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A Collection of Texts in Nili

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.

Kuumeelalii ma kiikano ku tiini lakiinihoo niiniho lulma la niinihapawa lulma.

[kuːmeːlaliː ma kiːkano ku tiːni lakiːnihoː niːniho lulma la niːnihapaʋa lulma]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST lap
have -liː
POS ma
all k-
def niːp-
no.owner.POSS kan-
plur ʔo
human being ku
in_surface tiːp-
LOC ni
whole lam-
LOC k-
def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing toː
earth ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing ʋo
language lulu
one -ma
inanim la
and ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing mapaʋa
dialect lulu
one -ma
inanim

“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.

Kuumeekilikii luuwo li lakiinihe.

[kuːmeːkilikiː luːʋo li lakiːnihe]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST kilik
journey -liː
POS l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim li
from_inside lam-
LOC k-
def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing he
east

“They journeyed from the east.”

 (2)
La kuumeelulii luuwo haho niinihiiqoqo hii lamiinihiimi.

[la kuːmeːluliː luːʋo haho niːnihiːʔoʔo hiː lamiːnihiːmi]

la
and l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST luʋ
find -liː
POS l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim haho
wide ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing tiːʔoʔo
plain hiː
in_inside lam-
LOC ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing tiːmi
land

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

 (3)
Kaqaa kuumeekiiqaalii luuwo mo.

[kaʔaː kuːmeːkiːʔaːliː luːʋo mo]

kaʔaː
thus l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST kiːʔaːl
dwell -liː
POS l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim mo
there

“Thus they dwelled there.”

 (4)

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

Kuumeemeelii luuwo kuuneepalii loli niikanemeemo pakii la kuuneepaalii loli niikanemeemo pakii petiiwii.

[kuːmeːmeːliː luːʋo kuːneːpaliː loli niːkanemeːmo pakiː la kuːneːpaːliː loli niːkanemeːmo pakiː petiːʋiː]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST meːʔ
say -liː
POS l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim l-
not.Q kuːn-
active ʔeːp-
imperative taʔ
make -liː
POS l-
plur poli
1incl.plur ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS kan-
plur pemeːmo
brick pakiː
COMP la
and l-
not.Q kuːn-
active ʔeːp-
imperative ʔaːn
burn -liː
POS l-
plur poli
1incl.plur ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS kan-
plur pemeːmo
brick pakiː
COMP petiːʋiː
thoroughly

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

 (5)

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

Kuumeelalii luuwo niinihemeemo woopo lamiinihitee.

[kuːmeːlaliː luːʋo niːnihemeːmo ʋoːpo lamiːnihiteː]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST lap
have -liː
POS l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing pemeːmo
brick ʋoːpo
PURP lam-
LOC ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing titeː
stone

“They had bricks for stone.”

 (6)
La kuumeelalii luuwo niinihiquute woopo lamiinihaakuukaa.

[la kuːmeːlaliː luːʋo niːnihiʔuːte ʋoːpo lamiːnihaːkuːkaː]

la
and l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST lap
have -liː
POS l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing ʋiʔuːte
slime ʋoːpo
PURP lam-
LOC ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing laːkuːkaː
mortar

“And they had slime for mortar.”

 (7)

A Creation Myth

We are not like other people.

Kuulaqamee loli nii niikano.

[kuːlaʔameː loli niː niːkano]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active laʔaʋ
resemble -meː
NEG l-
plur poli
1incl.plur niː
other ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS kan-
plur ʔo
human being

“We do not resemble other humans.”

 (8)

Their languages were shaped by struggle and time.

Kuumeemeemolii niinihoo la niinihihaa kakano luuwo.

[kuːmeːmeːmoliː niːnihoː la niːnihihaː kakano luːʋo]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST meːmom
shape -liː
POS ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing loː
fight la
and ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing pihaː
time k-
def ʔam-
3.plur.anim.POSS kan-
plur ʋo
language l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim

“Their languages were shaped by fight and time.”

 (9)

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

Kuumeepiiliilii luuwo kakano wokiikanooqeete la wokiikale.

[kuːmeːpiːliːliː luːʋo kakano ʋokiːkanoːʔeːte la ʋokiːkale]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST ʋiːliːp
copy -liː
POS l-
plur muːʋo
3.plur.anim k-
def ʔam-
3.plur.anim.POSS kan-
plur to
sound ʋok-
GEN ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS kan-
plur ʋoːʔeːte
mammal la
and ʋok-
GEN ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS kan-
plur le
bird

“They copied the sounds of mammals and birds.”

 (10)

But our language arose in a different way.

Qu kuumeenolaalii kiinihiili, kiti kuunokii hiiniho, hii tiipiiwaa lamiinihatu.

[ʔu kuːmeːnolaːliː kiːnihiːli, kiti kuːnokiː hiːniho, hiː tiːpiːʋaː lamiːnihatu]

ʔu
but l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST nolaːt
arise -liː
POS k-
def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing niːli
langname k-
sing kiti
RELPRON l-
not.Q kuːn-
active tok
be -liː
POS k-
def hiːʋ-
1incl.plur.POSS nih-
sing ʋo
language hiː
in_inside tiːp-
LOC tiːʋaː
different lam-
LOC ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing ʋatu
manner

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

 (11)

It was born whole and perfect in a single breath.

Kuumeelikilii kukaa ni la haapeqi hii tiikita lamiinihuutaapi

[kuːmeːlikiliː kukaː ni la haːpeʔi hiː tiːkita lamiːnihuːtaːpi]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST likiʔ
appear -liː
POS k-
sing ʔukaː
3.sing.inanim ni
whole la
and haːpeʔi
perfect hiː
in_inside tiːp-
LOC kita
single lam-
LOC ʋ-
not.def niːp-
no.owner.POSS nih-
sing nuːtaːpi
breath

“It appeared whole and perfect in a single breath”

 (12)

Our language did not evolve; it was created.

Kuumeekaakomee hiiniho.

[kuːmeːkaːkomeː hiːniho]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST kaːkop
evolve -meː
NEG k-
def hiːʋ-
1incl.plur.POSS nih-
sing ʋo
language

“Our language did not evolve.”

 (13)
Kuumeepiihulii kukaa.

[kuːmeːpiːhuliː kukaː]

l-
not.Q kuːn-
active meːp-
PAST tiːhun
create -liː
POS k-
sing ʔukaː
3.sing.inanim

“It was created.”

 (14)

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