Saturday, December 31, 2011

Palåbran 12/31/2011: Åñu

Åñu (AH-nyu):  Year.

Note: Åñu is sometimes interchangeable with the word såkkan (year, season), except in fixed phrases such as "Felis Åñu Nuebu (Happy New Year)!" and when referring to age. Åñu is also one of the few words whose plural is formed by adding "s" to the end.

Uses:
"Felis Åñu Nuebu!" = "Happy New Year!"
"Kuåntos åños hao?" = "How old are you (How many years are you)?"
"Esta bentesinko åños gue'." = "He's already 25 years old."

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Palåbran 12/17/2011: Åmte

Åmte (UM-tee): Apply first aid, treat wound, cure sickness.

Uses:
"I mediku ha åmte i chetnot-ña." = "The doctor treated his wound."
"Ha åmte i sinengge ni ingguenten aloe." = "She treated the burn with an aloe salve."
"Ma åmte i chetnudan gi addeng-ña, lao ti siña mågong ya ma utot." = "They treated the wound on his foot (sole), but they couldn't heal it and amputated it."

Note: Åmte is sometimes mistakenly confused with na'homlo'/na'mågong (to heal). Åmte is to treat an ailment, but not necessarily to heal it. The last example, however sad and unfortunate, is an example of where åmte does not mean to heal.