Fun with questions

A forum for translations, translation challenges etc. Good place to increase your conlang's vocabulary.
Iyionaku
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by Iyionaku »

:con: Ular

他杀有你?杀。无杀。
Tōn phàn ùr má? Phàn. Pãm phàn.

[tɔ̄n pʰɑ̀n ɹ̩̀ má | pʰɑ̀n | pɑ̃̄ː pʰɑ̀n]
3SG kill PST 2SG | kill | NEG kill
Did you kill him? Yes. No.

他无杀有你?杀。无杀。
Tōn pãm phàn ùr má? Phàn. Pãm phàn.

[tɔ̄n pɑ̃̄ː pʰɑ̀n ɹ̩̀ má | pʰɑ̀n | pʰɑ̀n]
3SG NEG kill PST 2SG | kill | NEG kill
Didn't you kill him? Yes. No.

什杀有你?
Rū phàn ùr má?

[ɹū pʰɑ̀n ɹ̩̀ mɑ́]
who kill PST 2SG
Who did you kill?

他杀有什?
Tōn phàn ùr rū?

[tɔ̄n pʰɑ̀n ɹ̩̀ mɑ́]
3SG kill PST who
Who killed him?

他怎杀有你?
Tōn mán phàn ùr má?

[tɔ̄n mɑ́n pʰɑ̀n ɹ̩̀ mɑ́]
3SG how kill PST 2SG
How did you kill him?
Wipe the glass. This is the usual way to start, even in the days, day and night, only a happy one.
Iyionaku
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by Iyionaku »

:chn: Mandarin

你杀掉他吗?是的。/ 不是。
Nĭ shādiào tā ma? Shìde. / Bùshì.
2SG kill-COMPL 3SG.MASC POL | yes | no
Did you kill him? Yes. No.

你没杀掉他吗?不对。对了。
Nĭ méi shādiào tā ma? Bùduì. Duìle.
2SG NEG.PST kill-COMPL 3SG.MASC POL | false | true
Didn't you kill him? Yes. No.

Note that in Mandarin polar questions are inverse. So if you answer with 不对 (no), you say that you did kill him.

你杀掉谁?
Nĭ shādiào shéi?
2SG kill-COMPL who
Who did you kill?

谁杀掉他?
Shéi shādiào tā?
who kill-COMPL 3SG.MASC
Who killed him?

你是怎么杀掉他的?
Nĭ shì zěnme shādiào tā de?
2SG INT how kill 3SG.MASC INT
How did you kill him?
Wipe the glass. This is the usual way to start, even in the days, day and night, only a happy one.
GrandPiano
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by GrandPiano »

:ryu: Okinawan (my attempt, using an informal register)

(っやーや)あり殺ちゃみ?
(Qyaa ya) ari kuruchami?

[(ʔjaː ja) ʔaɾi kuɾut͡ɕami]
(qyaa ya) ari kuru-cha-mi
(2SG TOP) DIST kill-PST-Q

Did you kill him?

いー。 / いぃーいぃー。
Ii. / Yiiyii.

[ʔiː / jiːjiː]
ii / yiiyii
yes / no

Yes. / No.

(っやーや)あり殺さんたみ?
(Qyaa ya) ari kurusantami?

[(ʔjaː ja) ʔaɾi kuɾusantami]
(qyaa ya) ari kurus-an-ta-mi
(2SG TOP) DIST kill-NEG-PST-Q

Didn't you kill him?

いぃーいぃー。 / いー。
Yiiyii. / Ii.

[jiːjiː / ʔiː]
yiiyii / ii
no / yes

Yes. / No. (I'm assuming Okinawan does this the same as Japanese, which is the opposite of English)

(っやーや)誰殺ちゃが?
(Qyaa ya) taa kuruchaga?

[(ʔjaː ja) taː kuɾut͡ɕaga]
(qyaa ya) taa kuru-cha-ga
(2SG TOP) who kill-PST-WH.Q

Who did you kill?

誰があり殺ちゃが?
Taa ga ari kuruchaga?

[taː ga ʔaɾi kurut͡ɕaga]
taa ga ari kuru-cha-ga
who NOM DIST kill-PST-WH.Q

Who killed him?

ちゃーさが?
Chaa saga?

[t͡ɕaː saga]
chaa sa-ga
how do.PST-WH.Q

How did you do it?

