Jan 17, 2009

How do you say...?

Some structures will allow us to interact with a native speaker of Mapucezugun without having to use any other language.

- ¿Cem am...?

¿Cem am ta tvfa? = What's this?
...Tvfa ta wagku. = this is a bench / chair
Note: remmeber the use of "tvfa" (Demonstrative Pronouns) in entry "Sixth - Pronouns"

¿Cem am ta tvfey? = What's that?
...Tvfey ta kawej = That's a horse

¿Cem am ta tvye? = What's that (over there)?
...Tvye ta mawiza = That's a mountain

The election among "tvfa", "tvfey" and "tvye" will depnd on the relative position of the object and the speakers.

Another important phrase is:
¿Cem am ta .... wigkazugun mew?
How do you say .... in wigka*?
*Note: the word "wigka" is used to mark all that is not Mapuce. In this case, it would mean Spanish but also could mean any other foreign language.
Example:
¿Cem am ta ñarki wigkazugun mew?
Ñarki ta
"cat" wigkazugun mew

Another usefull phase would be:
¿Cem am ta tvfa /tvfey / tvye mapuzugun mew?
This would be used to ask how something (the pointed object) is called in Mapucezugun.
Example:
¿Cem am ta tvfa mapuzugun mew?
Tvfa ta...
After the connecting particle "ta" the word will describe how the object is called.

- ¿Cem am ta tvfa?
- T
vfa ta pici kujkuj
[1]

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Note: [1] Prof. Cañumil said a neologism has been created from the old word "kujkuj" => "pici kujkuj" meaning "small kull-kull / küll-küll".

Image: Küll-küll made from the horn of a sheep,Victoria, 1968. Source: Memoria Chilena

A "kujkuj" was an instrument used to send messages at long distances. In their work "Crear Nuevas Palabras", Francesco Chiodi and Elisa Loncon describe the use of this instruments as:
"antes no existía el teléfono, la gente se llamaba con el kujkuj, subían a la cima de los cerros para que la llamada se escuchara mejor"[2]
Translation: "Long time ago there was no telephone, people used to call eachother with the kujkuj, they climbed to the top of a hill so the call would be heard better."
Any resemblance with a cell phone is not merely coincidental.

The text in Mapuzugun goes:
Kuyfi mvlekelafuy zuguluwvnwe*, re kujkuj mu mvxvmtukefuy pu ce, wecuñtu** winkul mu pvrakefuygvn ñi zoy* kvme amual mvxvm
(Chodi et al, op. cit. pag. 119)

Note: the words marked with * have been adapted to Mapuzugun as written in Puelmapu (replacing the original "d" of "dugu" in the text for "z" in "zugu")[3]
"Kuyfi" refers to a time in the remote past, "mvlekelafuy " is formed with the verbal root "mvle-" + particles "-ke-" (habitual or customary action marker) + "-la-" (negation marker for the Realis Mood only) + "-fu-" (this particle marks the action happend long time ago)
"zuguluwvnwe" is formed by the root "zugu-" (to speak / to talk) => "zuguluwvn" means "to talk to eachother" (Chiodi et al op. cit.). The final particle "-we" is an instrumental marker. The particle "-we" can also be a place marker: itmarks the place where an action takes place: "kexan" (to plow) and "kexawe" means "the place that is plowed"
"Re" means "only" and "mu" is the contraction or shorter form of the postposition "mew" [4]
In "mvxvmtukefuy" are easily identified the particles "-ke-" and "-fu-" and the verbal root "mvxvm-" (to call up). Remember the use of the particle "-tu-" as explained in previous entries. "Pu" is a plural marker (this is a Free or Independent Particle). "Ce" means "people", as previously explained.
"Wecuñtu" means "summit / top / highest part of". I marked this word with a ** as the word was also adapted to the written language in Puelmapu. In Gulumapu it is written "wecuntu" (in this work Chiodi et al describe these variations due to the acculturation of the Mapuce. See op. cit. pag. 16-19)
"Winkul" means "hill" and "mu" was also explained in this entry.
"Pvrakefuygvn" is formed by the verbal root "pvra-" (to go up) and the particles described in this entry. Notice the suffix "-ygvn" 3rd Pers. Plural.
The expression "ñi zoy kvme amual mvxvm" could translated as "so their call (is) sent better". Some dependent clauses in Mapuzugun are built using a possessive.
Interesting though is the construction of a sort of suplerlative form:
"kvme" (adj. "good") => "zoy kvme" ("better").
"Amual mvxvm" could be translated as "sending calls"
"Pvrakefuygvn ñi zoy kvme amual mvxvm" could be translated as "They used to go up the hill (for) the better sending of their call" This "ñi"-clauses are commomly used in Mapucezugun and should be explained in another entry.

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[2]Crear Nuevas Palabras (Creating New Words). Francesco Chiodi and Elisa Loncon. Instituto de Estudios Indígenas (Institute of Indigenous Studies). 1997. Versión Electrónica
[3] Wixaleyiñ, Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka - Pequeño diccionario castellano-mapuche (Small Dictionary Spanish-Mapuche), Berreta M, Cañumil D, Cañumil T, 1a Ed. Editado por los autores, Buenos Aires, 2008. ISBN 978-987-05-4139-4 - I used this dictionary to check the correct spelling of words and for translating the texts in this entry.
[4] Notes take in class.

1 comment:

Peter said...

Hi I writing some about mapuzugun in raguileo on another webpage and I wonder if I could ask you some questions. I don't understand how to send you an email from this blog so my email is p.akesson@gmail.com. Please send me an email if you have time.