Jokes in Dinka

 Acɔ̈ɔ̈t acï lɔ thut ë nyïïr ke muk radio. Acï nyïïr thiëëc ya yeŋö lueel radio? Go dhuk ye "Ee thiɛtha yen ka ruat në ye pɛɛi ë."

Monydït ee pïŋ në radio. Go raan thiëëc ye yeŋö cï radio bɛɛr lueel? Go dhuk ye "aa käk aköl wäär keek alɛɛr ke yiic."

 Translation will follow soon

Short Stories in Dinka

Ee Manydië 

Ee mac yen ka cë kɔc nyop ke dhorou. Wɛ̈t ke Athiɛle acï keek lɛ̈k thok. "Yeŋa yen ë cuäny mac?" Kɔc ke lööŋ acë röt thiëëc. Acï raan tök lueel ye wɔ bë lɔ në wuɔ̈t thiɔ̈kiic ku buk kɔc lɔ thiëëc ku ka buk lɔ caal ke ye thoŋpieth mɛn nɔŋ en raan bë rɔt lɔ tööc. 

Wɛ̈t ke Athiɛle acë bɛ̈n wut ku lueel kë ye wɔɔk akee cïï bɔ̈ buk bɛ̈n kut në awata. Wɔɔk aakee bɔ̈ buk wunduɔ̈n bɛ̈n dhuɔ̈k alɛɛc nëŋö anɔŋ raan cë mac cuɔ̈ny ku yen acë dunnë lääi nyuɔpic. 

Raan töŋ wut acë rɔt taŋnhial ku wɛɛŋic ye "ke manydië." Ku dhiac ke mɛt ye "Ka ya but ke lɛ̈k week ye manydië ku wɛ̈ɛ̈c Akɔ̈ɔ̈n ke ka cïï Cil wäc." Acë ŋoot ke lɔ tueŋ dɔm raan töŋ de wɛ̈t ke Athiɛle cin ku ye dɛɛuke nyooth: "[Nanameer] Nya-meer akan ku ka ɣaac ë tuŋ ë Cil ku [Nayäär] Nya-yiɛ̈r akïn ku kee tuŋ Akɔ̈ɔ̈n."  Mathɔn akueen dɛɛu ke ɣɔ̈k ë ke ɣɔɔc keek në tuŋke läi ë ke nyop many ë cuɛ̈ny keek. 

Acï wɛ̈t ke Athiɛle lɛ̈k bɛ̈ny de wut bï keek lɔ kuɔny në kɔc wut në yäŋ de läi. Kɔc kedhie acë guëër në nyuɔɔpic. Bɛ̈ny de kɔc ke Athiɛle acë ye thok kuek ku nyooth kɔc ke dhorou cï mac ke nɔ̈k ku jɔl ya lɛ̈n thiin dɛ̈t cï mac nɔ̈k ku lueel:

"Në ye köölë ke mac acë Akɔ̈ɔ̈n ku Cïl wuɔ̈ɔ̈c; keek kɔc tɔ̈ piinykë ku jɔl ya lɛ̈nthiinë kek aa ye kä cï mac ke nyop. Na tɔ̈ raan ë cuäny mac të thiɔ̈k ke ka buk  dhiil piŋ thok."

Raan awën acï ye yic yaat: "Ageei, wun ë wää manydië acee nyop këlɛ̈; manydië akëc kan nyop ë kä cït ë kääk." Na ye lieec kɔc nyïn ke cïn raan ë nyin een, go dhiac ke wupic ku lueel ye: "Ɣɛn ye këlɛɛn ye ŋat thɛɛr na cɔk ya bɛ̈ny wut ke ka nyic."

Translation:
Ee Manydië. It's my fire.
Ee mac yen ka cë kɔc nyop ke dhorou. A wildfire had devoured seven villagers.
Wɛ̈t ke Athiɛle acï keek lɛ̈k thok. The SPLA soldiers had been informed.
"Yeŋa yen ë cuäny mac?" Kɔc ke lööŋ acë röt thiëëc. "Who could have started the fire?" Asked people of the laws.

        the rest to be continued later....

Kara bɔ̈ ŋeeny tënö?

Ee raan yennë kee cë thɔ̈ɔ̈r lɔ̈ɔ̈m në bith ne tɔŋic. Na them kɔc bïk kë bith miɛ̈ɛ̈t bei ke ka dhiau ku lueel ye duɔ̈kkë jak. Go raan tök lueel ye lɔ lɛ̈k kë nyandeen de gɔ̈k ago wɔɔk bɛ̈n kuɔny. Na lɔ nyande gɔ̈k bɛ̈n. Go raanthi ye nyin jɔt ku ŋëm nyanthi ke bɔ̈, go ye röl jɔt ku lueel ye “Yeŋö yan ye lɛ̈k week ye dhuɔŋkë lɔ̈ɔ̈m ku cakkë gam.” Kɔc acï lɔ̈ɔ̈m guɔ bɛ̈n dhoŋ ku yen ye bɛ̈n de bith bei. 

