Lesson 0001d

Díi Tawäláng : 

Díi Tawäláng Conversational Northern Haida for Beginners Díi Tawäláng Conversational Northern Haida for Beginners Lesson 1

Lesson 1: Conversation : 

Lesson 1: Conversation We begin with a conversation between two friends, Betty and Joe. Betty is from Ketchikan, and Joe is from Massett. They run into each other at an All Native game in Prince Rupert.

Lesson 1: Conversation : 

Lesson 1: Conversation Betty Sán uu dáng çíidang, Joe? How are you, Joe?

Lesson 1: Conversation : 

Lesson 1: Conversation Joe Díi ’láagang, Betty. I’m fine, Betty. Gasán uu dángs çíidang? And how are you?

Lesson 1: Conversation : 

Lesson 1: Conversation Betty Díi san ’láagang. I’m fine too.

Lesson 1: Conversation : 

Lesson 1: Conversation Betty: Sán uu dáng çíidang, Joe? Joe: Díi ’láagang, Betty. Gasán uu dángs çíidang? Betty: Díi san ’láagang. Betty: How are you, Joe? Joe: I’m fine, Betty. And how are you? Betty: I’m fine too.

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes When Betty spots her friend Joe there at the game, she wants to greet him, so she calls out Sán uu dáng çíidang, Joe? This means, How are you, Joe? Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes This is the most common greeting in Xaad Kíl. We can use it with anyone we meet – friends, family, Elders, children, pets, anyone at all. We can also use it at any time of day. It doesn’t matter if it’s morning, afternoon, evening, or the middle of the night. Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes The first word in this greeting is sán, which is the question word meaning how? It is followed by the little word uu. This is a very common and very important word in Xaad Kíl, but it has no translation in English. Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes We call this little word uu the Focus Marker. The job of the Focus Marker is to draw your attention to whatever came right before it , so you know that that’s the most important part of the sentence. In this case, it draws your attention to the word sán, and makes it clear that you are asking a question. Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes An important thing to remember about uu is that it is always pronounced along with the word before it. So, in the greeting Sán uu dáng çíidang?, make sure that you run the first two words together, just as if it were spelled sánuu. Don’t slow down or pause in between the sán and the uu. Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes The next word in the question is dáng, which means you. Specifically, it means you when talking to just one person, not a group of people. Be sure that you don’t pronounce this like the English word Dang! Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes The last word is çíidang, which translate in this question as are. Notice that there is a slight difference in the pronunciation of the sound written with the letter ç in Alaska and Massett. The Alaskan ç-sound is much stronger, while the Massett ç-sound is much softer. Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes One important fact to notice right away is that Xaad Kíl puts its word in a different order than English. If we wanted to literally translate, word-for-word, the English phrase How are you?, we would have to say Sán uu çíidang dáng? But no Xaad Kíl speaker would ever say that – the order has to be Sán uu dáng çíidang? Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes As we go along, we’ll see many examples of where English and Xaad Kíl put words in a different order, as well as many examples of where the order is the same. One such example is Joe’s reply to Betty’s question. Sán uu dáng çíidang? How are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes When Joe replies to Betty’s question, he says Díi ’láagang. This means I’m good, or I’m fine, or I’m well. The first word is díi, which is one of the two ways in Xaad Kíl to say I. We’ll learn about the other way to say I in a later lesson. Díi ’láagang. I’m fine.

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes The second word, ’láagang, is made up of two parts. The first part is ’láa. This is the part that means good, fine or well. Díi ’láagang. I’m fine.

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes The second part is the ending –gang. This is the part that tells us Joe is doing well right now – as opposed to him saying that was doing fine in the past, or that he’ll be doing fine in the future. Díi ’láagang. I’m fine.

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes The first part of the word, the one that carries the basic meaning of the word (in this case, good) is called the verb stem. The second part of the word, which tells us when he was good, is called the tense ending. More specifically, the ending –gang is called the simple present ending. We will see many examples of this ending as we learn more Xaad Kíl. Díi ’láagang. I’m fine.

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes After Joe has told Betty that he’s doing fine, he wants to find out how Betty’s doing, so he asks her Gasán uu dángs çíidang?, meaning And how are you? This is almost the same as Betty’s original question, with two small differences. Gasán uu dángs çiidang? And how are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes First, Joe uses the word gasán instead of sán. These words both mean the same thing: how? Sán is the more common Alaskan form, and gasán is the more common Massett form. Since Betty is from Alaska, she uses sán, but since Joe is from Massett, he uses gasán. Both forms are correct Xaad Kíl. Gasán uu dángs çiidang? And how are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes The other difference is the word dángs instead of dáng. In Joe’s question, dángs means you too or you also. It’s a way of returning the question back to Betty. Everything else in the question stays the same. Gasán uu dángs çiidang? And how are you?

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes When Betty replies, she says Díi san ’láagang, meaning I’m fine too. This is almost the same as Joe’s original reply, except that Betty has added the word san, meaning too, also or as well. Just like the focus marker uu, the little word san is always pronounced along with the word before it – in this case, díi. Be sure to run those two words together when you say this sentence, just as if they were written as díisan. Díi san ’láagang. I’m fine too.

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes Be sure to notice the difference between the question word sán meaning how, and the word san meaning too. The question word sán has an accent mark on the -á- and is pronounced with a high pitch. The word san has no accent mark on the -a- and is pronounced with a low pitch. Otherwise, the two words are pronounced exactly the same -- the only difference is in the pitch of your voice. Díi san ’láagang. I’m fine too.

Lesson 1: Notes : 

Lesson 1: Notes This pair of words, sán and san, is one of the reasons why we write accents on words in Xaad Kíl. The accents help to remind us where our voices should go up in pitch, and where they should remain low. Díi san ’láagang. I’m fine too.

Lesson 1: Conversation : 

Lesson 1: Conversation Betty: Sán uu dáng çíidang, Joe? Joe: Díi ’láagang, Betty. Gasán uu dángs çíidang? Betty: Díi san ’láagang. Betty: How are you, Joe? Joe: I’m fine, Betty. And how are you? Betty: I’m fine too.

Lesson 1 : 

Lesson 1 Áa uu tláan çíidang. This is the end.

Díi Tawäláng : 

Díi Tawäláng Conversational Northern Haida for Beginners Díi Tawäláng Conversational Northern Haida for Beginners Lesson 1