Pig Latin/Lessons/2: Greetings

Vocabulary

Ah, this is an exciting moment, don't you think? These will be the first words and phrases to roll off your tongue in this unfortunately misunderstood language! But you, dear student-- you understand it!

1. Elohayu: Hello
2. Hayu: Hi (Shortened from Elohayu)
3. Udbīgayu: Goodbye
4. Gayu: Bye (From Udbīgayu)
5. Orningmōyā udgum: Good morning
6. Aftrnōnōyā udgum: Good afternoon
7. Ēvenēngōyā udgum: Good evening
8. Rendfay: Friend
9. Ko-ōurkray: Co-worker
10. Āmrādkay: Comrade
11. Y ēlfayā? How are you?
12. Āma: I am
13. Āra: You are
14. Ŝē isa: She is
15. Hē isa: He is
16. Ťa isa: They are (singular)
17. Ťa isas: They are (plural)
18. Ōutay yisa yupāy? What's up?
19. Uťēngnay: Nothing
20. Ťe ēlēngsay: The ceiling
21. Īnfāy: Fine
22. Ādbāy: Bad
23. Ōuelāy ēnufāy: Well enough
24. Lesbayu ēō: Bless you
25. Rāndmuťrgay dīeyi ustjāy: Grandmother just died

Main Concept

The NAPL folk-people aren't too stuck up when it comes to politeness-- for most, a "hī" is just as good as a "elohay." But, of course, for the rare stuck-up one, you do need to know the formal and informal forms. They translate very well into English-- in the vocabulary list, you should see some direct translations into English. For example, "udbīgay" is as formal as "goodbye," and "bī" is just as formal as "bye." Be conscious of these distinctions, but don't sweat them too much.

On a related note, it is rather striking how well these translate into English-- "ōuelay ēnufay" translates literally into "well enough!" Funnily enough, "ōuelay" (and any other vocabulary word) can be used for the same double-meanings as in English. For example, "ōuelay" can refer to a well (water-hole) or someone doing well. These striking similarities make me wonder-- was modern English based upon New Anglo Pig Latin, at some point in the linguistic tree?

Well, nevermind about that. This is a text-book, after all-- I'm supposed to educate you on the facts, not fill your head with my (perhaps mistaken, but probably not!) speculations. How about this for a fact, then:

All nouns end in -ay, all adjectives end in -ey, and all verbs... well, don't worry your little head over verbs just yet, we'll cover those next lesson. :-)

Until then, I suppose. Do the exercises, be studious! You can do it-- udgey uklay! (good luck)

Exercises

Responses

Respond to the following:

1. Elohay! Yāra yāōhāy?
2. Rendfay, āra īnfāy!
3. Udgāy afrnōnay, āmrādkay.
4. Āma ōuelāy ēnufāy. Ēō?
5. *Cough cough*

Don't scroll down any more until you respond to the above!

Answers I

1. Anything between "īnfāy" and "ādbāy" is valid enough.
2. You can say anything that makes sense-- I said "Ām."
3. It'd probably be best to say "Elohay!" or "Udgāy aftrnōnay!" back.
4. OK, there is only one answer for this one: "Lesbayu ēō."

NAPL to English

Translate the following into English:
Ben: Ōutay yisa yupāy, rendfay?
Stasē: Ťe ēlēngsay-- ēō?
Ben: Mīy rāndmuťrgay ustjāy dīeyi.
Stasē: O, āra ādbāy.
Ben: Yesāy...
Stasē: Lesbayu ēō, rendfay. Lesbayu ēō.

Don't scroll down any more until you translate the above!

Answers II

Ben: What's up, friend?
Stacy: The ceiling-- you?
Ben: My grandmother just died.
Stacy: Oh, you are bad.
Ben: Yes...
Stacy: Bless you, friend. Bless you.