Return-Path: Received: by snark.thyrsus.com (/\==/\ Smail3.1.21.1 #21.19) id ; Fri, 6 Mar 92 14:50 EST Received: by cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com (5.57/UUCP-Project/Commodore 2/8/91) id AA05976; Fri, 6 Mar 92 14:35:18 EST Received: from cunixf.cc.columbia.edu by relay2.UU.NET with SMTP (5.61/UUNET-internet-primary) id AA05829; Fri, 6 Mar 92 14:07:03 -0500 Received: from cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu by cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (5.59/FCB) id AA09366; Fri, 6 Mar 92 14:05:47 EST Message-Id: <9203061905.AA09366@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> Received: from CUVMB.COLUMBIA.EDU by CUVMB.COLUMBIA.EDU (IBM VM SMTP R1.2.1) with BSMTP id 9082; Fri, 06 Mar 92 14:04:09 EST Received: by CUVMB (Mailer R2.07) id 1052; Fri, 06 Mar 92 14:03:13 EST Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1992 17:01:54 EST Reply-To: John Cowan Sender: Lojban list From: John Cowan Subject: Lojban translation of Beowulf 210-228 X-To: Lojban List To: John Cowan , Eric Raymond , Eric Tiedemann Status: RO X-From-Space-Date: Fri Mar 6 14:50:47 1992 X-From-Space-Address: cbmvax!uunet!CUVMA.BITNET!LOJBAN The following text is a Lojban translation of lines 210-228 of >Beowulf<, describing how Beowulf and his companions set sail from Geatland to the hall of Hrothgar. In each group of three lines, the first line is the original Beowulf text, with the usual orthographical conventions except that long vowels are not shown and the "eth" letter is written "th", as in Modern English. The second line is a gloss of the Old English, and by intention can serve as a gloss of the Lojban as well. This gloss is essentially Tolkien's, from "On Translating Beowulf". The third line is my Lojban translation. No attempt has been made to preserve the alliteration, but I do try to preserve the syntactic and semantic devices and much of the four-stress rhythm as well. Because Lojban words are partly built from English words, alliterative patterns occasionally resurface by accident. Note that the word "Wedera" in the original is an alternative name of the Geats, Beowulf's people. The word "eoletes" is marked by Tolkien as an "unknown or corrupt word"; I have accepted his best-guess gloss of "waterway" = "water-route". Fyrst forth gewat. Flota waes on ythum Time on departed. Floater was on waves le temci cu cliva .i fulta le boxna bat under beorge. Beornas gearwe boat under hill. Men eager .i cnita le cmaca'a .i le ribnau djica on stefn stigon. Streamas wundon on prow strode. Currents rolled re'o le lotcra cu badydzu .i le flecu cu gu'orgau sund with sande. Secgas baeron swimming [=sea] against sand. Men bore le canre le se limna .i le nanmu cu bevri on bearm nacan beorhte fraetwe into bosom of-boat bright trappings fi le cutne be le botpi fe le carmi taxfu guth-searo geatolic. Guman ut scufon war-gear wellmade. Men out thrust po'u le jamymai xagmau .i le nanmu cu batcatke weras on wil-sith wudu bundenne. adult-males on wish-journey timber fastened. .i le nanmu pe le djinunkla le mudri cu lasna Gewat tha ofer waeg-holm winde gefysed Departed then over wave-sea [by] wind urged .i ca cliva re'o le bonxamsi bai le brife flota famig-heals fugle gelicost, floater foamy-neck to-bird most-like le fulta fomcnebo poi simsa be lo cipni be'o traji oththaet ymb an-tid othres dogres until after due-time of-second day .ipu'obo ba le ra'artei pe le remoi djedi wunden-stefna gewaden haefde, curved-prow advanced had, le selkruvi lotcra cu crane klama thaet tha lithende land gesawon that these voyagers land saw .ije le litru le tumla cu viska brim-clifu blican beorgas steape, surf-cliffs gleaming hills steep, .i xaskoi sraca'a tergusni .i cmaca'a badysalpo side sae-naessas. Tha waes sund-lidan long sea-capes. then it-was for-sea-voyager [=boat] .i clani cfine .icabo le xasklama eoletes aet ended. Thanon up hrathe of-waterway[?] at end. Thence up quickly le jacplu cu fanmo .ito'obo fi'o sutra ku Wedera leode on wang stigon, Wederish people on plain strode, le la .uederas. prenu le pitytu'a badydzu sae-wudu saeldon. Syrcan hrysedon sea-timber roped. Shirts rattled .i le xasmudri cu se skola'a .i le creka cu se sance guth-gewaedo. Gode thancedon war-raiment. God thanked .i jamna taxfu .i fe le cevni cu ckire thaesthe him yth-lade eathe wurdon. that for-them wave-passage easy proved. le nu le nanmu le bo'arnunkla cu se frili -- cowan@snark.thyrsus.com ...!uunet!cbmvax!snark!cowan e'osai ko sarji la lojban