Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

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Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-04-29, 19:57

Xoča näboz, good evening!

I decided to give my fellow Unilangers a taste of a really exotic language that I’ve been trying to learn for quite some time: Svan (lušnu nin). It is a Kartvelian (South Caucasian) language quite distantly related to Georgian, spoken in the Georgian region of Svaneti by approximately 15.000 people. The whole region consists of high mountains and the language differs from village to village, although all four dialects are mutually comprehensible. It is extremely seldom written; virtually all speakers of Svan know Georgian and use it as their written language. The language is classified by UNESCO as definitely endangered.

I spent one year living in Mestia, the capital of Svaneti (Šwän). Unfortunately, I never got past the level of small talk, but as I keep collecting resources, I might eventually try to learn it properly. I will translate a couple of lessons from a Georgian textbook ‘სვანური ენის სახელმძღვანელო’ by Varlam Topuria. The dialect used in the book is Upper Bal, used among others in Mestia. It is the most conservative dialect with the greatest number of phonemes.

I will use a Latin transcription of the Svan text, as many of its letters are not encoded in Unicode yet. Here is the transcription I will use (and phonemic values):

ა [a] a
ა with macron [aː] ā
ა with umlaut [æ] ä
ა with both macron and umlaut [æː] ǟ
ბ [b ] b
გ [ɡ] g
დ [d] d
ე [ɛ] e
ე with macron [ɛː] ē
ვ — [v] doesn’t exist in Svan, this letter is sometimes used instead of ‘უ with circumflex’ [w]
ზ [z] z
თ [tʰ] t
ი [i] i
ი with macron [iː] ī
კ [kʼ] k’
ლ [l] l
მ [m] m
ნ [n] n
ჲ [j] y
ო [ɔ] o
ო with macron [ɔː] ō
ო with umlaut [œ / wɛ] ö
ო with both macron and umlaut [œː / wɛː] ȫ
პ [pʼ] p’
ჟ [ʒ] ž
რ [r] r
ს [s] s
ტ [tʼ] t’
უ [u] u
უ with macron [uː] ū
უ with umlaut [y / wi] ü
უ with both macron and umlaut [yː / wiː] ǖ
უ with circumflex [w] w
ფ [pʰ] p
ქ [kʰ] k
ღ [ʁ] ǧ
ყ [qʼ] q’
შ [ʃ] š
ჩ [ʧ] č
ც [ʦ] c
ძ [ʣ] ʒ
წ [ʦʼ] c’
ჭ [ʧʼ] č’
ხ [χ] x
ჴ [q] q
ჯ [ʤ] ǯ
ჰ [h] h
ჷ [ə] ə
ჷ with macron [əː] ə̄

The phonemes ö, ȫ, ü, and ǖ are nowadays most often pronounced as diphthongs, but I will keep spelling them with umlauts for the sake of etymology:
göč’ (pronounced gweč’) ‘piglet’
č’ȫr (pronounced č’wēr) ‘raven’
üsgw (pronounced wisgw) ‘apple’
etc.

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Lauren » 2012-04-29, 20:26

Looks pretty cool. Makes me want to learn Georgian even more. :D
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Lesson 1

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-04-29, 20:32

Lesson 1 : mǟnk’ü gak’wetil

mi ‘I’
si ‘you’
ala ‘this’
eǯa 1. ‘that’; 2. ‘he/she’
yär ‘who’
mäy ‘what’
mišgu, mišgü ‘my’
isgu, isgü ‘your’
ečīš ‘his/her’ (the š is dropped before the noun)
xeda ‘which one’
ime ‘where’
ameču, amču, amečūn ‘here’
ečeču, ešču, ečečūn, eččūn ‘there’
a, mā, mō question particles
yed or
a, ha question particle ‘or’
(h)esā question particle for yes/no questions (similar to Russian ли)
á deictic particle ‘here it is, voilà’ (long if elided a vowel)
é deictic particle ‘there it is’ (long if elided a vowel)
ādu, ādw ‘yes‘
dēsa ‘no, not’
de, dei > dey ‘neither’
i conjunction ‘and’
-i, -ī, sometimes (after a vowel) -y ‘too’
žaxe ‘name’
gwär ‘surname’ (Gen. gwäriš)
dīna ‘girl’
zurāl ‘woman’
č’q’int’ ‘boy’
māre ‘man, human’
ǧwäžmāre ‘man’
apxneg ‘friend’


Two verbs meaning ‘to be’:

‘I am’
1. mi xw-i
2. si x-i
3. eǯa l-i(z)

