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A Collection of Texts in Fimo

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.

So nẽẽ lo be pai ta’ fe qẽẽ boi qẽẽ nguu ti’ qoi qẽẽ goo ti’ ragaudi’ qẽẽ nguu.

[so nə̃ː lo be pai ta̰ fe qə̃ː bɔi qə̃ː ŋuː tḭ qɔi qə̃ː ɡoː tḭ raɡaudḭ qə̃ː ŋuː]

so
have nə̃ː
PAST lo
human being be
all pai
in ta̰
earth fe
whole qə̃ː
sing.no.owner bɔi
surface qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ŋuː
plur.no.owner tḭ
one qɔi
language qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ɡoː
and tḭ
one raɡaudḭ
dialect qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ŋuː
plur.no.owner

“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.

Niño nẽẽ jee nguu qẽ ti qẽẽ bo’ qẽẽ.

[niɲo nə̃ː jeː ŋuː qə̃ ti qə̃ː bo̰ qə̃ː]

niɲo
journey nə̃ː
PAST jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner qə̃
from ti
east qə̃ː
sing.no.owner bo̰
inside qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

“They journeyed from the east.”

 (2)
Goo koi nẽẽ jee nguu qoqidaa ñaajee pai ñuu qẽẽ bo’ qẽẽ qẽẽ.

[ɡoː kɔi nə̃ː jeː ŋuː qoqidaː ɲaːjeː pai ɲuː qə̃ː bo̰ qə̃ː qə̃ː]

ɡoː
and kɔi
find nə̃ː
PAST jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner qoqidaː
plain ɲaːjeː
wide pai
in ɲuː
land qə̃ː
sing.no.owner bo̰
inside qə̃ː
sing.no.owner qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

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

 (3)
Lotu qimẽẽ nẽẽ jee nguu wa.

[lotu qimə̃ː nə̃ː jeː ŋuː wa]

lotu
thus qimə̃ː
dwell nə̃ː
PAST jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner wa
there

“Thus they dwelled there.”

 (4)

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

See nẽẽ jee nguu nau lẽ’ pikolo nguu ngii tẽ qẽẽ qẽẽ goo nau lẽ’ pikolo nguu na tẽ gaajoi qẽẽ qẽẽ qẽẽ.

[seː nə̃ː jeː ŋuː nau lə̰̃ pikolo ŋuː ŋiː tə̃ qə̃ː qə̃ː ɡoː nau lə̰̃ pikolo ŋuː na tə̃ ɡaːjɔi qə̃ː qə̃ː qə̃ː]

seː
say nə̃ː
PAST jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner nau
1incl.plur lə̰̃
plur.3.sing.cl.1 pikolo
brick ŋuː
plur.no.owner ŋiː
make tə̃
imperative qə̃ː
sing.no.owner qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ɡoː
and nau
1incl.plur lə̰̃
plur.3.sing.cl.1 pikolo
brick ŋuː
plur.no.owner na
burn tə̃
imperative ɡaːjɔi
thoroughly qə̃ː
sing.no.owner qə̃ː
sing.no.owner qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

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

 (5)

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

So nẽẽ jee nguu pikolo ka’kaa saa qẽẽ qẽẽ.

[so nə̃ː jeː ŋuː pikolo ka̰kaː saː qə̃ː qə̃ː]

so
have nə̃ː
PAST jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner pikolo
brick ka̰kaː
PURP saː
stone qə̃ː
sing.no.owner qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

“They had bricks for stone.”

 (6)
Goo so nẽẽ jee nguu bafoiqa ka’kaa bilẽẽwi qẽẽ qẽẽ.

[ɡoː so nə̃ː jeː ŋuː bafɔiqa ka̰kaː bilə̃ːwi qə̃ː qə̃ː]

ɡoː
and so
have nə̃ː
PAST jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner bafɔiqa
slime ka̰kaː
PURP bilə̃ːwi
mortar qə̃ː
sing.no.owner qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

“And they had slime for mortar.”

 (7)

A Creation Myth

We are not like other people.

