A Collection of Texts in Tingi

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.

La wi’a qi sa fii sula ’iingi lii khi ’iingi lii qaa kiiñi puu lasawi kiiñi.

[la ʋiʔa qi sa fiː sula ʔiːŋi liː xi ʔiːŋi liː qaː kiːɲi puː lasaʋi kiːɲi]

la
PAST
ʋiʔa
have
qi
all
sa
human being
fiː
whole
sula
earth
ʔiːŋi
COMP
liː
the
xi
in_surface
ʔiːŋi
COMP
liː
the
qaː
language
kiːɲi
one
puː
and
lasaʋi
dialect
kiːɲi
one

“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.

La ñinguutaa naa ’uu lii ti.

[la ɲiŋuːtaː naː ʔuː liː ti]

la
PAST
ɲiŋuːtaː
journey
naː
3
ʔuː
east
liː
the
ti
from_inside

“They journeyed from the east.”

(2)
Puu la hiiqa naa mifii fingikaa pika haa ’iingi.

[puː la hiːqa naː mifiː fiŋikaː pika haː ʔiːŋi]

puː
and
la
PAST
hiːqa
find
naː
3
mifiː
wide
fiŋikaː
plain
pika
land
haː
in_inside
ʔiːŋi
COMP

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

(3)
Qaapi la ’afiiqa naa ’u.

[qaːpi la ʔafiːqa naː ʔu]

qaːpi
thus
la
PAST
ʔafiːqa
dwell
naː
3
ʔu
there

“Thus they dwelled there.”

(4)

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

La hasii naa ju juqi nii khuu’uuti ’iingi puu ju ngika nii khuu’uuti ’iingi mujahu.

[la hasiː naː ju juqi niː xuːʔuːti ʔiːŋi puː ju ŋika niː xuːʔuːti ʔiːŋi mujahu]

la
PAST
hasiː
say
naː
3
ju
imperative
juqi
make
niː
1incl
xuːʔuːti
brick
ʔiːŋi
COMP
puː
and
ju
imperative
ŋika
burn
niː
1incl
xuːʔuːti
brick
ʔiːŋi
COMP
mujahu
thoroughly

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

(5)

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

La wi’a naa khuu’uuti ’iikhaa tali.

[la ʋiʔa naː xuːʔuːti ʔiːxaː tali]

la
PAST
ʋiʔa
have
naː
3
xuːʔuːti
brick
ʔiːxaː
stone
tali
PURP

“They had bricks for stone.”

(6)
Puu la wi’a naa nuñafa liilisa tali.

[puː la ʋiʔa naː nuɲafa liːlisa tali]

puː
and
la
PAST
ʋiʔa
have
naː
3
nuɲafa
slime
liːlisa
mortar
tali
PURP

“And they had slime for mortar.”

(7)

A Creation Myth

We are not like other people.

Li kuulisuu nii ti sa ’iingi.

[li kuːlisuː niː ti sa ʔiːŋi]

li
NEG
kuːlisuː
resemble
niː
1incl
ti
other
sa
human being
ʔiːŋi
COMP

“We do not resemble other humans.”

(8)

Their languages were shaped by struggle and time.

La lawifi qa puu qiqu juu qaa lii naa.

[la laʋifi qa puː qiqu juː qaː liː naː]

la
PAST
laʋifi
shape
qa
fight
puː
and
qiqu
time
juː
3.POSS
qaː
language
liː
the
naː
3

“Their languages were shaped by fight and time.”

(9)

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

La ngafiinga naa juu ’a lii lafuhaqa puu lali.

[la ŋafiːŋa naː juː ʔa liː lafuhaqa puː lali]

la
PAST
ŋafiːŋa
copy
naː
3
juː
3.POSS
ʔa
sound
liː
the
la-
GEN
fuhaqa
mammal
puː
and
la-
GEN
li
bird

“They copied the sounds of mammals and birds.”

(10)

But our language arose in a different way.

Khuu la ñajutu puuki tingi lii luu qaa lii ’iingi timi hingu ’iingi haa.

[xuː la ɲajutu puːki tiŋi liː luː qaː liː ʔiːŋi timi hiŋu ʔiːŋi haː]

xuː
but
la
PAST
ɲajutu
arise
puːki
be
tiŋi
langname
liː
the
luː
1incl.POSS
qaː
language
liː
the
ʔiːŋi
COMP
timi
different
hiŋu
manner
ʔiːŋi
COMP
haː
in_inside

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

(11)

It was born whole and perfect in a single breath.

La haanaani naa fii ’iingi puu ngiqaki ’iingi haana tusaahii ’iingi haa

[la haːnaːni naː fiː ʔiːŋi puː ŋiqaki ʔiːŋi haːna tusaːhiː ʔiːŋi haː]

la
PAST
haːnaːni
appear
naː
3
fiː
whole
ʔiːŋi
COMP
puː
and
ŋiqaki
perfect
ʔiːŋi
COMP
haːna
single
tusaːhiː
breath
ʔiːŋi
COMP
haː
in_inside

“It appeared whole and perfect in a single breath”

(12)

Our language did not evolve; it was created.

La li katisa luu qaa lii.

[la li katisa luː qaː liː]

la
PAST
li
NEG
katisa
evolve
luː
1incl.POSS
qaː
language
liː
the

“Our language did not evolve.”

(13)
La nilulu naa.

[la nilulu naː]

la
PAST
nilulu
create
naː
3

“It was created.”

(14)

Language creation took 0.03 seconds; writing the texts 0.04 seconds.

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