‘I am, I am located’
1. mi xw-äri
2. si x-äri
3. eǯa äri

Conversation
mi č’q’int’ xwi. eǯa dīna li. ala dīna li mō? ala dēsa li dīna, ala li č’q’int’.
mi ameču (=m’ameču) xwäri. si ečeču (=s’ečeču) xäri. eǯaī ečeču äri.
si č’q’int’ xi ha dīna? mi č’q’int’ xwi. yär li ala (=l’ala)? ala li dīna. yär li eǯa (=l’eǯa)? eǯa dīna li. ala dīna lia? dēsa, ala č’q’int’ li.
ime xäri si? mi xwäri ameču. im’ǟri eǯa? eǯa äri ečeču. äri esā eǯ zurāl ameču? dēsa, eǯ zurāl dēs’ ǟri amču (=ameču). amečūn är’esā ǧwäžmāre? ādw, ačečūn äri ǧwäžmāre.
mäy li isgu žaxe? mišgu žaxe li däwit. mäy gwäriš xi? mi xwi mušk’udiān. eǯa mäy gwäriš li? eǯa li rǟt’iān (yed: ečī gwär li rǟt’iān).
eǯa dīna li hā zurāl? eǯa de dīna li-y de zurāl, eǯa māre li.
mi č’q’int’ xwi. mišgu žaxe li bäsli, gwär li märgiān. mi xwäri ameču. ala li mišgu apxneg. ečī gwär i žaxe li güdān dadäw. alaī amečūn äri. isgu apxneg mišgu apxnegī li.

So who will be the first brave one and try to translate the text? :-) It helps if you know Georgian, but I think that the (even more) irregular grammar, phonology, and dialectal diversity makes it a considerably more difficult language!
Last edited by Qaanaaq on 2012-05-03, 12:17, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Lauren » 2012-04-29, 20:59

I will. :D

I am a boy. That/she is a girl. Is this a girl? This is not a girl, this is a boy.
I am here. You are there. That/he/she is there.
Are you a boy or a girl? I am a boy. Who is this? This is a girl. Who is that/she? That/she is a girl. Is that a girl? No, that is a boy.
Where are you? I am here. Where is he? He is there. Is that woman here? No, that woman is not here. Is the man here? Yes, the man is here.
What is your name? My name is David. What is your surname? I am Mušk'udiān. What is his/her name? It is Rǟt’iān. (or: His/her surname is Rǟt’iān)
Is that a girl or a woman? That is neither a girl nor woman, that is a man.
I am a boy. My name is Bäsli, [and my] surname is Märgiān. I am here. This is my friend. His/her surname and name is Güdān Dadäw. He/she is also here. Your friend is my friend too.

I like it! Maybe I'll learn it after I'm good at Georgian. ;)
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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-04-29, 21:14

I am a boy. That/she is a girl. Is this a girl? This is not a girl, this is a boy.
I am here. You are there. That/he/she is also there.
Are you a boy or a girl? I am a boy. Who is this? This is a girl. Who is that/she? That/she is a girl. Is this a girl? No, this is a boy.
Where are you? I am here. Where is he? He is there. Is that woman here? No, that woman is not here. Is the man here? Yes, the man is here.
What is your name? My name is David. What is your surname? I am Mušk’udiān (in Georgian Mushkudiani). What is his/her surname? It is Rǟt’iān (Ratiani). (or: His/her surname is Rǟt’iān).
Is that a girl or a woman? That is neither a girl nor woman, that is a man.
I am a boy. My name is Bäsli (Basli), surname is Märgiān (Margiani). I am here. This is my friend. His/her surname and name is Güdān Dadäw (Dadav Gvidani). He/she is also here. Your friend is my friend too.


Perfect! When in Georgian they say ყოჩაღ (q’ochaǧ) for ‘bravo’, in Svan we can say á, xiadūl!, which is even more affectionate :-) Stay tuned for the next lesson!

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Lesson 2

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-04-29, 22:23

Lesson 2 : mērme gak’wetil

näy ‘we’
sgäy ‘you’ (pl.)
alyär ‘these’
eǯyär 1. ‘those’; 2. ‘they’
gušgöy, güšgöy ‘our’ (inclusive: ‘my and your’)
nišgöy ‘our’ (exclusive: ‘my and his/her/their’)
isgöy ‘your’ (pl.)
miča ‘his/her’
mineš ‘their’ (no š before the noun)
yerxi ‘some’
dǟr (<*de-yär) ‘no-one’
woša ‘how much/many’
-isga ‘in’
ser ‘more’
-är plural ending (if there is already an r in the word, it disassimilates into -äl, after a vowel: -ǟr/-ǟl)
st’udent’ ‘student’, pl. st’udent’är
apxnegär ‘friends’
zurālär, zurlǟr ‘women’
č’q’ənt’är ‘boys’
dīnǟl ‘girls’
(ǧwäž), pl. ǧwažär ‘boys, men’
mārǟl ‘men, people’
mutwri ‘teacher’, pl. mutwriäl
letwri ‘pupil’, pl. letwriäl
mezwbel ‘neighbour’
pišir ‘many’
xwäy ‘many’

Plural of ‘to be’
11. näy l-i-šd (we are, me+you) / näy xw-i-šd (we are, me+he/she/they)
22. sgäy x-i-šd
33. eǯyär l-i-x

Plural of ‘to be, be located’
11. näy l-äri-d (we are, me+you) / näy xw-äri-d (we are, me+he/she/they)
22. sgäy x-äri-d
33. eǯyär äri-x

