Kids’ Corner 01

Often children’s stories feature language that native speakers know and take for granted, but is not often found in texts that are intended for the day to day business of adults.  They often include animal names, as well as words denoting things and actions one might encounter in daily life, but would not normally write about.  This series of posts will explore stories that are found in one of the books I purchased in Taipei: Manju gisun aji gurun gisun i jube, 满语童话故事, by 庄吉發, who is a researcher in residence at Taipei Gugong.

yacin niman jai xayan niman

emu xayan niman jai yacin niman tuhan be  dulerede, ishunde jugvn anahvnjarakv temxembi. xayan niman gisureme, oi, yacin niman, si goro tuci, bi neneme dulembi serede, yacin  niman gisureme, oi, xayan niman, si dohorome yabu, bi neneme dulembi sehe. juwe niman xukilarade gemu bira ci tuheke.

———

yacin [black]
niman [goat]
jai [and ]
xayan niman [white goat]

The black goat and the white goat.

—–emu [one]
—–xayan niman [white goat]
—–jai [and]
—–yacin niman [black goat]
—–tuhan [single-log bridge]
—–be [direct object marker]
—–dulerede, [dulere = crossing; de = when]
ishunde [each other]
jugvn [way, path]
anahvnjarakv [not yielding]
temxembi. [fight]

When a white goat and a black goat were crossing a single log bridge, they were arguing, not letting each other pass.

—–xayan niman [white goat]
—–gisureme, [say]
—–—–oi, [hey]
—–—–yacin niman, [black goat]
—–—–si [you]
—–—–goro [far]
—–—–tuci, [get out] 1
—–—–bi [I]
—–—–neneme [first]
—–—–dulembi [pass]
—–serede, [saying]
yacin niman [black goat]
gisureme, [say]
—–oi, [hey]
—–xayan niman, [white goat]
—–si [you]
—–dohorome [scram] 2
—–yabu, [go]
—–bi [I]
—–neneme [first]
—–dulembi [cross]
sehe. [said]

When the white goat said “hey, black goat, you get out of here! I’m crossing first”, the black goat said “hey, white goat, you scram! I’m crossing first.”

1. Möllendorff says that tucimbi (get out) is irregular and the imperative form is tucinu.  The form tuci seems to be a regularized version.
2. dohorome is not listed in Enenggi, but Anaku gives it as 滚开 (gǔnkāi, get out).  The Chinese expression is impolite, which may explain its noninclusion in Enenggi.

—–juwe [two]
—–niman [goats]
—–xukilarade [xukilara = butt horns; de = when]
gemu [both]
bira [river]
ci [from] 3
tuheke. [fell]

While the two goats were butting horns, they fell into the river.

3. This can be nothing other than a mistake.  The Chinese translation given for bira ci tuheke is 掉到河里去了 (diào dào hé li qù le, fell into the river).  bira ci tuheke would be fell from the river.  So the correct version of the Manchu must be bira de tuheke.

[Note: see comments below.]