Beach-la-Mar

From: j.guy@TRL.OZ.AU (Jacques Guy)



The Babel story in the Beach-la-Mar (the Pidgin of Vanuatu).



I have used a very "rural" Beach-la-mar, not at all the heavily

English-influenced variety you would hear in towns. Not at all

that used in the translation of the Gospel.



1. Wan lanwis   nomo tetaem ya  long haelan,     we    ol toktok

one language only time  that on   the island, that  the words



blong hem i sm-smol nomo.

of    it    few     only  (whose words were few)



2.  Long tetaem ya ol pipol    ol i krap long  is      ol i kam   ol i luk

In   time  that the people got going in  the east  they came  they saw



wan ples  (no word for "plain")  long Sinar   ol i stap   long hem.

a   place                        in   Shinar  they stayed in   it



3.  Ol i stap ko ko ko wan man i krap i talem long wan pren    blong hem se:

They stayed until  a   man got up   told  to   a   friend  of    him say



"Ale!    Yumituvala kukum sopmat, yumitavala mekem faea pastaem."

Come on! You and me cook  mud,    you and me make a fire first.



Ale,    tuvala  i mekem olsem. Sopmat ya tuvala i kukum hem i kam ston.

Behold, the two   made  thus.  Mud  that the two cooked it  became stone.



Tuvala i tekem mo sopmat tuvala i pasem   ol ston    long sopmat ya.

The two took  more  mud  the two fastened the stones with mud   that.



4.  Finis,  tuvala i krap  tuvala   i singaot "Ale!     Bambae yumi mekem wan vilis

Finished, the two got up the two  exclaimed "Come on! Soon   we   make  a   village



blong yumi, wetem wan nakamel   we i ko antap tumas i kasem  bluklaot.

for   us    with  a   clubhouse that goes up  a lot  reaches the sky.



Yumi wokem       wan nem  blong yumi, blong   yumi i no save lus

Let us fabricate a   name for   us    to that we   cannot    get lost



wan-wan    long ol ples olbaot.

one by one in    places everywhere.





5. Olsem ko ko ko, Kot  i krap     nao  hem i kamdaon  i  luk-luk

Thus  until     God  gets going now, he  comes down he looks all over



vilis   ya   wetem nakamal   ya  we    ol pikinini   blong man ol i wokem.

village that and   clubhouse that which the children  of    man  build.





6. Hem i luk, se       "Wanem ya!    Wan vilis   blong olketa ol i stap wan ples,

He looked, thinking "What's that! One village for   them   to   dwell together



wan lanwis   blong olketa ol i save storyan wantaem,   sapos olketa ol i folerem

one language for   them   they can  palaver together,   if    they    follow up



tingting blong ol olsem, bambae ol i save mekem olketa samting evriwan

their intention   thus   soon   they can  do    all    things  every one of them



we   ol i wantem

that they want.





7. "Ale!  Mi mi kotaon   mi  preprekem lanwis blong ol, bambae ol i

       Me I  descend  I   shatter   their language,  soon   they



nomo       harem save tok blong ol

no longer  understand their speech





8. Ale,    Kot i krap   nao,  hem i  ronemaot ol man     i ko wanwan

Behold, God got going      he     chased   the people go  separately



olbaot     long haelan.    Ol i nomo      save  wokem vilis blong ol.

everywhere on  the island. They no longer could build their village.



9. Nem blong hem Babel. Stamba blong nem ya,     Kot i preprekem lanwis

Its name      Babel. The origin of this name, God shattered   the language



long haelan      mo hem i ronemaot ol man     ol i ko wanwan olbaot.

on   the island  and he   chased   the people they went separately everywhere.

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