Miskito and English/Lexical selection

From LING073
Revision as of 23:43, 4 May 2021 by Rvelasc1 (talk | contribs) (Miq → Eng)

Jump to: navigation, search

Miq → Eng

Case 1

mani - summer, year

Miskito Sentence English Translation
Mani an brisma. How old are you? (lit. How many years do you have?)
Miskitu nani ba mani piuara insla irbisa. The Miskitu prepare crops in the summer. (lit. The Miskitu tear apart farm with machete in summer.)

Generalization for determining which translation is correct:

  • If mani is followed by the adjective raya (new) or by the verb briaia (to have), then year is selected.
  • We set summer as the default select for mani, but if it's followed by the noun piu (time/season), it must be summer.


Case 2

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.
Mairin ba dur ra sa. The woman is at the door.

Generalization for determining which translation is correct.

* We can assume ra translates to in except for other edge cases.
* If the sentence has table, translate to on.
* If the sentence has door, translate to at.

Case 3

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.