Welcome to your first lesson in the Sajem Tan graded reader! Hover over the green words to learn the meaning; the first time a word appears in the reader, it is green. Be careful: sometimes two or more separate items will be connected and look like one word.
Ţycamnoc ţycamnoc: reading, that which is read
Do do: you (neutral) xanönxanön: to greetfê fê: perfective aspect möm möm: tribe! Sajemsajem: common, communal Tan tan: honey, language, vomit jüvetjüvet: to state a name, to denominate, to be calledumum: gnomic aspect möm. Xüm xüm: many, much, very möšnemmöšnem: tribememberââ: plural markersoso: haver, that which has, having one zanzan: to beum möm. Tözen tözen: fog, mist jüvetum dê dê: I (neutral).
By now, you might have noticed something: namely, that word order in Sajem Tan is the exact opposite as in English. So, while you would say "the tribe greets you" in English, you would say "do xanönfê möm" in Sajem Tan, literally "you greets the tribe".
You may also have picked up on some important phrases and constructions. Since hovering over the words cannot teach these to you, I will point them out here:
- Y xanönfê X: this means "X greets Y". Usually, you will just see (and say) "xanönfê", which can be translated "hello".
- X jüvetum dê: this means "my name is X", or, literally, "I denominate myself as X" or "I state my name as X". You will notice that names are less permanent in Sajem Tan culture, leading to a whole nomenclature for names (such as given name, nickname, tribal name, etc.). It is for this reason that we introduce our names by saying we state our name as something rather than saying our name is something. You can also use another subject than "dê", as you saw: "Sajem Tan jüvetum möm" means "the tribe states its name as Sajem Tan (Common Honey)".
- Xso zanum Y: this means "Y has X". We do not have a word for "to have"; instead, we use this idiomatic construction, using the suffix "-so", which, as you saw, means "one who has". Literally, we say "Y is an X-haver" or "Y is an X-having-one".
You will get fewer and fewer of these hints and explanations in English as the course goes by, but it's quite easy to figure out. If you have problems, feel free to contact a tribemember!