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Lips-Kith - Babel Text Profile   Advanced
SiteLips-Kith
LanguageLips-Kith
Year2003
TranslatorPhilip Belben
IntroductionMy sole source for the Lips-Kith language is "Lips-Kith: A World Language" by Joseph Scarisbrick (I have reviewed this book on BookCrossing). This gives basic rules for the grammar, and some Lips-Kith to English vocabulary tables, but the construction of the language is by no means complete. In particular there are many synonyms and homonyms, and I have sometimes had difficulty making the translation unambiguous. Lips-Kith has one diacritical mark, the macron, which I have represented by a circumflex.
Verse 1Ka pin tan pasein tersol wessu tûn tungol ka ne+plur wertolon.
Verse 2Ka pot soorrâ peran, denssâ ta platol pin tan rekol tau Shinar, ka bâttâ pintil.
Verse 3Ka ta monar wertta ku kosa palar, "Pies! Sin+makî seusolon ka sin+tetî sû pek brunarûn." Ka seusol wessu tûrol por sâ, ka mastol wessu kaisol por sâ.
Verse 4Ka werttâ, "Pies! Sin+loftî ta polol por mî ka ta pol+makol kun kosu poltol pin tan wolkolon, ka sin+kerî ta klusol pro mî, pin nenan mak+spernî separ pon tan tersol."
Verse 5Ka TIW terra spok tan polol ka tan pol+makol ke tan maparon tau monaron wes+kerâ.
Verse 6Ka TIW wertta, "Lui tûn rekol, ka tûn tungol por kek monaron ka keis pakol kap+stertâ. Ka an+tim newol+neknu kau sâ, pal ke meinâ prak.
Verse 7Pies! Sin+terî ka sin+mutî tip loor tungol, pin kak monar newol+kita tan tungol tau kosa palar.
Verse 8Ka TIW sperra sâ to separ pon tan tersol, ka stoppâ loftamûn tan polol.
Verse 9Pei tik, kosu nomol nommu Babel, pei tip TIW mutta tan tungol tau tan pasein tersol, ka to TIW sperra sâ separ pon tan tersol.
Interlinear Translation 1And in the entire earth was one tongue and not-many words.
Translation 2And when they-wandered-from afar, they-reached a plain in the country of Shinar, and dwelt therein.
Translation 3And a man said to his friend, "Say-yes! Let-us-make dried-things and let-us-heat them until burnt. And dried-thing was durable-thing for them, and soggy-stuff was adhesive for them.
Translation 4And they said "Say-yes! Let-us-raise a city for us and an urban-enclosure with its head in the clouds, and let-us-create a fame for us, that no-way may-we-be-scattered abroad on the earth."
Translation 5And GOD descended to-see the city and the urban-enclosure which the sons of men were-building.
Translation 6And GOD said "Behold one nation, and one tongue for every man, and this achievement they-have-started. And now it-will-not-be-denied from them, anything which they intend to-practise.
Translation 7Say-yes! Let-us-descend and let-us-mutilate there their tongue, that each man will-not-perceive the tongue of his friend.
Translation 8And GOD scattered them thence abroad on the earth, and they-stopped creating the city.
Translation 9Because this, its name was-called Babel, because there GOD mutilated the tongue of the entire earth, and thence GOD scattered them abroad on the earth.
Notes 1

"Pin", "in": MS points out that this word is not present in the original Hebrew, but all four bibles include it.

"Tungol", "tongue": The root tung- means "to sting, be pointed; the speaker, eater". Presumably this is referring to the physical tongue, but Scarisbrick also uses it to mean "language".

"Ne+plur wertolon", "not many words": RSV follows this literal translation, and it was easy to put into Lips-Kith.

Notes 2

"Soorrâ peran", "wandered from afar": This should be "from the east", but Lips-Kith has no words for the compass points.

"Platol", "plain": The root Plat- means "flat", but unfortunately "platol" is also the generic Lips-Kith word for "place".

Notes 3

"Kosa palar", "his friend": Pal- also means "other", so "one man said to another" is also implied.

"Pies!", "Say yes!": I have used this, the imperative of pi- ("to affirm, yes"), as a general exhortation to do something. Modern bibles have "Come!", but coming is not implied; AV has "Go to!" in the idiom of its day. "Pies" is not intended to mean "Please!", which could be rendered "Weki" (I beg) or "Si+plakne" (if you are pleased).

"Sin+makî ... sin+tetî": It is not clear whether one should repeat the auxiliary sin+ ("let") in Lips-Kith. Because the main verb, rather than the auxiliary, is inflected in Lips-Kith, omitting the auxiliary looks like a different part of the verb, and I have therefore retained it.

"Seusolon", "Dried-up things": There is no Lips-Kith word for Brick, so I have used a word meaning "Dried up, withered" with a neuter noun ending. Likewise stone: tûr- means to endure.

"Mastol", "soggy stuff": The root ! ! Mast- means soft or wet. MS suggests that the Hebrew word means clay; AV has "slime"; other bibles have "pitch" or "bitumen". It's something soft, anyway.

"Kaisol", "adhesive": All bibles agree that the Hebrew word means mortar - something to bind the bricks together.

Notes 4

"Sin+loftî", "let us raise": There is no word for "build", but several for "make"; however, I thought this the most appropriate.

"Pol+makol", "urban enclosure": Pol- is the root for a town or city, makol is an enclosure. This is the best I could do for "building" or "tower".

"Klusol", "fame": I have chosen this (Klus- means "to hear, be famous, renowned") rather than the literal "nomol", name, because I feel that this best reflects the spirit of the original.

"Mak+spernî", "may we be scattered": Sper- means to skatter or sow, and also to spurn or kick away.

Notes 5"Wes+kerâ", "were creating": Rather than loft-, to raise, as in v. 4, I chose Ker-, to create, because it seems to be Man's creativity to which God is objecting. I have used a continuous past tense rather than the pluperfect favoured by most bibles because it is clearly implied that God acted before they managed to complete the project.
Notes 6

"Lui", "behold": This is the infinitive, not the imperative, since MS points out that the Hebrew word is not a command. Scarisbrick in one of his translations uses "See!" to mean "Look!", but it doesn't appear to be related to any of the roots in his vocabulary lists.

"Tûn ... kek", "one ... every" as opposed to "Tûn ... kak", "one ... each".

"Newol+neknu", "it will not be denied": A rather clumsy double negative is the best I can manage. (Ne- and Nek- are the same root.)

Notes 7"Sin+mutî", "Let us mutilate": There isn't a verb that means "confuse", but Mut- means "mutter" as well as "mutilate" so I couldn't resist it (despite the possible connotation of physically mutilating people's tongues).
Notes 8"To", "thence": To also means "thither", but I was unable to find an unambigous word.
Notes 9"Pei tik", "Because that": Pei is listed as a conjunction rather than a preposition, but I think this is clear for "therefore".
Submitted ByPhilip Belben
Date SubmittedThursday, June 05, 2003
Date EditedSunday, June 29, 2003
Date To HeadlineSunday, June 29, 2003

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