Author Archives: jonafras

vendá- (transitive verb), imperfective vendátam: to arrange, come to an agreement, make a deal (with someone); to join (someone), to join (someone) in leaving. ca vendá-m pandulut párundacirut I arrange.with.PERF-TRANS brother.ACC.DEF house.DEL.DEF “I came to an agreement with my brother … Continue reading →

humbert (noun): bored, tired; peaceful, still; well-adjusted to, tame. máca racú humbert-es cúrcevanissándang they become.IMPERF tame-ESS year.plentiful.EL “[people] become tame in years of plenty”

yettár (noun): crow. cránartandús cuttúndárc yettára-hangúndur sky.black exist.COMPL.CAUS crow-bird.flock.GEN “flocks of crows have made the sky black”

pursa (adverb): slightly, a little, to a certain extent. tavunga lahessut pursa civa tilles ráya mattár párunda-Marcecut yesterday river.DEF a.little become.COMPL flood under it.ILL house-Marcut.BEN “the river flooded (a little) up to Marcut’s house yesterday”

cúmarsand (noun), also cúmars: carriage, wagon. ta cúmarsa-rándecut carettá nan-arangemec NEG carriage-king-BEN.DEF all-hamlet.INESS “the king’s carriage does not rest in every village” cúmarsand is a noun of Classical Eolic origin, derived from cúlamvar-sánder, literally “four-wheels” (from cúlam “wheel”, High Eolic … Continue reading →

mahá- (intransitive verb), imperfective mahác: to sigh. essát már mahá-ngac yat tísat varná later he/she sigh-ITER.NON1 when in.the.morning wake.up.MID.PERF “he/she tends to sigh after he/she wakes up in the morning”

lacán (noun): soft, light (touch or pressure). callingut evándá lacánd-ur snow.DEF cover.COMPL soft-GEN “the snow has covered [the ground] lightly” lacán is used mostly or exclusively to describe intensity of touch, and does not often appear with a figurative meaning. … Continue reading →

tanucá- (transitive verb), imperfective tanucáram: to draw, paint. mbárut tanucá-m arnúsalut ndúsur son.DEF draw.PERF-TRANS mountaintop.ACC.DEF coal.GEN “[my] son has drawn [a picture of] the mountaintop with [a piece of] coal”

tarás (noun): rider, traveller, passenger. tísat tarás-Arandálangut mucám in.the.morning traveller-Arandála.EL.DEF leave.PERF.TRANS “the traveller from Arandála left this morning”

marcána (adverb): next to, around, all around. marcána civa tundesá essát rattamec all.around become.COMPL body.ESS.PL later fighting.INESS “there were [dead] bodies all around after the battle”