Re: Mormonides

[Andrew Smith <hobbit@mail.earthlight.co.nz>]

On Mon, 2 Feb 1998, I wrote:

> 
> Oh, and before I forget:
> 
> O ranndad uddath, o glardad asculltath,
> llaesath-nu rhen bog rhen ia yscyr.
> 
> I think that's right.
> 
This may be right enough but looking at it again today I decided I could
it with more grammatical accuracy and even toss in some poetic feeling.

The first line is ok, I'm happy with that.  Claritas was an obvious
possibility for brightness, clar is a known Brithenig morpheme.  Then I
looked for an etymology for grandeur and grandesse.  When I wasn't
satisfied by either I turned to good old-fashioned latin granditas.  It
resonated with clardad so that's what I wanted.

The second line I think is rough.  Leave us not is a negative command and
in Brithenig a negative command is not DON'T but STOP, calfar.
Rhen...rhen... here is neither...nor...  Possibly an iffy construction.
It was originally going to be ne...ne...  Let me think about that.  So it
should be translated as Calfath laesar-nu.  And the double rhen can be
replaced with a simple _o_, or.  And if I cheat with the arrangement of
words - this IS poetry - I get:

O ranndad uddath,
O glardad asculltath,
Llaesar-nu chalfath
Bog o ia yscyr.

Metre's a bit shot, but I think looks and sounds better.

- andrew

Andrew Smith                                  <hobbit@earthlight.co.nz>
Life is short, so am I...