ainu lesson 2 -verbs

7/30/2019 Ainu Lesson 2 -Verbs

1/3

Lesson 2: Basic sentences in Ainu Part 2"subject ~ verb"

Lesson 2 original page (April 9, 2006)(my comments are in blue)

Title

Basic sentences in Ainu Part 2 "subject ~ verb"

Model sentences:

1. Tanto rera as. Today, the wind is blowing.

2. Tane mean. It is cold now.

Vocabulary

as: to blow [the wind], to fall [rain, snow...], to occur [many natural phenomena]

cise: house

mean: cold

poro: large, many, much

rera: wind

sita: dog

tane: nowtanpa: this year

tanto: today (*if you break down this wordtan means "this" andto means "day")

About The Words

Last lesson we studied very basic "subject ~ verb" sentences, but this time we are developing this a

little and learning how to add words relating to time (like 'now' or 'today') to the basic construction.

The word order is exactly the same as in Japanese. [i.e. the time indicator goes at the beginning of

the phrase, as in "Today, this happened" or "Now, it is thus"].

"As" -- which we saw in one of Lesson 1's practice sentences -- can be used in a number of ways. It

can mean the occurence of a variety of natural phenomena, such as "rain (or snow) falls" and "windblows."

This time, "as" is translated as "is blowing." The same verb form is used in Ainu for "[verb]s" / "will

[verb]" and "is [verb]ing"; they are translated according to context.

[And the same verb form is used in Japanese for "(verb)" and "will (verb)", so I can only assume for

now that Ainu doesn't make this distinction, either.].


2/3

Caution re. Pronunciation

There are few sounds in Ainu that are difficult to pronounce. However, it is easy to neglect to raise

and lower your pitch (that is, to accent the sounds) appropriately.

For example in tane, the "ta" is pitched low and the "ne" is high.

It's simple to understand if you write it like this: taNEIf you were to pronounce it TAne, the meaning would probably get across, but it would sound

unnatural.

Generally, in Ainu, the second syllable in a word tends to be pitched high, so be on the lookout.

For example:

chiSE (house)

shiTA (dog)

poRO (large)

(this pitch rise on the second syllable is particularly pronounced in the Samani dialect)

Exercises

Use the vocabulary provided to translate these sentences into Ainu.

1. Today [it] is cold. ( ______ ) ( ______ ).

mean: cold

tanto: today

2. There's much snow this year. ( ______ ) ( ______ ) ( ______ ).

[This one is made rather clearer by taking into account the "word order is the same as Japanese"

and then restating the sentence in Japanese order: This year, snow much [is].].

poro: large, many, much

tanpa: this year

upas: snow

Samani and the Ainu People ~ the Etymology of "Samani"

(regarding the town of Samani)

"Samani" is the usual pronunciation, but fifty or sixty years ago it was often written and pronounced

"Shamani." Even now, some older people still call the town "Shamani." In literature of the Edo period

and other old documents it is written "Shamani" in accordance with the old pronunciation.

There are many theories as to the original Ainu meaning at the root of "Samani," but no-one can say

what it was for sure. Some say it derives from the name of a river called Esamanpet (esamanmeaning "otter" and pet meaning "river") while others say it comes from the word "samamuni" or

"samunni" (a fallen tree). There is also a theory that it is called after a woman named "Shamani"

from the Edo period.

Lesson 1 Practice Exercise Answers

1. Humpe yan

2. Ruyanpe as


3/3

ainu lesson 2 -verbs

Documents