”

 (12)

Our language did not evolve; it was created.

Was hilaangw fur quim digwaufis.

[was hilaːŋʷ fur kʷim diɡʷaufis]

was
PAST hilaː
evolve -ŋʷ
active fur
NEG kʷim
1incl.plur d-
NOM i-
sing ɡʷauf
language -is
def

“Our language did not evolve.”

 (13)
Was famungw hee.

[was famuŋʷ heː]

was
PAST famu
create -ŋʷ
active heː
3.sing.masc

“It was created.”

 (14)

Language creation took 0.03 seconds; writing the texts 0.03 seconds.

Show texts normally.