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Pig Latin/Lessons/2: Greetings
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Vocabulary
Ah, this is an exciting moment, don't you think? These will be the first words and phrases to roll off your tongue in this
unfortunately misunderstood language! But you, dear student-- you understand it!
Elohayu: Hello
Hayu: Hi (Shortened from Elohayu)
Udbīgayu: Goodbye
Gayu: Bye (From Udbīgayu)
Orningmōyā udgum: Good morning
Aftrnōnōyā udgum: Good afternoon
Ēvenēngōyā udgum: Good evening
Rendfay: Friend
Ko-ōurkray: Co-worker
Āmrādkay: Comrade
Y ēlfayā? How are you?
Āma: I am
Āra: You are
Ŝē isa: She is
Hē isa: He is
Ťa isa: They are (singular)
Ťa isas: They are (plural)
Ōutay yisa yupāy? What's up?
Uťēngnay: Nothing
Ťe ēlēngsay: The ceiling
Īnfāy: Fine
Ādbāy: Bad
Ōuelāy ēnufāy: Well enough
Lesbayu ēō: Bless you
Rāndmuťrgay dīeyi ustjāy: Grandmother just died
Main Concept
The NAPL folk-people aren't too stuck up when it comes to politeness-- for most, a "hī" is just as good as a "elohay."
But, of course, for the rare stuck-up one, you do need to know the formal and informal forms. They translate very well
into English-- in the vocabulary list, you should see some direct translations into English. For example,
"udbīgay" is as formal as "goodbye," and "bī" is just as formal as "bye." Be conscious of these distinctions, but don't
sweat them too much.
On a related note, it is rather striking how well these translate into English-- "ōuelay ēnufay" translates literally into "well enough!"
Funnily enough, "ōuelay" (and any other vocabulary word) can be used for the same double-meanings as in English. For
example, "ōuelay" can refer to a well (water-hole) or someone doing well. These striking similarities make me wonder--
was modern English based upon New Anglo Pig Latin, at some point in the linguistic tree?
Well, nevermind about that. This is a text-book, after all-- I'm supposed to educate you on the facts, not fill your
head with my (perhaps mistaken, but probably not!) speculations. How about this for a fact, then:
All nouns end in -ay, all adjectives end in -ey, and all verbs... well, don't worry your little head over verbs just yet, we'll cover
those next lesson. :-)
Until then, I suppose. Do the exercises, be studious!
You can do it-- udgey uklay! (good luck)
Exercises
Responses
Respond to the following:
Elohay! Yāra yāōhāy?
Rendfay, āra īnfāy!
Udgāy afrnōnay, āmrādkay.
Āma ōuelāy ēnufāy. Ēō?
*Cough cough*
Don't scroll down any more until you respond to the above!
Answers I
Anything between "īnfāy" and "ādbāy" is valid enough.
You can say anything that makes sense-- I said "Ām."
It'd probably be best to say "Elohay!" or "Udgāy aftrnōnay!" back.
OK, there is only one answer for this one: "Lesbayu ēō."
NAPL to English
Translate the following into English:
Ben: Ōutay yisa yupāy, rendfay?
Stasē: Ťe ēlēngsay-- ēō?
Ben: Mīy rāndmuťrgay ustjāy dīeyi.
Stasē: O, āra ādbāy.
Ben: Yesāy...
Stasē: Lesbayu ēō, rendfay. Lesbayu ēō.
Don't scroll down any more until you translate the above!
Answers II
Ben: What's up, friend?
Stacy: The ceiling-- you?
Ben: My grandmother just died.
Stacy: Oh, you are bad.
Ben: Yes...
Stacy: Bless you, friend. Bless you.