Conversation
yär xišd sgäy? näy xwišd st’udent’är. yerxi xwišd č’q’ənt’är i yerxi lix dīnǟl. mi i mišgu apxneg xwišd č’q’ənt’är, eǯa i miča apxneg lix dīnǟl. sgäy xišd mutwri (more natural to say: si xi mutwri). näy lišd apxnegär.
näy amču (=ameču) lärid, á, uniwerst’et’isga. gušgöy apxnegär ärix eč’ḗ, inst’it’ut’isga.
eǯyär im’ǟrix? eǯyär ärix eččūn, é. amču (=ameču) yär ärixa? amču ärix zuralǟr i ǧwažär i ečečūn ärix dīnǟl i č’q’ənt’är. sgäy ime xärid? näy amču (=ameču) xwärid, á.
woša xišd sgäy? näy xwäy xwišd. woša lix eǯyär? eǯyäri pišir lix.
isgu i mišgu apxneg gušgöy apxneg li. ečīš i mišgu mezwbel nišgöy mezwbel li. yär äri ser amčūn? amčūn dǟr esa äri ser.
uniwerst’et’isga ärix st’udent’är. alyär lix letwriäl. aliare mutwri lix docentär i p’ropesoräl. näy i nišgöy apxnegär st’udent’är xwišd. näyi uniwerst’et’isga xwärid.
Last edited by Qaanaaq on 2012-05-03, 12:16, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby E}{pugnator » 2012-04-30, 2:27

Looks great! I wonder if I could ever learn one of other Kartvelian languages (I believe Laz is a bit more documented and I may have seen a textbook for mingrelian, maybe in Georgian actually, not sure).

If you are using a Georgian textbook, does that mean you can read Georgian well? (I'm learning Georgian myself, just wondering).
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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Lauren » 2012-04-30, 3:08

Also, I don't get why they'd use უ with a circumflex for [w] when ვ is usually pronounced as [w] in Georgian. :hmm:

Well, don't know if [w] is more common than [v] for ვ, but I know both are valid allophones.
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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-04-30, 9:10

E}{pugnator wrote:Looks great! I wonder if I could ever learn one of other Kartvelian languages (I believe Laz is a bit more documented and I may have seen a textbook for mingrelian, maybe in Georgian actually, not sure).

If you are using a Georgian textbook, does that mean you can read Georgian well? (I'm learning Georgian myself, just wondering).


If you ever see that textbook for Mingrelian again, please let me know ;-) I am more or less fluent in Georgian; there’s still something to work on in order to achieve absolute fluency, but I know enough to use this Svan textbook… How is your Georgian going?

Hildakojon wrote:Also, I don't get why they'd use უ with a circumflex for [w] when ვ is usually pronounced as [w] in Georgian. :hmm:

Well, don't know if [w] is more common than [v] for ვ, but I know both are valid allophones.


Georgian is pronounced [v], [w], [ɸ] depending on the phonological context. In the beginning of the word and between vowels it is always pronounced as [v] or, to my ear, [ʋ], but never [w] (for more see Marika Butskhrikidze ‘The Consonant Phonotactics of Georgian’ (2002), page 88). It is really funny because my Georgian friends can’t really distinguish between the allophones, so they hear absolutely no difference between the English words wine and vine. On the other hand, my Svan friends are very well aware that their phoneme is always pronounced [w] and that it is distinct from the Georgian . In one old Svan book I saw being used for [w], which made a lot of sense because [v] is not used in Svan anyway, but all modern literature uses უ̂ and Svans seemed to prefer it, because it doesn’t make them confused…

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby E}{pugnator » 2012-04-30, 16:40

Kipshide - Grammatika Mingrel'skago Jazyka

How did you learn Georgian then? I've been studying regularly since January but it's very slow, I'm having a hard time memorizing words.

There's a Laz grammatika too, same publishing house, but from Marr'.

So, Svan distinguishes ser/estar just like Portuguese/Spanish?
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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Lauren » 2012-04-30, 16:58

Qaanaaq wrote:Georgian is pronounced [v], [w], [ɸ] depending on the phonological context. In the beginning of the word and between vowels it is always pronounced as [v] or, to my ear, [ʋ], but never [w] (for more see Marika Butskhrikidze ‘The Consonant Phonotactics of Georgian’ (2002), page 88). It is really funny because my Georgian friends can’t really distinguish between the allophones, so they hear absolutely no difference between the English words wine and vine. On the other hand, my Svan friends are very well aware that their phoneme is always pronounced [w] and that it is distinct from the Georgian . In one old Svan book I saw being used for [w], which made a lot of sense because [v] is not used in Svan anyway, but all modern literature uses უ̂ and Svans seemed to prefer it, because it doesn’t make them confused…

I was pretty sure I heard a [w] in "var" in a recording from Beginner's Georgian, but maybe it was [ʋ]. In any case, I just started learning Georgian, so I don't know much yet.

