Steps for Translating a Sentence
Step 1: Break the sentence into clauses (subject/verb/object groups).
Step 2: Join the words in noun phrases and verb phrases with hyphens.
Step 3: Translate the sentence into "Minhyan English", using the Minhyan case markers to indicate the role each noun phrase plays in the clause.
Step 4: Re-arrange the phrases into their correct word order for Minhyan: conjunction, vocative, verb, agentive, patientive, dative, locative, ablative, temporal. Not all phrase types will be present. Each type of noun phrase describes the action of the verb in a different way. You can tell the phrase types from the case infixes you decided to apply in Step 3.
Step 5: Translate pronouns, taking into account the relative status of speaker and listener.
Step 6: Translate the verbs.
Step 7: Translate remaining English words.
Step 8: Integrate infixes and join clauses with commas.
Sample Translation Exercise #1
"To you belong the stories of eternity."
Step 1: Break the sentence into clauses (subject/verb/object groups).
To you belong the stories of eternity. [just one clause]
Step 2: Join the words in noun phrases and verb phrases with hyphens.
To-you belong the-stories-of-eternity.
Step 3: Translate the sentence into "Minhyan English", using the Minhyan case markers to indicate the role each noun phrase plays in the clause.
To-you -po- [Definite Patientive] belong the-eternal-stories -ssu- [Definite Dative]
Step 4: Re-arrange the phrases into their correct word order for Minhyan: conjunction, vocative, verb, agentive, patientive, dative, locative, ablative, temporal. Not all phrase types will be present. Each type of noun phrase describes the action of the verb in a different way. You can tell the phrase types from the case infixes you decided to apply in Step 3.
Belong to-you -po- [Definite Patientive] the-eternal-stories -ssu- [Definite Dative]
Step 5: Translate pronouns, taking into account the relative status of speaker and listener.
Belong aba-po- [Humble 2-Person] the-eternal-stories -ssu-
Step 6: Translate the verbs.
Rufan-re- [Indicative Perfective] aba-po- the-eternal-stories -ssu-
Step 7: Translate remaining English words.
Rufan-re- aba-po- edo-ssu- cur [modifiers follow, so adjectives follow nouns]
Step 8: Integrate infixes and join clauses with commas.
Rufaren abapo edossu cur.
Sample Translation Exercise #2
"I should have died so long ago, but I have been kept here, on this earth, and I did not know why, until now."
Step 1:
A. I should have died so long ago |
B. But I have been kept here, on this earth |
C. And I did not know why, until now.
Step 2:
A. I should-have-died so-long-ago |
B. But I have-been-kept here-on-this-earth |
C. And I did-not-know why, until-now.
Step 3:
A. I -po- [Definite Patient; killed by old age or something else] should-have-died so-long-ago -ri- [Indefinite Temporal]
B. But I -po- have-been-kept here-on-this-earth -lu- [Definite Locative]
C. And I -- [Definite Agent, the actor of the verb] did-not-know why -ssu- [Definite Dative, focus of the verb, what is known], until-now -ru-
[Definite Temporal].
Step 4:
A. should-have-died I -po- so-long-ago -ri-.
B. But have-been-kept I -po- here-on-this-earth -lu-.
C. And did-not-know I -- why -ssu-, until-now -ru-.
Step 5:
(I'm using the honorific first-person pronoun here.)
A. should-have-died oridben -po- so-long-ago -ri-.
B. But have-been-kept oridben -po- here-on-this-earth -lu-.
C. And did-not-know oridben -- why -ssu-, until-now -ru-.
Step 6:
A. Dachal -pu- [Hypothetical Perfective] oridben -po- so-long-ago -ri-.
B. But mid -- [Indicative Imperfective] oridben -po- here-on-this-earth -lu-.
C. And aur -no- [Negative Perfective] oridben -- why -ssu-, until-now -ru-.
Step 7:
A. Dachal -pu- oridben -po- calonn -ri-.
B. glero mid -- oridben -po- thongail -lu-.
C. brun aur -no- oridben -- edassi -ssu- benn -ru-.
Step 8:
Dachapul oridbepon calorinn, glero mid oridbepon thongailul, brun aunor
oridben edassissu berunn.
Now you give it a try!
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