Volapük Vifik: Lärnod Lulid"It's all (or mainly) in the past..."Just in the same way as part five follows the last part of our course in Volapük, so does one hour, one day, one week, one month, one yearsucceed the previous one. As time passes, there is no doubt whatever that our present is becoming less and less, while our past is gradually becoming more and more, and still more. logob = I see (now) In Volapük, events are considered either to be still happening,or else to have already happened within a longer or shorter time span. In order to fully appreciate all this, ideally we get into our special 'time capsule' and become 'part of the action.' In fact, the word 'tense' is how we describe the 'time factor' in words called VERBS (denoting status, being, becoming or action). In the example given above, elogob (I've seen/I saw) impinges much more on the present. For this reason, it is used for chatting about every-day happenings: it is essentially the PAST connected with the PRESENT for us. However, there is another kind of PAST which is more remote: if we say"I saw him last year", the same excitement seems to have been lost somewhat; perhaps it's another way of saying "I used to see him",or even "I had seen him". In fact, it is the past becoming evermore and more remote, even becoming in our judgment historical. Look at these two examples: Adelo logob oli = To-day I see you (now); Ädelo älogob oli = Yesterday I saw you (at that time); Do you see now the first couple refer to the 'here and now' and the 'immediate past', whereas the second couple concern the more distant past? We therefore see that the PRESENT TENSE has no initial vowel to signal the here and now; this is reserved in modern Volapük for words which signify the idea of time in themselves, such as del = day in the examples. As we know already, the PRESENT PERFECT is indicated by the initial vowel E- and now we learn that the vowel Ä- indicates the PAST DEFINITE and the vowel I- takes us still further back into the past! Again, just to recap, if the ACTOR (I/we; you, he/she; one; it/they) is doing something to the VICTIM (animate/inanimate beings or things); this is termed ACTIVE, whereas if we prefer to say "you are seen (by me)", then it is no longer active, but PASSIVE! We are familiar with the Passive in Volapük already - now just see how all the rest follows on so regularly: Palogol (fa ob) = you are seen (by me); Thus does the PRESENT merge into the IMMEDIATE PAST, then into the DEFINITE PAST, and finally into the COMPLETE PAST. How time flies! Welcome to the fifth part of our rapid, inter-active course in Volapük Vifik in which we start, as usual, with some more words for you to practise out loud:
SPIKOT BEVÜ PULS TEL DAVID: Glidis,
o Katlin! 1. Translate the above dialogue into English. 2. Answer the following questions in Volapük:
3. Describe KARL in twenty words in Volapük. 4. In Volapük this is how we count from 20 to 30: Teldeg; teldegbal; teldegtel; teldegkil; teldegfol; teldeglul; teldegmäl; 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 teldegvel; teldegjöl; teldegzül; kildeg. 27 28 29 30 And still further and further from forty to ninety:- foldeg; luldeg; mäldeg; veldeg; jöldeg; züldeg 40 50 60 70 80 90 Write in Volapük: 32, 45, 57, 68, 71, 84, 99 VOLAPÜK VIFIK David: Glidis dönu! Ya sevol obi: panemob David e binob balan flenas ela Samül. Ädelo ägolob domio oma, ven ekolkömob jieli Katlin; omemol sio, das binof flen jiela Janin, sör ela Samül. Benö! Bi äbinos te düp lulid soara, eprimobs ad spikön ode dö balan röletanas ofa. Jinos, das el Karl ya labom moni mödik, ed etuvob lifi omik mu nitediki! Jenöfo, tü düpalaf pos lul emutob spidön! Katlin: Glidis dönu! I sevol obi ya! Binob Katlin, balan flenas ela Janin. Ädelo ekolkömob eli David, kel ägolom domio flenaomik, ed eprimobs ad bespikön dinis in valem. Poso, ye, emäniotob, das spelob ad visitön hikösti liegik oba, hieli Karl,ed el David ävilom sevön bosi plu tefü om. Jenöfo, äspikobs ode dü düpalaf lölik. Sekü atos, el David ämutom spidön ad no latikön! Karl: Glidis! Nem oba binon Karl; binob blod yunik de fat ela Katlin, e lödob in zif gretik nilo, kö dalabob domi smalik. Binob büsidan, e kodü at, vobob mödo, bi vilob ai kotenüköni laidaremanis, i dilekanefi fiama: labob bäldoti yelas foldegkil. Mödikna tävob ko matirajanan oba länädio ad juitön belaluti us. Maxin: Glidis! Panemob Maxin. Binob jiflen patik hiela Karl - jenöfo binob matirajanan oma! Labob lifayelis kildegjöl e vobob ün timül at as yufan in bukiselidöp, bi enitedälob ai demü buks valasotik! Karl ed ob, spelobs ad matikön ünü yels tel. El Karl neai binom libü tedabüsid, ab suvo tävobs länädio ad juitön luti gudik us, e ad takädön boso in top jönik at. Dalabom domi in zif, e pos mated obas, desinobs ad lödön us. | |||||