I would also be interested in what you did to learn Georgian. :)
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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby księżycowy » 2012-04-30, 22:52

Crashing the party! (More like joining. :P )

Figured I'd stop by and say this is cool! I'd love to learn one of the other Kartvelian languages after I work on some Georgian. Unfortunately I don't have time for either right now, but I'll keep track of this thread none-the-less.

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Lesson 3

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-05-01, 20:05

Lesson 3 : mēsme gak’wetil

yär ‘who’ (Dat. yäs, Gen. iša)
mäy ‘what’ (Dat. ‘im’)
atxe ‘now’
aǯaǧ ‘yet, also’
mare ‘but’
xed(a) ‘which’
-s Dative ending
-iš, äš Genitive endings (š disappears before nouns)
-reš plural Genitive ending (š disappears before nouns)
al ‘this’ (attribute, before nouns)
‘that’ (attribute, before nouns)
kartwel / məkərtwel ‘Georgian (person)’, pl. kartwelär ‘Georgians’
mušwän ‘Svan (person)’, pl. šwanär ‘Svans’
məzän ‘Mingrelian (person)’, pl. zanär ‘Mingrelians’
murüs (=murisw) ‘Russian (person)’, pl. rusäl ‘Russians’
kartül ‘Georgian’
lušnu ‘Svan’
ləznu ‘Mingrelian’
ləypxazu ‘Abkhaz’
lursu ‘Russian’
nin ‘language, tongue’, pl. nənär ‘languages, tongues’
läir ‘book’
išgen ‘other’
xwašdba ‘I work’
xašdba ‘you work, he works’

‘I do’
I mi xw-ičo
II si x-ičo
III eǯa ičo
I+II näy l-ičo-d
I+III näy xw-ičo-d
II pl. sgäy x-ičo-d
III pl. eǯyär ičo-x

‘I learn, study’
I mi xw-itwri
II si x-itwri
III eǯa itwri
I+II näy l-itwri-d
I+III näy xw-itwri-d
II pl. sgäy x-itwri-d
III pl. eǯyär itwri-x

‘I know’
I mi m-ixal (=m-ixa)
II si ǯ-ixal (=ǯ-ixa)
III eǯas x-oxal (=x-oxa)
I+II näy gw-ixal (=gw-ixa)
I+III näy n-ixal (=n-ixa)
II pl. sgäy ǯ-ixal-x
III pl. eǯyärs x-oxal-x (=x-oxa-x)

*Note: If you are familiar with the Georgian syntax, you know that one way to divide verbs (to put it really simple) is according to the first person singular marker: V- or M- (v-xedav ‘I see’, m-akvs ‘I have’). They correspond to Svan XW- and M-. In the present tense, the subject of of XW- verbs takes nominative and both the direct and indirect objects (if there are any) take dative. On the contrary, the subject of M- verbs takes dative and the direct object takes nominative. That is why m-ixa ’I know’ has eǯas and eǯyärs as subjects in the 3rd person — datives of eǯa and eǯyär. All other personal pronouns have the same form in both nominative and dative. Warning: In Georgian, the verb v-ici ‘I know’ is an irregular V-verb with subject=Ergative object=Nominative. In Svan it is a regular M-verb.

Conversation
yär xi si? mi xwi st’udent’. ime xäri si? mi xwäri uniwerst’et’isga. im xašdba uniwerst’et’isga? — xwitwri. yär lix alyära? alyär mišgu apxnegär lix. im xašdbax (=ičox) alyär? alyärī itwrix. sgäy im xašdbad uniwerst’et’isga? näyī xwitwrid. mäy nənär ǯixalx? näy nixal kartül i lušnu. atxe xed nins xitwrid? atxe xwitwrid ləznus (=luznus) i lušnus. ləznu-y lušnuī kartwelur nənär lix.
mi xwi mušwän. šwanärs nixal lušnu. eǯa li məzän. zanärs xoxalx ləznu. zanär i šwanär kartwelär lišd.
ǯixalxmā lušnu? dēsa, näy dēsa nixal lušnu, mare atxe xwitwrid. xed nins xitwrid aǯaǧ? yerxi xwitwrid pranguls, yerxi — germanuls, yerxi — inglisurs i yerxi — ləypxazus.
yäs xoxal lušnu? lušnu xoxalx šwanärs. kartül iša nin li? kartül kartwelre (šwanre, zanre) nin li. lursu iša nin li? rusleš (yed: lursu rusle nin li).
iša läir li ala (=l’ala)? ala li mišgu, eǯa li ečīš (yed: al läir li mišgu, eǯ läir li ečīš).
näy lišd kartwelär. gušgöy nin li kartül. näy aǯaǧ nixal lursu i xwitwrid išgan nənärsi.
Last edited by Qaanaaq on 2012-05-03, 12:17, edited 4 times in total.

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-05-01, 20:49

E}{pugnator wrote:Kipshide - Grammatika Mingrel'skago Jazyka
There's a Laz grammatika too, same publishing house, but from Marr'.