Some Quotes [Athääth/Athɛ̈ɛ̈th]

 Please suggest one or two of your favorite quotes you would like to see written in Dinka:


1. English: We're hanging in there.
    Dinka: Ɣok buɔ̈c 


2. I am [still] hanging in there.
    Ɣɛn [ŋoot/ŋuɔɔt] ë buɔ̈c.


3. English: Falling down is how we grow. Staying down is how we die. -- reference lost for now
    Dinka: Yuïïk piny yen ke cil ye wɔ cil. Kuɛɛk piny yen ke thon ye wɔ thou.


4. English: The struggle continues
    Dinka: Tɔŋ aruat


Albert Schweitzer: 


 English:  "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." ~ 


Dinka: Në pïïric të nɔŋ raan ëbën, në thaa dɛ̈, ke many dɛ̈p në wɔ yiic e yai. Ku ka ye bɛɛr took në raan dɛ̈ cë yök kennë wɔɔk. Apieth buk keek ya leec ke keek man ye mɛ̈i ke wɔ yiic took.

Pericles:

English: "He who knows a thing that is right, but does not explain it with clearness, is no better than if he had never had a conception of it."

Dinka: "Yen mɛn nyic kë pieth, ku cïï lëu në lëk kɔc ë gɔk, aŋuɛ̈n ë lɔn ee dë kën kan nyic. "

English: "While poverty is nothing disgraceful for a man to confess, but not to escape it by exertion is more disgraceful."

Dinka: "Na cɔk ya mɛn cen ye yicliɛɛr yen bë raan rɔt gäm ŋɔ̈ɔ̈ŋ, ke bë raan ŋɔ̈ɔ̈ŋ thueet në nyiɛɛi acuk ya yicliɛɛr dïït gök." 

English: "We enjoy a form of government which does not copy the laws of our neighbors; but we are ourselves rather a pattern to others than imitators of them. In name, from its not being administered for the benefit of the few, but of the many, it is called democracy."

Dinka: "Wɔ nɔŋ miirï mac në lööŋ cïï keek ye lɔ miit të nɔŋ kɔc mɛt wɔ ke akɛ̈ɛ̈th; aye wɔɔk keek ka ye keek kuanycök ku wɔ cïï kɔc kɔ̈k ye kuanycök. Në rin, nëkë cen ye kë de kɔc lik, ku ye kë de juääc, yennë miirï daanë aye cɔɔl demokëratia." 

John Stuart Mill:

English: "A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot do, never does all he can."

Dinka: "Mɛnh piööcë ce thiëëc bë kë cïï lëu në luɔi looi, alëu bë kɔ̈ɔ̈k lëu keek në luɔi thueet."

English: "The whole foundation on which my life was constructed fell down."

Dinka: "Thɔ̈ɔ̈ny ë cennë pïïrdië wɛc piny në ye nhom ee wuɔ̈p."

Che Guevara: 

English: “If you tremble indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.”

Dinka: "Na ye ŋeeny yï lath të tïŋ yïn kë rɛɛc luië raandɛ̈ ke yïn ye raan mɛ̈ɛ̈th wuɔ."

English: “Better to die standing, than to live on your knees.”

Dinka:  "Aŋuɛ̈n ba thou ke yï kääc në pïïr bïn pïïr ke yïn tuɔ̈knhiɔl."

English: "I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man."

Dinka:  "Anyiɛc lɔn ë bïï yïn ba ɣa bɛ̈n nɔ̈k. Moc ɣɛɛn ariɔ̈c; kë ba nɔ̈k ee raan abac." 

[Ee lueel ke ɣoi raan moc ye nhom nyin] 

Manual for Dinka Keyboard for Mac Users

What follows is a rough instruction for downloading the Dinka Keyboard for MAC users. Please if you are using windows then treat this as you would an email from someone who declares her/himself to be the daughter/son/wife of the late somebody and that s/he has a business proposal for you ;-)

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0. Looi ëdë thɔn ë wuur? - That was just a Dinka Bor way of asking "How are ya buddy?". Let's get to the business now: are you a mac user or a windows user? How the heck does one figure this out? Well, when you shut down your computer do you click on the bottom left corner of your desktop screen or on the top left corner? If you say the bottom left, then you are using a windows and please stop reading now. If you say the top left corner, then continue on you are a comrade of mine;-).

