Donald Traxler's Poetry

Friday, May 1, 2020

Like a Statue (+ Udugi, fr, es, pt)

Every day I stand like a statue
and receive the touch
of the sun.
But what
do I give back?

nigadv iga ayv gadogase tlugv ginitloyi
ale agisdase asvnone
nvda vhnai.
aseno gadousdi
ayv vgalutsase?

ᏂᎦᏛ ᎢᎦ ᎠᏴ ᎦᏙᎦᏎ ᏡᎬ ᎩᏂᏠᏱ
ᎠᎴ ᎠᎩᏍᏓᏎ ᎠᏒᏃᏁ
ᏅᏓ ᎥᎿᎢ.
ᎠᏎᏃ ᎦᏙᎤᏍᏗ
ᎠᏴ ᎥᎦᎷᏣᏎ?

[Note: I don't know if Cherokee has a word for "statue," but Udugi does not. The Udugi version of the poem says, "I stand like a tree."]

Chaque jour je me tiens comme une statue
et je reçois le contact
du soleil.
Mais je redonne
quoi?

Todos los días me paro como una estatua
y recibo el toque
del sol.
¿Pero que
le devuelvo?

Todo dia eu fico como uma estátua
e eu recebo o toque
do sol.
Mas o que
eu retribuo?

nigadv iga, ayv adanedase analiheligvne / ᏂᎦᏛ ᎢᎦ ᎠᏴ ᎠᏓᏁᏓᏎ ᎠᎾᎵᎮᎵᎬᏁ (+ en, fr, es, pt)

nigadv iga ayv adanedase analiheligvne equa adanvdo didla
aqua uyelvhetso nasgihai.
equa adanvdo tla wohiliyvsgase,
aseno ayv doi gesvase ahani
adanedi analiheligvne.

ᏂᎦᏛ ᎢᎦ ᎠᏴ ᎠᏓᏁᏓᏎ ᎠᎾᎵᎮᎵᎬᏁ ᎡᏆ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᏗᏜ
ᎠᏆ ᎤᏰᎸᎮᏦ ᎾᏍᎩᎭᎢ.
ᎡᏆ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ Ꮭ ᏬᎯᎵᏴᏍᎦᏎ,
ᎠᏎᏃ ᎠᏴ ᏙᎢ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᎭᏂ
ᎠᏓᏁᏗ ᎠᎾᎵᎮᎵᎬᏁ.

Every day I give thanks to the Great Spirit
for my nudity.
The Great Spirit doesn't answer,
but I'm still here
to give thanks.

Chaque jour, je rends grâce au Grand Esprit
pour ma nudité.
Le Grand Esprit ne répond pas,
mais je suis toujours là
remercier.

Todos los días doy gracias al Gran Espíritu
por mi desnudez
El gran espíritu no responde,
pero sigo aquí
para dar las gracias.

Todos os dias dou graças ao Grande Espírito
pela minha nudez.
O Grande Espírito não responde,
mas ainda estou aqui
para agradecer.

He Steps Out of the Night / atsvyai aisvase svnoyi nidvlenvda (+ fr, es, pt)

He steps out of the night,
shielded from sight,
to meet the stars
and greet the light
of a magical moon.

atsvyai aisvase svnoyi nidvlenvda,
adasdelvdita agowadvdi nidvlenvda,
ditlohisdi noquisidine
ale adalihelisdi ulvsadane
adaweha nvdedone vhnai.

ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎠᎢᏒᎠᏎ ᏒᏃᏱ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ,
ᎠᏓᏍᏕᎸᏗᏔ ᎠᎪᏩᏛᏗ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ,
ᏗᏠᎯᏍᏗ ᏃᏈᏏᏗᏁ
ᎠᎴ ᎠᏓᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ ᎤᎸᏌᏓᏁ
ᎠᏓᏪᎭ ᏅᏕᏙᏁ ᎥᎿᎢ.

l sort de la nuit,
à l'abri de la vue,
rencontrer les étoiles
et saluer la lumière
d'une lune magique.

Él sale de la noche
protegido de la vista,
para encontrarse con las estrellas
y saludar a la luz
de una luna mágica.