Yes, I have these two books. I know that there is a recently written textbook for Mingrelian out there. I will try to track it down when I’m in Tbilisi. Unfortunately, a complete reference grammar of Svan hasn’t been written yet. I asked Kevin Tuite, arguably the most famous Western author on Svan, if he was going to write one. He answered that he’d like to, but he’s busy with other projects :(

E}{pugnator wrote:So, Svan distinguishes ser/estar just like Portuguese/Spanish?

I don’t know either Portuguese or Spanish, but it seems so! imži xäri? = ¿Cómo estás?

E}{pugnator wrote:How did you learn Georgian then? I've been studying regularly since January but it's very slow, I'm having a hard time memorizing words.

Hildakojon wrote:I would also be interested in what you did to learn Georgian. :)

I’ve been studying Georgian for over 5 years now and I don’t mean to discourage anyone, but it’s not something you can do overnight! Also, there are no good course books — before I write one ;-) the best choice is to use simultaneously as many different books as possible. When I first started, I thought ‘OK, this is where my language learning ends — I will never learn any Caucasian language’. The challenge kept growing because I really liked Georgia and became very connected to that country personally. In 2008 I took part in the Summer School in Kartvelian Studies, after which I became conversational — a very important step, because since then I’ve been able to learn based on my own from interaction with people, TV, books, etc. In 2010/11 I lived one year in Mestia with a Svan family — I spoke only Georgian both at home, at work, and after work. I know many foreigners who lived in Georgia and know conversational Georgian as well as quite a few who are really good at it. I seriously doubt if it’s possible to master spoken Georgian without living there. I might have heard about a handful of passionate linguists who did it, but I guess it required an enormous commitment…

My Georgian adventure took me to a point where I am passionately studying other languages of the Caucasus and my whole professional career (which is not linguistic btw) is centred on the Caucasus. İnşAllah, I am moving to Georgia again for work in December. Having been a language nerd whole my life I have practically lost any kind of interest in any other region… so be careful, because Georgia and the Caucasus are really addictive. Many people will tell you that! ;-)

I teach, together with my Georgian friend, a Georgian language course in Gothenburg, Sweden, so welcome if you’re around! We even have a Georgian film club, but unfortunately very few people are interested in the screenings. Should you have any questions about Georgian or any other language of the Caucasus, post them in the Georgian/appropriate thread and send me scrap, so I know you want me to have a look at it.

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Lesson 4

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-05-03, 11:53

Lesson 4 : mēwštxwe gak’wetil

ägis ‘at home’
mād ‘not’
yed ‘or’
ču ‘yes, indeed’
mišgu ‘my’, Oblique case (i.e. all other cases than Nominative) mišgwa
isgu ‘your’, Obl. isgwa
dīna ‘girl’
di ‘mother’, pl. dilāru
mu ‘father’, pl. mulāru
dīymu (< di i mu) ‘parents’
gezal ‘(someone’s) child’, pl. gezlīr
dīnagezal ‘daughter’
č’q’int’gezal ‘son’
maxeǧwäž ‘youth, young man’
sīmak ‘daughter’
muxwbe ‘brother (for a brother)’, Gen. muxwbēmiš, pl. laxwba
ǯəmil ‘brother (for a sister)’, pl. laǯmila
dačür ‘sister (for a brother), pl. ladčura
udil ‘sister (for a sister), pl. lawdila
č’äš ‘husband’, pl. lač’ša
xexw ‘wife’, pl. läxxwa
čīže 1. ‘son-in-law (daughter’s husband)’; 2. ‘brother-in-law (sister’s husband)’, pl. läčža
telǧra 1. ‘daughter-in-law (son’s wife)’; 2. ‘sister-in-law (brother’s wife)’, pl. lätläǧra
cäl ‘of the same age’, pl. lacla

‘to have’ (both animate and inanimate)
I mi m-iri
II si ǯ-iri
III ečas x-ori (*Note: eča = eǯa)
I+II näy gw-iri
I+III näy n-iri
II pl. sgäy ǯ-iri-x
III pl. eǯyärs x-ori-x

‘to be called’
I mi m-ažxa (=m-ayšxa)
II si ǯ-ažxa (=ǯ-ayšxa)
III eǯas x-ažxa (=x-ayšxa)
I+II näy gw-ažxa (=gw-ayšxa)
I+III näy n-ažxa (=n-ayšxa)
II pl. sgäy ǯ-ažxa-x (=ǯ-ayšxa-x)
III pl. eǯyärs x-ažxa-x (=x-ayšxa-x)

‘to have’ (*Note: in this lesson the verb is used in the meaning ‘to have someone as someone’, i.e. brother, son-in-law, etc.)
I mi m-ār
II si ǯ-ār
III eǯas x-ār
I+II näy gw-ār
I+III näy n-ār
II pl. sgäy ǯ-ār-x
III pl. eǯyärs x-ār-x

