#apny2016

This is the last day of #APNY I’ll be doing this year (a little late, I know). I’ve enjoyed it and learned a bunch over the past couple months, and I hope you have too!

Day 30: Describe what you see in the picture.

Ngishsumun pisha kuku. Muru kibadrata gabae us.

Old wood lies on a beach. Clouds approach the coast from a faraway land.

Vocabulary in this passage:

ngish, “wood”

sumun, “old, ancient, brittle”

pish, “shore”

ku, “to lie down, lie still”

muru, “clouds”

kibadra, “faraway land”

gaba, “coast”

us, “to approach, come near”

Grammar & other notes on this section:

1. I don’t know a good word for “beach” in Sumerian — Sumer was mostly inland. I’ve used the two closest words I know: pish “shore" is normally used of rivers, while gaba means something more like “coastline, edge of the land”.

2. ku is a reduplication-class (Type II-b) verb, so the present root kuku is the past root doubled.

3. Note that the word muru, although having (in English) a plural meaning, acts as though it’s singular — more like “cloudbank” than “clouds”.

Day 29: Do you like superheroes? Who is your favorite superhero and what power(s) do they have?

Ursang dugmesh, annga ngae is-hab sang nekalen. Is-habtamngu UmUsham. Ane shuukushanita da.

Heroes are nice, but I generally prefer villains. My favorite villain is Poison Ivy. She is powerful on account of her control of plants and of poisons.

Vocabulary in this passage:

ursang, “hero”

dug, “nice, good”

is-hab, “villain” (see note 1)

sang kal, “to prefer” (literally “head-esteem”)

um, “vine” (see note 3)

ush, “poison, venom, spittle, magic spell”

shu, “control”

u, “plant(s), vegetation”

da, “to be powerful”

Notes:

1. I’ve spelled is-hab like that to make clear that its pronunciation is with a separated s h, /is.hab/, rather than a combined sh sound (which would be /i.ʃab/.

2. I have not added the plural marker -(e)ne to ursang or is-hab in the first sentence because, although these are persons, the plural marker is not used in the absolutive case. The plural is indicated by the plural verbs -mesh and the ne- of nekalen.

3. I’ve gone with um, rather than dim “clinging vine”, as the vocab word for Poison Ivy’s name, because of the resulting similarity of UmUsha to umu “wise woman”.

Day 28: Scattergories day! Write a word starting with the letter L for each of the following categories.

a job: So, so many jobs in Sumerian begin with L. See my video on this topic

a thing in the ocean: lahaan, “bottle” or luhummu, “silt”

a plant: laldar, “pomegranate” or luub, “turnip”

an emotion: lipish, “courage” or lipishbala, “fury”

a thing that is blue: lagab zaginna, “block of lapis lazuli”

a technology: lud, “pestle”

something you study: ligiin, “exercise tablet”

Day 25: What is your favorite travel destination?

Kikalkallangu Parisam, annga muuminta nubshingenen.

My favorite place is Paris, but I have not traveled there since seven years ago.

Vocabulary in this sentence:

kikalkalla, “favorite/precious place”

umin, “seven”

ngen, “to travel, go” (see note 2)

Grammar notes on this sentence:

1. mu means “year”, so mu[number]ta means “since [number] years ago”. You can do this with other units of time as well: u[number]ta “since [number] days ago”; itud[number]ta “since [number] months ago”.

2. The verb ngen “to go” is one of the most irregular in Sumerian. It has four different roots, depending on the tense and the number of the subject:

past singular ngen: ngae ngenen “I went”

past plural ere: me erenden “we went”

present singular du: ngae dun “I go”

Beginner:

Yiddish-יא, איך ספרך יידיש מיט א פרוי

Intermediate:

Italian-...non ho dire italiano con qualcuno che italiano è la sua madrelingua, ancora.

Advanced:

Day 23: Describe what you see in the picture. (Click through for the picture.)

Ngirius shega medimshagaginam.

The footprints in the snow are like the shape of a heart.

Vocabulary in this sentence:

ngirius, “footprint”

sheg, “snow”

medim, “shape, form”

shag, “heart”

Beginner:

Yiddish-מיין באליבט וורט אין יידיש איז פנים. פנים איז מיין באליבט וורט אין יידיש ווייל פנים איז א וורט אין העברעיש אבער די פנים האט א געזונט  פארשידענע זייער

Intermediate:

Italian-La parola italiana mi piace migliore è ‘cibo’. Prima, che significa CIBO! Cos’è lì no piacere? Secondo, è rumore come il rumore di mangiare. Mi piace parole che sono onomatopeica.

Advanced:

Day 21: Scattergories day! Write a word that begins with the sound a for each of the following categories.

a food: abala* “broth”

an animal: amsi “elephant” and allul “crab”

a thing in the kitchen: anang* “vessel for drinking-water”

a place: anzakar “fort” and agam “swamp”

an article of clothing: aktum “heavy garment, cape”

a color: ashme “sparkly”

a hobby: a sude “sailing”

an art material: ashegin* “glue solution”