(Okinawan has pitch accent, but I decided not to attempt to indicate it here)
Last edited by GrandPiano on 13 Aug 2020 03:32, edited 1 time in total.
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Reyzadren
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by Reyzadren »

:con: griuskant (without the conscript)

ost saerpa raes urva?
/'ɔst 'serpa 'res urva/
2SG kill-V 3SG Q

ost shur saerpa raes urva?
/'ɔst 'ʃur 'serpa 'res urva/
2SG NEG kill-V 3SG Q

ost saerpa vi?
/'ɔst 'serpa 'vi/
2SG kill-V who

vi saerpa raes?
/'vi 'serpa 'res/
who kill-V 3SG

ost ara vae?
/'ɔst 'ara 've/
2SG do-V how
Image conlang summary | Image griushkoent thread
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Imralu
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by Imralu »

:tan: Swahili

Je, ulimuua? - Ndiyo. / Hapana.
je | u-li-mu-u(a) | ndi-yo | ha-pa-na
Q | 2S-PST-CL1-kill | COP.EMPH-CL9 | NEG-CL16-COM
Did you kill him? - Yes. / No.

Je, hukumuua? - Hapana. / Ndiyo.
je | h-u-ku-mu-u(a) | ha-pa-na | ndi-yo
Q | NEG-2S-NEG.PST-CL1-kill | NEG-CL16-COM | COP.EMPH-CL9
Didn't you kill him? - Yes. / No.

Ulimuua nani?
u-li-mu-u(a) nani
2S-PST-CL1-kill who
Who did you kill?

Nani alimuua?
nani a-li-mu-u(a)
who CL1-PST-CL1-kill
Who killed him?

Ulimuuaje?
u-li-mu-u(a)-je
2S-PST-CL1-kill-how
How did you kill him?

Ulifanyaje?
u-li-fany(a)-je
2S-PST-do-how
How did you do it?
Glossing Abbreviations: COMP = comparative, C = complementiser, ACS / ICS = accessible / inaccessible, GDV = gerundive, SPEC / NSPC = specific / non-specific, AG = agent, E = entity (person, animal, thing)
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Imralu
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by Imralu »

:con: Ngehu (aka Wena)

Ha wa i zi ngu zyi? - Ndwa. / Ze.
Q 2S COP priorE killA GEN.DEF | trueE | NEG.E
Did you kill him? - Yes. / No.

Ha wa i ze zi ngu zyi? - Ze. / Ndwa.
Q 2S COP NEG.E priorE killA GEN.DEF | NEG.E | trueE
Didn't you kill him? - Yes. / No.

Wa i zi ngu mya(ngo)?
2S COP priorE killA GEN.what(person)
Who did you kill?

Ma(ngo) i zi ngu zyi?
what(person) COP priorE killA GEN.DEF
Who killed him?

Wa i zi hwa u ma(hwa)?
2S COP priorE actA ADV what(actA)
How did you do it? ("You did it, being what?")

Ma i ndo zyu wa i zi hwa.
what COP way GEN.C 2S COP priorE actA
How did you do it? ("What is the manner of that you did?")
Glossing Abbreviations: COMP = comparative, C = complementiser, ACS / ICS = accessible / inaccessible, GDV = gerundive, SPEC / NSPC = specific / non-specific, AG = agent, E = entity (person, animal, thing)
________
MY MUSIC | MY PLANTS
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littlesalmon
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by littlesalmon »

This will be a long one.

:con: itota itiko

For all lines except the yes/no one, the left phrase is the more colloquial variant (literally "you un-existed him") while the right one is less colloquial.

kati pa ti kija aloja isa nino: / ilaki ti kija aloja kato pa isa nino:
['katʲi pa 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'aɫojä 'isä 'nʲino] / ['iɫäkʲi 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'aɫojä 'kato pa 'isä 'nʲino]

Code: Select all

kat-i -pa -ti kij-a aloj-a isa_nino / ilak-i ti kij-a aloj-a kat-o -pa isa_nino
exist-VM-NEG-PST;NIPRF 2SG-NM 3SG-NM Q / cause-VM-PST;NIPRF 2SG-NM 3SG-NM exist-ADJM-NEG Q
Did you kill him?


ilomo. / pa.
['iɫoɱo] / ['pa]

Code: Select all

ilom-o / pa
believe-ADJM / NEG
Yes. / No.


kati pa ti kija ina: / ilaki ti kija ina kato pa:
['katʲi pa 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'inä] / ['iɫäkʲi 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'inä 'kato pa]

Code: Select all

kat-i -pa -ti kij-a in-a / ilak-i ti kij-a in-a kat-o -pa
exist-VM-NEG-PST;NIPRF 2SG-NM Q-NM / cause-VM-PST;NIPRF 2SG-NM Q-NM exist-ADJM-NEG
Who did you kill?


kati pa ti kija ina ma: / ilaki ti kija ina ma kato pa:
['katʲi pa 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'inä 'ɱa] / ['iɫäkʲi 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'inä 'ɱa 'kato pa]

Code: Select all

kat-i -pa -ti kij-a in-a -ma / ilak-i ti kij-a in-a -ma kat-o -pa
exist-VM-NEG-PST;NIPRF 2SG-NM Q-NM-PL / cause-VM-PST;NIPRF 2SG-NM Q-NM-PL exist-ADJM-NEG
Who did you kill? (when it is known that there are multiple people killed)


kati pa ti ina aloja: / ilaki ti ina aloja kato pa:
['katʲi pa 'tʲi 'inä 'aɫojä] / ['iɫäkʲi 'tʲi 'inä 'aɫojä 'kato pa]