Conversation
iša gezal xi? mi xwi gelaxsani gezal dǟdwānša. ala iša gezal l’a? ala li päliānša närsawi gezal. p’ant’ləd udesiānä č’q’int’gezal maxunǯäk’ maxeǧwäž li. ečī cäl li xergiānša č’q’int’əldä dīnagezal tetruwäy; eǯay sīmak li.
mäy ǯayšxa (=ǯažxa)? mi mayšxa (=mažxa) giorgi (dadaw, yason, mate…). mäy gwäriš xi? mi xwi gulbān (nak’ān, nižaraʒe…). mäy xayšxa (=xažxa) eǯ dīnas? ečas xayšxa wenera (k’esa, kemez, cici…). mäy gwäriš li? gwīdān.
mäy ǯār si al čq’int’? al čq’int’ muxwbe mār. eǯ dīna mäy ǯār? eǯ dīna dačür mār. dīna, si mäy ǯārx alyär, á? al č’q’int’ ǯəmil mār i al dīna — udil. ala li mišgu muxwbe, eǯa li ečī dačür. ala li mišgu ǯəmil, eǯa li ečī udil.
im’ǟri isgu mu? mišgu mu ägis äri.
ägis yär ǯirix si? mi ägis mirix: dīymu, laxwba i ladčura. yär xori eǯ dīnas ägis? ečas (=eǯas) xorix: dīymu, laǯmila i lawdila.
xorimā č’äš isgwa dačürs? dēsa, mišgwa dačürs č’äš dēsa xori. ečī udils ču xori č’äš. xexw ǯiri mā si? dēsa. xorimā ečas xexw? dēsa, ečas xexw mād xori, č’äš xori.
mišgwa dačwrä č’äš mišgu čīže li. mišgwa dīnagezlä č’äši mišgu čīže li. isgwa udlä č’äš isgu čīže li. isgwa dīnagezlä č’äši isgu čīže li.
mišgwa č’q’int’gezlä xexw mišgu telǧra (=telǧəra) li. mišgwa muxwbēmi xexwi mišgu telǧra li. isgwa ǯəmla xexw isgu telǧra li.
mäy ǯār si al zurāl? al zurāl telǧra mār. mäy ǯār al maxeǧwäž? ǯəmil mār (yed: al maxeǧwäž ǯəmil mār). mäy ǯār udlä č’äš? čīže (yed: udlä č’äš čīže mār). mäy ǯār muxwbēmi xexw? telǧra (yed: muxwbēmi xexw telǧra mār, yed: mišgwa muxwbēmi xexw mišgu telǧra li).

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Lesson 5

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-05-03, 13:37

Lesson 5 : mēxwšde gak’wetil

di ‘mother’, Gen. diēš
mu ‘father, Gen. muēš
giga ‘aunt’, Gen. gigǟš, pl. gigālär (=läggaya)
buba ‘uncle’, Gen. bubǟš, pl. bubālär (=labbawa)
biʒäy ‘uncle’, pl. läbʒäya
dimtil ‘mother-in-law’
mimtil ‘father-in-law’
xoša dede, dada ‘grandmother’, pl. xoša dedēlär, dadālär
(xoša) baba ‘grandfather’, pl. (xoša) babālär
sämun ‘wife’s brother’, pl. läsmuna
day ‘sister-in-law (husband’s sister)’, pl. lädäya, däyǟl
ʒmäy ‘brother-in-law (husband’s brother)’, pl. läʒmäya, ʒmäyǟl
meq’ērwa ‘son’s/brother’s wife for son’s/brother’s wife’, pl. lämq’ǟrw (=lämq’ǟrwäl)
mekšöl ‘husband of wife’s sister’, pl. lämkošla
kor ‘house’, kors ‘at home’
hasüš ‘married woman for father’s family and relatives’, pl. läysuša
nibǟšin ‘nephew, niece (sibling’s child)’, pl. länbǟšna
-šd Adverbial ending (muxwbēmišd ‘for/as brother’, čīžēmišd ‘as/for brother/son-in-law’, telǧrǟšd ‘as/for aunt’, etc.)
ušxwār ‘each other’
ušxw(a)rēšd ‘for each other’
mišgwow ‘for me’
isgwow ‘for you’
litwri ‘to study’
luc’ǖle ‘married’
mōdey ‘either’

‘to have’ (animate objects)
I mi m-aq’a
II si ǯ-aq’a
III ečas x-aq’a
I+II näy xw-aq’a
I+III näy n-aq’a
II pl. sgäy ǯ-aq’a-x
III pl. eǯyärs x-aq’a-x

‘to have’ (inanimate)
I mi m-uğwa (=m-uǧwe)
II si ǯ-uǧwa (=ǯ-uǧwe)
III eǯas x-uǧwa (=x-uǧwe)
I+II näy g-uǧwa (=g-uǧwe)
I+III näy n-uǧwa (=n-uǧwe)
II pl. sgäy ǯ-uǧwa-x (=ǯ-uǧwe-x)
III pl. eǯyärs x-uǧwa-x (=x-uǧwe-x)

