A Collection of Texts in Duga

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.

Ti stuu bo na tu bo ki zba zii soo ga bii gi hekito bii.

[ti stuː bo na tu bo ki zba ziː soː ɡa biː ɡi hekito biː]

ti
have
stuː
PAST
bo
the
na
all
tu
human being
bo
the
ki
whole
zba
earth
ziː
surface
soː
in
ɡa
language
biː
one
ɡi
and
hekito
dialect
biː
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.

Bigeetii stuu dee bo ja zbi ste.

[biɡeːtiː stuː deː bo ja zbi ste]

biɡeːtiː
journey
stuː
PAST
deː
3
bo
the
ja
east
zbi
inside
ste
from

“They journeyed from the east.”

(2)
Gi skii stuu dee wañe gaawanii hee zbi soo.

[ɡi skiː stuː deː ʋaɲe ɡaːʋaniː heː zbi soː]

ɡi
and
skiː
find
stuː
PAST
deː
3
ʋaɲe
wide
ɡaːʋaniː
plain
heː
land
zbi
inside
soː
in

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

(3)
Gibu saalimaa stuu dee mii.

[ɡibu saːlimaː stuː deː miː]

ɡibu
thus
saːlimaː
dwell
stuː
PAST
deː
3
miː
there

“Thus they dwelled there.”

(4)

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

Muu stuu dee kaa suugeekame maa tee gi kaa suugeeka zoo gaa maa puhaa tee.

[muː stuː deː kaː suːɡeːkame maː teː ɡi kaː suːɡeːka zoː ɡaː maː puhaː teː]

muː
say
stuː
PAST
deː
3
kaː
1incl
suːɡeːka
brick
-me
make
maː
imperative
teː
GEN
ɡi
and
kaː
1incl
suːɡeːka
brick
zoː
ACC
ɡaː
burn
maː
imperative
puhaː
thoroughly
teː
GEN

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

(5)

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

Ti stuu dee suugeeka be waamaa.

[ti stuː deː suːɡeːka be ʋaːmaː]

ti
have
stuː
PAST
deː
3
suːɡeːka
brick
be
stone
ʋaːmaː
PURP

“They had bricks for stone.”

(6)
Gi ti stuu dee tidini peduupa waamaa.

[ɡi ti stuː deː tidini peduːpa ʋaːmaː]

ɡi
and
ti
have
stuː
PAST
deː
3
tidini
slime
peduːpa
mortar
ʋaːmaː
PURP

“And they had slime for mortar.”

(7)

A Creation Myth

We are not like other people.

Naastaako zbee kaa bu tu.

[naːstaːko zbeː kaː bu tu]

naːstaːko
resemble
zbeː
NEG
kaː
1incl
bu
other
tu
human being

“We do not resemble other humans.”

(8)

Their languages were shaped by struggle and time.

Ligiwu stuu gii gi suu dee tee bo ga.

[liɡiʋu stuː ɡiː ɡi suː deː teː bo ɡa]

liɡiʋu
shape
stuː
PAST
ɡiː
fight
ɡi
and
suː
time
deː
3
teː
GEN
bo
the
ɡa
language

“Their languages were shaped by fight and time.”

(9)

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

Waanibo stuu dee doojezi gi ju tee bo ñaa.

[ʋaːnibo stuː deː doːjezi ɡi ju teː bo ɲaː]

ʋaːnibo
copy
stuː
PAST
deː
3
doːjezi
mammal
ɡi
and
ju
bird
teː
GEN
bo
the
ɲaː
sound

“They copied the sounds of mammals and birds.”

(10)

But our language arose in a different way.

Saa ñaawaaza stuu kaa tee bo ga baa bo duga zgiiño zadaa zbi soo.

[saː ɲaːʋaːza stuː kaː teː bo ɡa baː bo duɡa zɡiːɲo zadaː zbi soː]

saː
but
ɲaːʋaːza
arise
stuː
PAST
kaː
1incl
teː
GEN
bo
the
ɡa
language
baː
be
bo
the
duɡa
langname
zɡiːɲo
different
zadaː
manner
zbi
inside
soː
in

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

(11)

It was born whole and perfect in a single breath.

Bijale stuu dee ki gi dehomi jebaa ñebuda zbi soo

[bijale stuː deː ki ɡi dehomi jebaː ɲebuda zbi soː]

bijale
appear
stuː
PAST
deː
3
ki
whole
ɡi
and
dehomi
perfect
jebaː
single
ɲebuda
breath
zbi
inside
soː
in

“It appeared whole and perfect in a single breath”

(12)

Our language did not evolve; it was created.

Ñiñaso stuu zbee kaa bo ga.

[ɲiɲaso stuː zbeː kaː bo ɡa]

ɲiɲaso
evolve
stuː
PAST
zbeː
NEG
kaː
1incl
bo
the
ɡa
language

“Our language did not evolve.”

(13)
Seeñiini stuu dee.

[seːɲiːni stuː deː]

seːɲiːni
create
stuː
PAST
deː
3

“It was created.”

(14)

Language creation took 0.05 seconds; writing the texts 0.04 seconds.

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