Code: Select all

kat-i -pa -ti in-a aloj-a / ilak-i -ti in-a aloj-a kat-o -pa
exist-VM-NEG-PST;NIPRF Q-NM 3SG-NM / cause-VM-PST;NIPRF Q-NM 3SG-NM exist-ADJM-NEG
Who killed him?


kati pa ino ti kija aloja: / ilaki ino ti kija aloja kato pa:
['katʲi pa 'ino 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'aɫojä] / ['iɫäkʲi 'ino 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'aɫojä 'kato pa]

Code: Select all

kat-i -pa in-o ti kij-a aloj-a / ilak-i in-o ti kij-a aloj-a kat-o -pa
exist[PST;NIPRFᵢ]-VM-NEG Q-ADJM PST;NIPRFᵢ 2SG-NM 3SG-NM / cause[PST;NIPRFⱼ]-VM Q-ADJM PST;NIPRFⱼ 2SG-NM 3SG-NM exist-ADJM-NEG
How (in what manner) did you kill him?


And, for good measure and as an alternative situational translation ofof the previous question:

ini ti kija aloja:
['inʲi 'tʲi 'kʲijä 'aɫojä]

Code: Select all

in-i -ti kij-a aloj-a
Q-VM-PST;NIPRF 2SG-NM 3SG-NM
What did you do to him?


NM, VM and ADJM = noun marker, verb marker and adjective/adverb marker.
NOUNIF = nounification particle, it makes the previous sentence a noun (for example: I sleep -> the act of me sleeping); that noun can then be inserted in any usual place in another sentence.
The language is primarily head-initial, and the word order is VSO. There is no present tense, and past imperfect is commonly used instead.
The colon is used in itota itiko instead of the exclamation mark or the question mark, and the usual period is used in rhetorical questions, so this isn't marking structure as much as intonation.
I used "past non-imperfect" despite there being a double negative, because I'm not sure this tense is past perfect, nor is it present perfect, really.
Indexes used for morphologically bound elements separated by an unrelated word as per this suggestion.
Last edited by littlesalmon on 17 Aug 2020 09:54, edited 1 time in total.
216 always explains everything. ilaki onito itota ti ji ji ti akina itota ma. 216 всегда всё объясняет.
GrandPiano
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Re: Fun with questions

Post by GrandPiano »

:es-pv: Basque

Hil (al) zenuen?
/il (al) s̻enu.en/
hil-∅ (al) zen-∅-u-∅-en
kill-PP (Q) 2.ERG.3.ABS-SG.ABS-AUX.TR-SG.ERG-PST

Did you kill him?

Ez (al) zenuen hil?
/es̻ (al) s̻enu.en il/
ez (al) zen-∅-u-∅-en hil-∅
NEG (Q) 2.ERG.3.ABS-SG.ABS-AUX.TR-SG.ERG-PST kill-PP

Didn't you kill him?

Bai. / Ez.
/bai/ /es̻/
Yes. / No.

Nor hil zenuen?
/nor il s̻enu.en/
nor-∅ hil-∅ zen-∅-u-∅-en
who-ABS kill-PP 2.ERG.3.ABS-SG.ABS-AUX.TR-SG.ERG-PST

Who did you kill?

Nork hil zuen?
/nork il s̻u.en/
nor-k hil-∅ z-∅-u-∅-en
who-ERG kill-PP 3.ERG.3.ABS-SG.ABS-AUX.TR-SG.ERG-PST

Who killed him?

Nola egin zenuen?
/nola egin s̻enu.en/
nola egi-n zen-∅-u-∅-en
how do-PP 2.ERG.3.ABS-SG.ABS-AUX.TR-SG.ERG-PST

How did you do it?


:ita: Italian

L'hai ucciso?
/lai utˈtʃizo/
l=hai uccis-o
3SG.ACC=have.2SG.PRS kill.PP-M.SG

Did you kill him?

Non l'hai ucciso?
/non lai utˈtʃizo/
non l=hai uccis-o
NEG 3SG.ACC=have.2SG.PRS kill.PP-M.SG

Didn't you kill him?

Sì. / No.
/si/ /nɔ/
Yes. / No.

Chi hai ucciso?
/ki ai utˈtʃizo/
chi hai uccis-o
who have.2SG.PRS kill.PP-M.SG

Who did you kill?

Chi l'ha ucciso?
/ki la utˈtʃizo/
chi l=ha uccis-o
who 3SG.ACC=have.3SG.PRS kill.PP-M.SG

Who killed him?

Come l'hai fatto?
/ˈkome lai ˈfatto/
come l=hai fatt-o
how 3SG.ACC=have.2SG.PRS do.PP-M.SG

How did you do it?
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