‘to want’
I mi m-ak’u
II si ǯ-ak’u
III eǯas x-ak’u
I+II näy gw-ak’u
I+III näy n-ak’u
II pl. sgäy ǯ-ak’u-x
III pl. eǯyärs x-ak’u-x

‘to love’
I mi m-alät’
II si ǯ-alät’
III eǯas x-alät’
I+II näy gw-alät’
I+III näy n-alät’
II pl. sgäy ǯ-alät’-x
III pl. eǯyärs x-alät’x

Conversation
mäy ǯār al zurāl, eǯ māre? al zurāl giga mār, eǯ māre — buba. mišgwa diē udil mišgu giga li. mišgwa muwē dačüri mišgu giga li. mišgwa diē ǯəmil mišgu buba li. mišgwa muwē muxwbei mišgwow buba li.
xexwmi ǯəmil č’äšs sämun xār. č’äšmi muxwbe däy (=däya) xār. lawdilǟ lač’ša ušxwār lämkošla xārx. č’äšmi muxwbe xexws ʒmäy xār. telǧra telǧras meq’ērwa xār.
č’äšmi di xexwmišd i xexwmi di č’äšmišd dimtil li. č’äšmi mu xexwmišd i xexwmi mu č’äšmišd mimtil li.
muxwbēmiš mōdey dačwrä gezals (č’q’int’gezals i dīnagezals) nibǟšin xažxa. ǯəmlǟš mōdey udlä gezalsi nibǟšin xažxa. luc’ǖle zurāl koräšd i gwärišd hasüš li. haswšä gezal nibǟšin xār kors i gwärs.
yär xori ečas? ečas dǟr xori, dey di, dey mu, dey gezal i dey dǟr. mi mirax udil, ǯəmil, č’äš i gezlīr; dēsa miri dada (=xoša dede) i baba (=xoša baba).
dada li diēš i muwē di, baba li diēš i muwē mu. laxwbǟ č’q’int’gezlīr laxwba xārx ušxwār.
mäy xuǧwex alyärsa? alyärs xuǧwex läyr. eǯa mine latwer läyr li. si ǯuǧwemā läyr? ādw.
mäy ǯak’u ameču? mi mak’u litwri. eǯyärs mäy xak’ux? eǯyärsi litwri xak’ux. mi xwitwri lušnus i eǯyär itwrix ləypxazus.
yär ǯalät’x sgäy? näy nalät’x: dilāru, mulāru, laxwba, ladčura (laǯmila, lawdila), gigālär, bubālär, dedēlär, babālär, läčža, lätläǧra i länbǟšna.
yär xi? — st’udent’. mäy ǯažxa? (žaxe, gwär). ime xäri? (ädgil). yär ǯiri uniwerst’et’s? — apxnegär (mine žaxe-y gwär). yär ǯiri ägis? (dīymu, dačür, muxwbe, buba…). im xašdba? im xitwri? xed nins xitwri? xeda nin ǯixal? yär li mutwri? mäy ǯuǧwe? — läir. yär li isgu apxneg? xak’umā eǯas lušnu nini litwri. mäy ǯār isgwa muxwbēmi gezal? mäy ǯār isgwa dačwrä č’äš? mäy li isgow isgwa diē ǯəmil, diē mū?

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Lesson 6

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-05-05, 17:18

Lesson 6 : mēsgwe gak’wetil

larda ‘residence, apartment, place to live’
wotäx ‘family’
č’wäd ‘wall’, pl. č’wädwär
lampa ‘ceiling’
laqwra ‘window’
surät ‘picture’
naxät’ ‘painting’
čike ‘yet’
gun ‘very’
ezer ‘good’, ezärd ‘well’
-d Adverbial case ending
lixt’äwi ‘to paint’
lixt’awǟli ‘to paint (a lot)’
lič’wdäne ‘to read (a book)’
lič’wdǟni ‘to read (a book for someone)’
lišdäb ‘to work’ (xašdba ‘works’)
lišəldäni ‘to count’
liyri ‘to write’
čī Dat. ‘everyone’
txüm ‘head’
ušxwāre txüm ‘each other’

‘to paint’
I mi xw-a-xt’äwi
II si x-a-xt’äwi
III eǯa a-xt’äwi
I+II näy l-a-xt’äwi-d
I+III näy xw-a-xt’äwi-d
II pl. sgäy x-a-xt’äwi-d
III pl. eǯyär a-xtäwix

‘to paint for oneself’ (Georgian ი-version)
I mi xw-i-xt’äwi ‘I paint for myself’
II si x-i-xt’äwi ‘you paint for yourself’, etc.
III eǯa i-xt’äwi
I+II näy l-i-xt’äwi-d
I+III näy xw-i-xt’äwi-d
II pl. sgäy x-i-xt’äwi-d
III pl. eǯyär i-xtäwix

‘to paint for him/her/them’ (Georgian უ-version)
I mi x-o-xt’äwi
II si x-o-xt’äwi
III eǯa x-o-xt’äwi
I+II näy l-o-xt’äwi-d
I+III näy x-o-xt’äwi-d
II pl. sgäy x-o-xt’äwi-d
III pl. eǯyär x-o-xtäwix