Ele sai da noite,
protegido da vista,
conhecer as estrelas
e cumprimentar a luz
de uma lua mágica.

Thursday, April 30, 2020

golanv ale usdi tsisquadi / Raven and Small Birds

iyuno tali ale tsoi usdige tsisquadi
digatilvsdase golanvne,
golanv ulatisdose.
usdi tsisquadi gowatase
uwasa ganosgisgine;
golanv gowatase
uwasa ganiyegine.

ᎢᏳᏃ ᏔᎵ ᎠᎴ ᏦᎢ ᎤᏍᏗᎨ ᏥᏍᏆᏗ
ᏗᎦᏘᎸᏍᏓᏎ ᎪᎳᏅᏁ,
ᎪᎳᏅ ᎤᎳᏘᏍᏙᏎ.
ᎤᏍᏗ ᏥᏍᏆᏗ ᎪᏩᏔᏎ
ᎤᏩᏌ ᎦᏃᏍᎩᏍᎩᏁ;
ᎪᎳᏅ ᎪᏩᏔᏎ
ᎤᏩᏌ ᎦᏂᏰᎩᏁ.

If two or three smaller birds
attack a raven,
the raven will flee.
The small birds see
only a thief;
the raven sees
only danger.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

atsvyai alenidohase gvwao hawina / He Lives in Nature

atsvyai alenidohase gvwao hawina,
ale atsvyai gesvase gvwao.

ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎠᎴᏂᏙᎭᏎ ᎬᏩᎣ ᎭᏫᎾ,
ᎠᎴ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎬᏩᎣ.

He lives in nature,
and he is nature.

Il vit dans la nature,
et il est la nature.

El vive en la naturaleza,
Y él es la naturaleza.

Ele vive na natureza,
e ele é natureza.

equa adanvdo alisdelvdase / ᎡᏆ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᎠᎵᏍᏕᎸᏓᏎ

equa adanvdo alisdelvdase
nasgi na alisdelvdase nasgidvsane.

ᎡᏆ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᎠᎵᏍᏕᎸᏓᏎ
ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ ᎠᎵᏍᏕᎸᏓᏎ ᎾᏍᎩᏛᏌᏁ.

Outline of Udugi Grammar

OUTLINE OF UDUGI GRAMMAR:

As in Cherokee, Udugi has no definite or indefinite article, but if it is felt necessary, “hia” (this) can be used for the direct article, and “saquu” (one) can be used for the indirect article.

Generally the Cherokee/Udugi word order is SVO (subject-verb-object), and as in English adjectives go before the noun.

Cherokee often does not have plural forms of nouns and usually prefixes them when it does, but in Udugi, “-di” can always be added at the end to indicate the plural..

In both Cherokee and Udugi, prepositions (in, on, with, etc.) go after instead of before the noun.

Unlike Cherokee, Udugi has suffixed tense and mood forms: -ase = present tense, -ise = past, -ose = future, -use =conditional, -u = imperative.

Udugi indicates the direct object with the suffix “-ne.” Accompanying adjectives need not agree.

VOCABULARY:

Except for a few neologisms, all Udugi vocabulary comes from Cherokee. An on-line Cherokee dictionary can be consulted.

PITCH: Udugi ignores pitch.

ACCENTUATION: Generally speaking, each word has a single, stress accent. The accent usually falls on the penultimate (next-to-last) syllable, but many common words, such as wado (thank you), and osdv (good) are accented on the last syllable, as they would be in Cherokee. Also, the neutral vowel "v" (which sounds like the "u" in "but," frequently pulls the accent away from the next-to-last syllable.

WRITING: Udugi can be written either in the Cherokee syllabary or in the Roman alphabet.

DIALECTS:

Udugi has no dialects so far, but prefers the Eastern (NC) forms.

THE LANGUAGE:

Udugi (pronounced udúgi) is a Cherokee-based constructed language. The name “Udugi” means “hope.” The language was created by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler, ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.

Please do not try to use the language for secret purposes, because it is no secret, and 80% of it can be understood by a Cherokee speaker with no prior study.