Miskito and English/Lexical selection

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Miq → Eng

Case 1

maisa - waistline, food that grows after boiling/cooking (like rice), plentiful

Example sentences: La gente se sujeta la faja en la cintura.

Miskito Sentence English Translation
Upla ba ai maisara bilk wilkisa. People fasten their skirts along their waistline.
Rais pain ba maisa sa. Good quality rice is highly productive.

Generalization for determining which translation is correct:

  • If the sentence contains foods that grow when cooking or heating, it refers to that. Otherwise, it refers to waistline.
  • If the sentence mentions words related to quantity, it refers to plentiful.

Case 2

pâlaia - to fly, to get angry

Example sentences:

Miskito Sentence English Translation
Daiwan tnawira nani ba wihka pâlaia sip sa. The birds fly far.
miq 2 eng 2

Generalization for determining which translation is correct:

  • If the sentence mentions an aircraft, translate to 'to fly'. Otherwise, translate to 'to get angry'.

Case 3

ra - in, on, at

Example sentences:

Miskito Sentence English Translation
John rum ra sa. John is in the room.
Buk ba tibil ra sa. The book is on the table.

Generalization for determining which translation is correct:

  • If the sentence mentions an aircraft, translate to 'to fly'. Otherwise, translate to 'to get angry'.