‘to teach’
I mi xw-atwri ečas ečas ‘I teach him/her/them this’, etc.
II si x-atwri
III eǯa x-atwri
I+II näy l-atwrid
I+III näy xw-atwri-d
II pl. sgäy x-atwri-d
III pl. eǯyär x-atwri-x

III–I eǯa mi m-atwri ‘He/she teaches me’
III–II eǯa si ǯ-atwri ‘He/she teaches you’
III–III eǯa ečas x-atwri ‘He/she teaches him/her’
III–I+II eǯa näy gw-atwri ‘He/she teaches us (you and me)’
III–I+III eǯa näy n-atwri ‘He/she teaches us (him/her/them and me)’
III–II pl eǯa sgäy ǯ-atwri-x ‘He/she teaches you (pl.)’
III–III pl eǯa eǯyärs x-atwri ‘He/she teaches them’

II–I si mi m-atwri ‘you teach me’
II–III si ečas x-atwri ‘you teach him/her’
II–I+III si näy n-atwri ‘you teach us (me and him/her/them)’
II–III pl si eǯyärs x-atwri ‘you teach them’

I–II mi si ǯ-atwri ‘I teach you’
I–III mi ečas xw-atwri ‘I teach him/her’
I–II pl mi sgäy ǯ-atwri ‘I teach you (pl.)’ (*Note: why not -x?)
I–III pl mi eǯyärs xw-atwri ‘I teach them’

Conversation
ala mäy l’a? ala li kor. iša kor l’alā? ala li mezwbeli kor. iša li al kor? al kor li mezwbeliš. mäy xārx kors? kors xārx č’wädwär, q’ōräl i laqwrǟl.
ala li uniwerst’et’. uniwerst’et’s xārx xwäy audit’oriǟl. al wotäxisga (audit’oriaysga) näy lärid. al wotäxs xārx: č’wädwär, lampa, q’ōr i laqwra. näy ameču xwašdbad: xwäyrid, xwič’wdāned i xwišəldänid lušnud. mērme audit’oriaysga suratärs (=suratäls) axt’awǟlix. näy čike māma nixa lušnu, mare xwitwrid. ezärd natwri nišgöy mutwri.
näy apxnegd naq’ax šwanär. nišgöy apxneg dīnǟls xažxax: gošaq’an, däǯi, därik’o, diwōl, nänūl, suzi, q’ərənq’o, hadu… apxneg ǧwažärs xažxax: germane, məhärbi, p’imen, p’iribe, kekew, šawgen, xäbǯə, ǯok’ia… eǯyärs xoxalx kartül i lušnuī. mi apxnegd maq’a mušwän. eǯa mi matwri lušnus. atxe xwič’wdāne i xwišəldäni lušnud.
mišgwa mušwän apxnegs ägis xorix: di, muxwbe, xoša dede i xoša baba, telǧra (muxwbēmi xexw), nibǟšin (muxwbēmi gezal), buba (muwē muxwbe) i giga (diē udil). mu dēsa xori. dačür luc’ǖle xār, mič xexw māma xori. eǯa itwri. ezärd axt’awǟli. näy gun nalät’ ušxwāre txüm.
mišgu mu inžiner li, di — mutwri, ǯəmil — äkim i udil letwri li. nišgöy kors xwäy lardǟl xār. al lardǟlisga näy xwärid. mišgwa mus xoxal lixt’awǟli. eǯa čī nixtäwi naxt’ärs. näy xwäy läyräl nuǧwex i eǯyärs xoč’wdǟnid dadas i babas. mi läirs xoyri mezwbels.

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby David-Edinburgh » 2012-07-09, 22:20

Thanks so much for this!! :D
I'm going to Latali in Upper Svaneti next week and this is going to be so useful! I have the Svan-English dictionary by Palmaitis & Gudjedjiani but I was desperately looking for some basic conversation and grammar.
By the way, is Topuria's intro to Svan available in Tbilisi? If so where might I find it.
Cheers again
David

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby E}{pugnator » 2012-07-09, 22:38

David-Edinburgh, what about Georgian? Do you speak any?
Learning Georgian, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Papiamentu from scratch. Trying to brush up my Norwegian up to an advanced level.

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Re: Svan (ლუშნუ ნინ)

Postby Qaanaaq » 2012-09-09, 20:19

David-Edinburgh wrote:Thanks so much for this!! :D
I'm going to Latali in Upper Svaneti next week and this is going to be so useful! I have the Svan-English dictionary by Palmaitis & Gudjedjiani but I was desperately looking for some basic conversation and grammar.
By the way, is Topuria's intro to Svan available in Tbilisi? If so where might I find it.
Cheers again
David


xoča ladäǧ, david! How was your trip to Svaneti? I’m afraid that Topuria’s book is virtually impossible to find anywhere. It’s really impressive that you own Palmaitis & Gudjedjiani’s dictionary. Where does your interest in Svan come from?


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