Nasendi Self-Study Course

Lesson 6



Required reading:

Before starting this lesson, you should re-read Chapter 9 of the reference manual.

New Classifiers:

  -gya	places of business where customers typically pay for goods or
	  services (bakery, restaurant, hotel, shopping mall, zoo,
	  bazaar, gas station, doctor's office, museum)
  -moy	opposites of relational locatives (away from, under, to the right
	  of, to the south of, default = P/F-s case tag)
  -zan	opposites of other binary non-relational states (closed,
	  imaginary, crooked, hidden, down, horizontal, solid, fake,
	  dysfunctional/broken, artificial, opaque, colorless,
	  partial/incomplete)

New Vocabulary:

    gyadi       - store, shop, mart [retail]
    bigyadi     - bus station/depot
    cingyadi    - clinic [medical]
    xecingyadi  - hospital
    focingyadi  - doctor's office
    kangyadi    - gas station, filling station, service station
    tawgyadi    - airport, airfield, airdrome
    togyadi     - hotel, inn, hospice, roadhouse
    gyacindi    - storekeeper, shopkeeper, merchant, dealer, retailer
    gyaloda     - shop, go shopping
    gyateda     - haggle, dicker, negotiate, bargain
    gyazwedi    - counter, checkout (counter), table or other flat
			surface over which business transactions are
			conducted
    xegyajidi   - shopping mall, mall, shopping center

    moy         - away from, not at
    xemoy       - far (away) from, distant from
    fomoy       - near, close to
    zumoy       - next to, right at, adjacent to
    limoy       - behind, in back of
    tawmoy      - under, below, beneath, underneath
    tomoy       - outside of, out of, not in(side)

    zando       - imaginary, nonexistent, fictitious, not real or actual
    byezando    - colorless, hueless, lacking color
    canfido     - closed, shut, inaccessible, not allowing passage or
			access
    canzando    - open, accessible, allowing passage or access
    cinzando    - broken, dysfunctional, in disrepair, out of order,
			not in working order

    bamu        - six
    bimu        - all, every
    bimudi      - everything, all things
    fomu        - few, little [quantity], a small amount or quantity,
			not too much, not too many

    guswa       - with, by (means of), via, on [instrumental case tag]


Grammar:

1. The A/P-d suffix "-vyu" can also be used with activities:

    Pi konlovyu sencindi nicedi bape.
    The linguist is teaching those people.

If the verb needs a focus, the A/P/F-d suffix "-vu" can be used:

    Pi konlovu sencindi nicedi bape Nasendi.
    The linguist is teaching those people Nasendi.

2. The English translation of the case tag "guswa" depends on the nature of its argument:

    Cinzanvyu mi licandi guswa zwedi ma.
    I broke the window with a chair.

    Kanloda zemi pyosude konjidi guswa bikandi.
    We went to the library on the bus.

But note the difference when the generic noun prefix "nu-" is used:

    Kanloda zemi pyosude konjidi guswa nubikandi.
    We went to the library by bus.

When the argument is a clause, the verb should use the infinitive suffix "-vi" to indicate that its subject is the same as the main verb:

    Jintavyu mi koncindi guswa canzanvyuvi licandi.
    I made the teacher angry by opening the window.

3. Use the semi-root "-ta" to convert a number to an ordinal:

    Pi tada mi konzwedi fetamu.
    I want the second desk.

4. Most English prepositions can be used as case tags or as open noun modifiers (i.e. open adjectives). In Nasendi, however, we must use the part-of-speech suffix "-du" to convert a case tag to an open noun:

    Lida mi gyacindi topyo togyadi.
    I saw the merchant in the hotel.
    [The "seeing" definitely took place in the hotel.]

    Lida mi gyacindi topyodu togyadi.
    I saw the merchant in the hotel.
    [The merchant was in the hotel at one time or other.
    The "seeing", however, may have occurred elsewhere.]

Note that the English sentences are ambiguous. The Nasendi sentences are never ambiguous.

