600 Phrases in the Liangshan Yi Dialect

Lesson 2 : At Work

ꆃꎭꆈꉙꅇꂷꃘꉐꇬ：（ꑍ）ꑘꁨ

New Vocabulary

1. ꑍ nyip : two
2. ꑘꁨ nyop bbop : work
3. ꎹꑼ shep yuop : commune member [Chinese shèyuán 社员]
4. ꄐꍈ dop zha : team leader [Chinese duìzhăng 队长]
5. ꉪ ngop : we, us
6. ꀃꑍ ip nyip : today
7. ꑞ xix : what ?
8. ꃅ mu : to do
9. ꃅꅍ mu ddu : task, job
10. ꆹ li : [verb-forming particle]
11. ꌐ sat : finish, end, complete
    • ꌐꀋꉆ sat ap hxit : very many
12. ꀋ ap : not [negative particle]
13. ꉆ hxit : to be able to, can
14. ꊿ co : person
15. ꌦ sy : still, yet
16. ꀉꑌ ax nyi : many
    • ꀉꑌꈮꁁ ax nyi ggurx pa : over a half
17. ꈮꁁ ggurx pa : half
18. ꌠ su : [genitive particle]
19. ꀐ ox : [particle indicating completion of verbal action]
20. ꀁꑌ ix nyi : few
    • ꀁꑌꑍꇯ ix nyi nyip gex : a minority
21. ꑍꇯ nyip gex : a little
22. ꀉꄂ ax di : only, just
23. ꅫꃀꌱꃀ hnip mop ssat mop : women
24. ꑟ xi : to arrive
25. ꇬ go : [locative pronoun]
26. ꁨ bbop : please
27. ꉉ hxip : to speak
28. ꋍꈨ cyp gge : some
29. ꃄꂿ mux mo : to plough
30. ꃅꊨ mu zyt : to dig
31. ꑭꀵ xy byp : to carry fertiliser
32. ꉐꀖ hxa bit : vegetables
33. ꊪ zy : to plant
34. ꑸꑽ yiep yot : potato [Chinese yángyù 洋芋]
35. ꈀꄸꑌ kax ddi nyi : everyone
36. ꀋꃋ ap my : now
37. ꐥ jjo : to have
38. ꌶ ssox : must

Text

ꎹꑼ：ꉪꀃꑍꑞꃅ？

ꄐꍈ：ꃅꅍꆹꌐꀋꉆ，ꊿꇁꌐꀕꀐ？

ꎹꑼ：ꊿꇁꀋꌐꌦ。

ꎹꑼ：ꀉꑌꈮꁁꌠꆹꇁꀐ，ꀁꑌꈨꀉꄂꇫꑟꀋꇁꌦ。

ꄐꍈ：ꅫꃀꌱꃀꇫꇁꀕ？

ꎹꑼ：ꅫꃀꌱꃀꑌꇁꀐ。

ꎹꑼ：ꊿꑟꇁꌐꀐ，ꆏꁨꉉ！

ꄐꍈ：ꋍꈨꆹꃄꂿꁧ；ꋍꈨꆹꃅꊨꁧ；ꈨꆹꑭꀵꁧ；ꋍꈨꆹꉐꀖꊪꁧ；ꋍꈨꆹꑸꑽꊪꁧ。

ꎹꑼ：ꑷ，ꀋꃋꉪꈀꄸꑌꃅꅍꐥꀐ，ꑘꁨꁧꌶꂿ！

Translation

Commume Member : What are we doing today ?

Team Leader : There are many things to be done. Has everyone arrived yet ?

Commume Member : Not everyone has arrived yet.

Commume Member : Most have arrived, but there are still a few to come.

Team Leader : Have the women arrived yet ?

Commume Member : The women have also arrived.

Commume Member : Everyone has arrived now, please continue.

Team Leader : Some of you go to plough the fields; some of you go to dig the ground; some of you go to carry fertiliser; some of you go to plant vegetables; and some of you go to plant potatoes.

Commume Member : Let's go ! Now that everyone has a job to do, we should set off to work.

Notes

1. ꃅꅍ (mu ddu) : ꅍ (ddu) can be appended to many verbs to form nouns that represent the object of the associated verb's action. For example :

• ꃅ (mu) "to do" : ꃅꅍ (mu ddu) "that which is to be done", i.e. "affair, matter, task, job".
• ꋠ (zze) "to eat" : ꋠꅍ (zze ddu) "that which is eaten", i.e. "food".
• ꈚ (ggat) "to wear" : ꈚꅍ (ggat ddu) "that which is worn", i.e. "clothing".

2. ꌐꀋꉆ (sat ap hxit) : Literally "unable to complete, unfinishable", here used figuratively to mean "very many".

3. ꇁꌐꀕ (la sat w) : The final syllable is duplicated to form the interrogative. Cf. Lesson 1 Note 2.

4. ꇫ (gox) : When two syllables in the Mid Level tone (unmarked tone) follow one another, the first syllable usually mutates to a Secondary High tone (marked by final "x").

• ꇬꑟ (go xi) goes to ꇫꑟ (gox xi).
• ꃅꂿ (mu mo) goes to ꃄꂿ (mux mo).

5. ꇬ (go) : ꇬ (go) acts as a locative pronoun, standing for the place under discussion. The actual place that ꇬ (go) stands for depends on context, in this case "here".

6. ꁨꉉ (bbop hxip) : ꁨ (bbop) means "please". It cannot be used in isolation, but must always be prefixed to a verb, for example :

• ꁨꉉ (bbop hxip) : "please speak".
• ꁨꇁ (bbop la) : "please come in".
• ꁨꋠꇁ (bbop zze la) : "please come and eat".

7. ꑸꑽꊪ (yiep yot zy) : Note the word order in this and the preceding verb-noun phrases. In Yi, the object of a verb always precedes its verb, so, for example :

• ꋙꋠ (zzax zze) : "eat [zze] rice [zzax]".
• ꑸꑽꊪ (yiep yot zy) : "plant [zy] potatoes [yiep yot]".
• ꉐꀖꊪ (hxa bit zy) : "plant [zy] vegetables [hxa bit]".
• ꃄꂿ (mux mo) : "plough [mo] the ground [mux]".
• ꃅꊨ (mu zyt) : "dig [zyt] the ground [mu]".
• ꑭꀵ (xy byp) : "carry [byp] fertiliser [byp]".

8. ꑷ (yie) : See Lesson 1 Note 7.

9. ꁧꌶ (bbo ssox) : ꌶ (ssox) "must" is an auxiliary verb. In Yi, auxiliary verbs always follow the main verb, so, for example :

• ꁧꌶ (bbo ssox) : "must [ssox] go [bbo]".
• ꇁꄡꑟ (la tat xi) : "should [tat xi] come [la]".

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