Hatasoe

Patrick Dunn

Oasue asea ranpeda oapante saliheo.
Guzo selopopoa pizue sazhe sasiuteadu
Oade asesuo selomeshapuea lelu lekare puane.
Simu ko selopazhebizha aseneo, ala?

The songs of a bird deal with great things.
The heron dips its clothing into the dew
And the lark worships the sky at twilight.
But who understands being a bird?

Oa-sue       ase-a          ran-peda
Inan.Pl-song bird-construct 3PlInanSubj-concern

   oa-pante    saliheo.
   Inan.Pl-act being.important.

Guzo  se-lo-popoa         pizue sazhe
Heron 3SAnSub-3SInObj-dip into  dew

   sasiute-a-du
   clothing-construct-his/her/its

Oade asesuo se-lo-meshapuea         lelu lekare   puane.
And  lark   3SAnSub-3SInObj-worship at   twilight sky.

Simu        ko  se-lo-pazhebizha
But       who 3SAnSub-3SInObj-understand

   ase-neo,    ala?
   bird-being, interrogative?

Sentence structure is strictly SVO. Adjectives, prepositional phrases and adverbs always follow the word(s) they describe. Nouns in the construct state are either in a genitive relationship to the previous noun, or taking a pronominal suffix (a possessive suffix), or both.

Abbreviations

S = Singular
Pl = Plural
An = Animate
In = Inanimate
Sub = Subjective
Obj = Objective

Glossary

ala question particle. "Hmm?" Frequently untranslated.
asea construct form of ase, "bird"
aseneo from ase "bird" + nea "to be." bird-being. (note: not a word in Hatasoe, this is coined by the poet, a common and acceptable practice in Hatasoan poetry)
asesuo "lark" From asea+sua, "bird" of "song."
-du 3rd person singular animate pronominal suffix -- "his, her, its."
oa- inanimate plural prefix
oade "and"
guzo "heron"
ko interog. "who"
lekare "twilight," from lehe "light" + kara "last"
lelu "during, at"
lo- 3rd person sing. inanimate object prefix
meshapuea "to worship" from mesha "to love" + apueo "god"
pante "act, deed"
pazhebizha "to understand" from pazhe "through" + bizha "to know"
peda "to concern, to deal with," from pede, "about, concerning."
pizue "into"
popoa "to dip"
puane "sky"
ran- 3rd person pl. inanimate subject prefix
saliheo participle of salihea, "to be important, great"
sasiutea construct form of sasiute, "clothes, robe."
sazhe "dew"
se- 3rd person sing. animate subject prefix
simu "but"

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