Ñupe’ du nau nguu lo ngi’ nguu.

[ɲupḛ du nau ŋuː lo ŋḭ ŋuː]

ɲupḛ
resemble du
NEG nau
1incl.plur ŋuː
plur.no.owner lo
human being ŋḭ
other ŋuː
plur.no.owner

“We do not resemble other humans.”

 (8)

Their languages were shaped by struggle and time.

Noroo nẽẽ moi qẽẽ goo qa qẽẽ nguu jee nguu qoi roo nguu.

[noroː nə̃ː mɔi qə̃ː ɡoː qa qə̃ː ŋuː jeː ŋuː qɔi roː ŋuː]

noroː
shape nə̃ː
PAST mɔi
fight qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ɡoː
and qa
time qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ŋuː
plur.no.owner jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner qɔi
language roː
plur.3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner

“Their languages were shaped by fight and time.”

 (9)

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

Pospẽẽ nẽẽ jee nguu siijamo’tẽ’ nguu goo maitẽ’ nguu nguu qu pẽ nguu.

[pospə̃ː nə̃ː jeː ŋuː siːjamo̰tə̰̃ ŋuː ɡoː maitə̰̃ ŋuː ŋuː qu pə̃ ŋuː]

pospə̃ː
copy nə̃ː
PAST jeː
3.plur.cl.3 ŋuː
plur.no.owner siːjamo̰
mammal -tə̰̃
GEN ŋuː
plur.no.owner ɡoː
and mai
bird -tə̰̃
GEN ŋuː
plur.no.owner ŋuː
plur.no.owner qu
sound pə̃
plur.3.plur.cl.4 ŋuː
plur.no.owner

“They copied the sounds of mammals and birds.”

 (10)

But our language arose in a different way.

Ju tatee nẽẽ wi’ lo’ fiimo qẽẽ qoi dẽ’ nguu qẽẽ pai seedo laja qẽẽ bo’ qẽẽ.

[ju tateː nə̃ː wḭ lo̰ fiːmo qə̃ː qɔi də̰̃ ŋuː qə̃ː pai seːdo laja qə̃ː bo̰ qə̃ː]

ju
then tateː
arise nə̃ː
PAST wḭ
be lo̰
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ fiːmo
langname qə̃ː
sing.no.owner qɔi
language də̰̃
sing.1incl.plur ŋuː
plur.no.owner qə̃ː
sing.no.owner pai
in seːdo
manner laja
different qə̃ː
sing.no.owner bo̰
inside qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

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

 (11)

It was born whole and perfect in a single breath.

Peeru nẽẽ je qẽẽ fe qẽẽ goo dakika qẽẽ nguu pai ki’jooli jefa qẽẽ bo’ qẽẽ

[peːru nə̃ː je qə̃ː fe qə̃ː ɡoː dakika qə̃ː ŋuː pai kḭjoːli jefa qə̃ː bo̰ qə̃ː]

peːru
appear nə̃ː
PAST je
3.sing.cl.1 qə̃ː
sing.no.owner fe
whole qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ɡoː
and dakika
perfect qə̃ː
sing.no.owner ŋuː
plur.no.owner pai
in kḭjoːli
breath jefa
single qə̃ː
sing.no.owner bo̰
inside qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

“It appeared whole and perfect in a single breath”

 (12)

Our language did not evolve; it was created.

Gospii nẽẽ du qoi dẽ’ nguu.

[ɡospiː nə̃ː du qɔi də̰̃ ŋuː]

ɡospiː
evolve nə̃ː
PAST du
NEG qɔi
language də̰̃
sing.1incl.plur ŋuː
plur.no.owner

“Our language did not evolve.”

 (13)
Saangii nẽẽ je qẽẽ.

[saːŋiː nə̃ː je qə̃ː]

saːŋiː
create nə̃ː
PAST je
3.sing.cl.1 qə̃ː
sing.no.owner

“It was created.”

 (14)

Language creation took 0.11 seconds; writing the texts 0.04 seconds.

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