Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Week 10 My Own Poem



Week 10

Word of the Week: dede ca ‘the end’
(Actually, it is just the beginning!)

My own poem:  I could not make my final assessment without first writing my own poem.  This was not easy.  I struggled with writing a personal poem, but found that I need a lot more study time before I can translate my personal thoughts into Isthmus Zapotec.  I was frustrated with my task to write a poem with my limited language skills, but was able to accomplish this when I just started to “play around” with it and not take it too seriously.  I am not sure if my verb conjugations are spelled correctly, but this is what I came up with. 

Ba’du’ ne Xtibe Bi’cu’                                               A Boy and His Dog

Neegue la, guziibe ba’du’ ca bi’cu’ yaase’.                Yesterday, the boy bought a black dog.
Laabe nadxiibe xtibe bi’cu nacubi                              He loves his new dog
ne laame nadxiime xtime ba’du’ nacubi.                    and the dog loves his new boy.

Yannadxí riguitecabe cue’ fuera.                                Today they played together outside.
Padxí rusidxagacabe la,                                              When they were tired,
rasicabe lu baca’nda’ ca xti yaga ngola.                      they slept in the shade of a big tree.

Padxí zacanda la,                                                        At sundown,
cue’ la,                                                                         together,
ribicabe                                                                        they went home
ne rugazecabe ne zoocabe.                                          and bathed and ate.

Guixí zazibe ba’du’ ca xtibe bi’cu’                             Tomorrow the boy will buy for his dog
yanni nacubi sicarú                                                      a beautiful new collar
ne zusiga’de’ lá laame.                                                and give him a name.

I would love some feedback from anyone familiar with this language.  Please, tell me if what I have written in IZ does not make sense or if there are spelling errors.  As I continue to study the language, I will revisit this poem and try to improve it as I learn more.

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