Hear What the Ancestor to Our Language Sounded Like

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lpetrich
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Re: Hear What the Ancestor to Our Language Sounded Like

Post by lpetrich »

Some linguists have looked farther back, at possible ancestors of Indo-European and several other language families. Like Nostratic:

Nostratic languages - Wikipedia
Vladislav Markovich Illich-Svitych | Nostratic Language
Here is a short poem in reconstructed Nostratic by Vladislav Illich-Svitych himself.

VIS: K̥elHä wet̥ei ʕaK̥un kähla
IPA: /KʼelHæ wetʼei ʕaKʼun kæhla/
WfW: tongue time-of water-of path/ford
Russ: Язык – это брод через реку времени,
Ru-Ro: Jazyk – eto brod cherez reku vremeni,
Eng: Language is a ford through the river of time,
Kieli on kahluupaikka ajan joen yli,

VIS: k̥aλai palhʌ-k̥ʌ na wetä
IPA: /kʼat͡ɬai palhVkʼV na wetæ/
WfW: gone-of dwelling-to us lead(s)
Russ: он ведёт нас к жилищу умерших;
Ru-Ro: on vedjot nas k zhilishchu umershikh;
Eng: it leads us to the dwelling of those gone before;
Finn: se johdattaa meidät kuolleiden kylään;

VIS: śa da ʔa-k̥ʌ ʔeja ʔälä
IPA: /ɕa da ʔakʼV ʔeja ʔælæ/
WfW: he but there-to come(s) no(t)
Russ: но туда не сможет дойти тот,
Ru-Ro: no tuda ne smozhet dojti tot,
Eng: but he cannot arrive there,
Finn: mutta ei voi tulla sinne se,

VIS: ja-k̥o pele t̥uba wete
IPA: /jakʼo pele tʼuba wete/
WfW: which-who fear(s) deep water
Russ: кто боится глубокой воды.
Ru-Ro: kto boitsja glubokoj vody.
Eng: who fears deep water.
Finn: joka pelkää syvää vettä.

VIS = Vladimir Illich-Svitych's spelling, IPA = International Phonetic Alphabet, WfW = word-for-word English translation, Russ = Russian, Ru-Ro = romanized Russian, Eng = English, Finn = Finnish
The value of K̥ or Kʼ is uncertain—it could be /kʼ/ or /qʼ/. H could similarly be at least /h/ or /ħ/. V or ʌ is an uncertain vowel.
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lpetrich
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Re: Hear What the Ancestor to Our Language Sounded Like

Post by lpetrich »

I have collected translations from Danish, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hungarian from Wikipedia, though I have had to revise the Spanish translation. I've used the simplified spelling in the Spanish Wikipedia for Nostratic (IS-Sm).

IS-Sm: Kelhä wete ki ʕakun kähla
WfW: tongue time-of water-of path/ford
Eng: Language is a ford through the river of time,
Dan: Sproget er et vadested over tidens flod
Fr: La langue est un gué à travers la rivière du temps,
Sp: La lengua es un vado a través del rio del tiempo,
It: La lingua è un guado nel fiume del tempo,
Hung: A nyelv gázló az idő folyamán át,

IS-Sm: kaλai palha ka na wetä
WfW: gone-of dwelling-to us lead(s)
Eng: it leads us to the dwelling of those gone before;
Dan: det fører os til de dødes bolig;
Fr: elle nous conduit à la demeure des morts;
Sp: a las casas de los ancestros nos lleva,
It: ci porta alla dimora dei nostri antenati;
Hung: a halál falujába vezet minket;

IS-Sm: śa da ʔakä ʔeja ʔälä
WfW: he but there-to come(s) no(t)
Eng: but he cannot arrive there,
Dan: men han kan ikke komme dertil
Fr: mais il ne peut pas y arriver,
Sp: pero nunca llegará allí
It: ma non vi potrà mai giungere,
Hung: de nem érhet oda,

IS-Sm: jako pele tuba akwä wete.
WfW: which-who fear(s) deep water
Eng: who fears deep water.
Dan: [han] som er bange for det dybe vand
Fr: celui qui a peur de l'eau profonde.
Sp: que teme aguas profundas.
It: colui che ha paura delle acque profonde.
Hung: aki féli a mély vizet.
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lpetrich
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Re: Hear What the Ancestor to Our Language Sounded Like

Post by lpetrich »

Another comparison text:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Illich-Svitych in Latin:

Lingua est per flumen temporis via.
Ad sedes avorum nos ducit.
Sed non potest advenire
Qui aquam profundam timet.

(my composition)
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lpetrich
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Re: Hear What the Ancestor to Our Language Sounded Like

Post by lpetrich »

I've added vowel lengths to this Latin version and made "deep water" plural.

Lingua est per flûmen temporis via.
Ad sêdês avôrum nôs dûcit.
Sed nôn potest advenîre
Quî aquâs profundâs timet.
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lpetrich
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Re: Hear What the Ancestor to Our Language Sounded Like

Post by lpetrich »

Latin, with "the dead" replacing "the ancestors":

Lingua est per flûmen temporis via.
Ad sêdês mortuôrum nôs dûcit.
Sed nôn potest advenîre
Quî aquâs profundâs timet.
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