5. In this lesson, we introduce two more 'opposite' classifiers: "-zan" (the opposite of "-fi") and "-moy" (the opposite of "-pyo"). Here they are together:

  pyo	positive relational locatives (at/in/on, between, above, to the
	  left of, north of, default = P/F-s case tag)
  moy	opposites of relational locatives (away from, under, to the right
	  of, to the south of, default = P/F-s case tag)
  fi	others (open, actual/existent, straight, exposed, up, vertical,
	  hollow, authentic, functional/operational, natural, clear/
	  transparent, colorful)
  zan	opposites of others (closed, imaginary, crooked, hidden, down,
	  horizontal, solid, fake, dysfunctional/broken, artificial,
	  opaque, colorless)




Drills (on tape):

    All bears are strong.
    Pi cinbida bijudi bimu.

    Who will read to the students?
    Pu lilovyu ceki nitakoncedi?

    The sixth owl was under the firetruck.
    Tawmoyda litawdi batamu jinkandi.

    It's true that John closed the two doors.
    Pi fida canfivyu Najoncedi candi femu.

    There's a little water behind the toilet.
    Pi fida cadi fomu ma limoy cabyadi.

    I broke the window with a chair.
    Cinzanvyu mi licandi guswa zwedi ma.

    The painter doesn't like the colorless ones.
    Bume pi jutada byecindi nibyezandi.

    There was a lot outside the auditorium.
    Fida xemudi ma tomoy bitodi.

    I saw the vehicle outside the store next to the
      hospital.
    Lida mi cekandi tomoy gyadi zumoydu xecingyadi.

    The doctor wants everything in working order.
    Pi tada cindi bimudi cinfido.

    [The above sentence is ambiguous in English but not in Nasendi.
    A correct paraphrase is "The doctor wants everything that is in
    working order.  The English translation can also have the sense
    "The doctor wants everything to be in working order.]

    How many people did you teach the language?
    Konlovu femi cedi muki sendi?

    The plumber is undecided about going shopping at the
      shopping mall.
    Pi fekonda cacindi gyalovi pyo xegyajidi.

    My dog was angry at me because I was away from the
      house.
    Jintada judi poy mi mave moyda mi jidi.

    There was a fire in the hotel near the airport.
    Fida jindi ma topyo togyadi fomoydu tawgyadi.

    I'm imagining that your car doesn't work and that
      you're far from a gas station.
    Pi likonda mi bume pi cinfida kandi fepoy pye pi
      xemoyda femi kangyadi ma.

    The pilot is haggling with the merchant about the table
      and the chairs.
    Pi gyatevu tawcedi gyacindi lozwedi pye nizwedi.

    I didn't understand the old person behind the counter
      at the hotel.
    Bume bikonda mi cedi xedo limoydu gyazwedi pyo togyadi.

    [Note that either "pyo" or "pyodu" are acceptable here, but we
    must use "limoydu" to indicate that the old person was behind
    the counter when the "understanding" failed.]

    The fire fighter told me that my doctor's office was
      closed because of the fire.
    Teda jincedi mi canfida focingyadi poy mave jindi.

    Why did you open the door and close the window?
    Canzanvyu femi candi maveki pye canfivyuvi licandi?

    We saw the five big black buses at the bus station.
    Lida zemi bikandi bubyedo bido lumu pyo bigyadi.

    I remember seeing a few stoves in front of the garage.
    Pi tokonda mi livi jinbyadi fomu ma lipyo kanjidi.

    Did you remind the technician to go to the clinic
      before me?
    Meki tokonvu femi byacindi kanlovi pyosude cingyadi
      pade mi?

    The bear isn't imaginary and doesn't live far from our
      house.
    Bume pi zanda bijudi pye bume jilovi xemoy jidi zepoy.

    Did you put those colorful parrots next to the open
      window?
    Meki zumoyvu femi nitetawdi byefido bape licandi
      canzando?

    I know that you're working and that Mary is studying
      near the waterfall.
    Pi konda mi pi loda femi pye takonloda Naryacedi fomoy
      cajindi.

    [Note that "pi" is not needed ahead of "takonloda" because its
    default tense is the same as "loda" because of the conjunction
    "pye".]

    I heard on the radio that there are owls in the
      library's attic.
    Telida mi guswa tawtebyadi pi fida nulitawdi topyo
      tawtodi po konjidi.

End of Lesson 6