A Collection of Texts in Lu

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.

[ˈt͡ʃai naː t͡ʃø ˈzøsemuː sy ˈɾajeruː ˈɡyːɟeruː ˈsy ˈki ˈpotereː ˈɡau ˈki tiˈbehereː]

ˈt͡ʃai
have
naː
PAST
t͡ʃø
all
ˈzøs
human being
-e
NOM
-m
plur
-uː
def
sy
whole
ˈɾaj
earth
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈɡyːɟ
surface
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈsy
in
ˈki
one
ˈpot
language
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈɡau
and
ˈki
one
tiˈbeh
dialect
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
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.

[beːˈɡe naː ˈfyː ˈnet͡ʃeruː ˈɡiːɲeruː ˈɟiː]

beːˈɡe
journey
naː
PAST
ˈfyː
3.plur
ˈnet͡ʃ
east
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈɡiːɲ
inside
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈɟiː
from

“They journeyed from the east.”

(2)

[ˈɡau ˈco naː ˈfyː ˈjeː ˈloːre ɲaˈsaŋereː ˈjeː ˈkyʎereː ˈɡiːɲeruː ˈsy]

ˈɡau
and
ˈco
find
naː
PAST
ˈfyː
3.plur
ˈjeː
a
ˈloːre
wide
ɲaˈsaŋ
plain
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈjeː
a
ˈkyʎ
land
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈɡiːɲ
inside
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈsy
in

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

(3)

[naˈce wiˈpyː naː ˈfyː ˈho]

naˈce
thus
wiˈpyː
dwell
naː
PAST
ˈfyː
3.plur
ˈho
there

“Thus they dwelled there.”

(4)

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

[ˈɡo naː ˈfyː ˈkyː ɲiːˈdawaːde deː ˈɡau ˈkyː ɲiːˈdawumeː ˈt͡ʃau deː ciˈti]

ˈɡo
say
naː
PAST
ˈfyː
3.plur
ˈkyː
1incl.plur
ɲiːˈdaw
brick
-aːde
make
deː
imperative
ˈɡau
and
ˈkyː
1incl.plur
ɲiːˈdaw
brick
-u
ACC
-m
plur
-eː
not.def
ˈt͡ʃau
burn
deː
imperative
ciˈti
thoroughly

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

(5)

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

[ˈt͡ʃai naː ˈfyː ɲiːˈdawereː ˈhaiɾiːreː waˈwi]

ˈt͡ʃai
have
naː
PAST
ˈfyː
3.plur
ɲiːˈdaw
brick
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈhaiɾ
stone
-iː
LOC
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
waˈwi
PURP

“They had bricks for stone.”

(6)

[ˈɡau ˈt͡ʃai naː ˈfyː siˈrenereː søˈpøːɟiːreː waˈwi]

ˈɡau
and
ˈt͡ʃai
have
naː
PAST
ˈfyː
3.plur
siˈren
slime
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
søˈpøːɟ
mortar
-iː
LOC
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
waˈwi
PURP

“And they had slime for mortar.”

(7)

A Creation Myth

We are not like other people.

[hoˈt͡ɕi fo ˈkyː ne ˈzøsemeː]

hoˈt͡ɕi
resemble
fo
NEG
ˈkyː
1incl.plur
ne
other
ˈzøs
human being
-e
NOM
-m
plur
-eː
not.def

“We do not resemble other humans.”

(8)

Their languages were shaped by struggle and time.

[leˈmaː naː ˈɲebereː ˈɡau ˈcafereː ˈfyː ˈpotemuː]

leˈmaː
shape
naː
PAST
ˈɲeb
fight
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈɡau
and
ˈcaf
time
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈfyː
3.plur
ˈpot
language
-e
NOM
-m
plur
-uː
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.

[ziˈrai naː ˈfyː tøːˈnørøːmeː ˈɡau ˈwøːŋøːmeː ˈjoːɲemuː]

ziˈrai
copy
naː
PAST
ˈfyː
3.plur
tøːˈnør
mammal
-øː
GEN
-m
plur
-eː
not.def
ˈɡau
and
ˈwøːŋ
bird
-øː
GEN
-m
plur
-eː
not.def
ˈjoːɲ
sound
-e
NOM
-m
plur
-uː
def

“They copied the sounds of mammals and birds.”

(10)

But our language arose in a different way.

[ˈcai wøˈɡy naː ˈkyː ˈpoteruː ˈjy ˈluʎeruː ˈjeː ˈliːma ˈkikereː ˈɡiːɲeruː ˈsy]

ˈcai
but
wøˈɡy
arise
naː
PAST
ˈkyː
1incl.plur
ˈpot
language
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈjy
be
ˈluʎ
langname
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈjeː
a
ˈliːma
different
ˈkik
manner
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈɡiːɲ
inside
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈsy
in

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

(11)

It was born whole and perfect in a single breath.

[roˈdo naː ˈha sy ˈɡau ɲeˈcut͡ʃa ˈjeː ˈdeːɡa feːˈløpereː ˈɡiːɲeruː ˈsy]

roˈdo
appear
naː
PAST
ˈha
3.sing
sy
whole
ˈɡau
and
ɲeˈcut͡ʃa
perfect
ˈjeː
a
ˈdeːɡa
single
feːˈløp
breath
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-eː
not.def
ˈɡiːɲ
inside
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def
ˈsy
in

“It appeared whole and perfect in a single breath”

(12)

Our language did not evolve; it was created.

[faˈŋai naː fo ˈkyː ˈpoteruː]

faˈŋai
evolve
naː
PAST
fo
NEG
ˈkyː
1incl.plur
ˈpot
language
-e
NOM
-r
sing
-uː
def

“Our language did not evolve.”

(13)

[deˈsau naː ˈha]

deˈsau
create
naː
PAST
ˈha
3.sing

“It was created.”

(14)

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

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