Miskito and English/Lexical selection
From LING073
Contents
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.