1. First of all click on this link:

http://www.openroad.net.au/languages/dinka/macos

Then click on

• Dinka keyboard bundle

The downloads window should pop up on your screen. You should be able to see the file name "dinka.bundle"

2. Leave the downloads window open but minimize everything else so that you see a clear desktop screen.

3. Double Click on the "Macintosh HD" icon

4. You must be the administrator of your computer in order to be able to do this. If you are, then click on "administratorname" for example for my computer the word in quote reads "danielakech" with no quote.

5. Under the administratorname Click on the LIBRARY folder [it is also possible to go from step 3 to 5].

6. Under library folder double click on KEYBOARD LAYOUTS folder to open it. It could be empty.

7. Now go back to the downloads window and grab "dinka.bundle" and drag it and drop it into the KEYBOARD LAYOUTS.

8. Now close everything and log out of your computer.

9. Log back on.

10. Click on the System Preferences tab located on the bottom of your screen [usually].

11. Double click on the LANGUAGE and TEXT [usually with a flag symbol]

12. Click on INPUT SOURCES

13. Scroll through the list of languages all the way to D and you should be able to bump into "Dinka". Check the box next to Dinka by clicking on it.

14. Close everything. You now have the Dinka Keyboard on your computer.

Where is it? The top right corner of your screen should have a flag [e.g US flag]. That tells you the language the keyboard is switched onto. So click on the flag and you should be able to see Dinka. Click on Dinka and now your keyboard is in Dinka mode.

To test it, open for example Microsoft word and then make sure you have Dinka checked so that the dinka keyboard will work. Then type "Q" and you should see "ŋ". The rest can be gotten by typing s, x, and f. To place dots above a vowel, you just press down ALT OPTION key while pressing the letter you want.

DINKA FONTS

Now that you have your characters you want them displayed correctly and for this you need a nice font type. A list of fonts that work well for Dinka are listed here: http://bit.ly/africanfonts

Luɔi de Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r [Works of Love]

Lëu bë nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r jaamic adï të cennë nhïïm määr në Yïïn, Nhialiny de Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r. Yïn mɛn ë cë rɔt nyɔ̈ŋ në këriɛ̈ɛ̈c ë bɛ̈n në rin ke nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r. 

- Thoriin Kiɛrkëgaad në apäm tueeŋ de "Luɔɔi de Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r". 

"How could love be rightly discussed if You were forgotten, O God of Love. You who spared nothing but gave all in love." Soren Kierkegaard

Here is a beautiful song from this link:  

Dinka Song: Luɔi de Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r

with lyrics here for those of you who read the language [translation will be provided later as time allows]. The theme is drawn from 1 Peter 4:8 as quoted before the song. 

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"Ku kë wär ke kedhie, ee bäk röth ya nhiaar, nëŋö nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r ee dun de rɛ̈ɛ̈c thiaan."
- 1 Petero 4:8

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
-1. Peter 4:8

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Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r 

Në 

Abërɛm Matiɔp Gɛ̈rɛ̈ŋ Awëër

1. Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r, yen ee nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r. ------------ Love, it's love.

Yen luɔi de nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r; nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r!  ---------- It is work of love; love

Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m në rɛ̈ɛ̈cda, ku nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m. --- We cannot comprehend love because we are sinful, and we cannot comprehend love

Wɔ cïn dɔ̈ɔ̈r wɔ cë thiäŋ në tiɛɛl.--- We lack peace; we are filled with hatred

Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m në rɛ̈ɛ̈cda, ku nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m.

Wɔ cïn dɔ̈ɔ̈r wɔ cë thiäŋ në tiɛɛl.

Yen luɔi de nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r, nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r! Wɛ̈t ye cɔɔl nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r yen akaar.

Ku luɔi de nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r yen akaar.

Miɔc ɣɛɛn në nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r Bɛ̈ny ee yen kaar.

Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m në rɛ̈ɛ̈cda, ku nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m.

Wɔ cïn dɔ̈ɔ̈r wɔ cë thiäŋ në tiɛɛl.

Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m në rɛ̈ɛ̈cda, ku nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r acuk lëu në lɔ̈m.

Wɔ cïn dɔ̈ɔ̈r wɔ cë thiäŋ në tiɛɛl.

2. Raan ëbɛ̈n ye nhiëër ee dhiëëth; ee dhiëëth në Nhialic.

Ku kë ye dhiëëth në Jɔŋdït ɣeei.

Abë dhiil naŋ dɔ̈ɔ̈r, abë dhiil naŋ nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r.

Të len në pinynhom thök ënɔŋ yïïn wadɛ̈!

Ke yïn bë dhiil cieŋ në Bɛ̈ny du lɔ̈ɔ̈m.

3. Kɔc ye ɣɔ̈m në Jɔŋdït acïn yiic riɔ̈ɔ̈c,

Kë de rɛ̈ɛ̈c ayïkë tiaam në pinyënhom, amän ke Nhialic ee luɔɔi de jakrac.

Ku kë ye keek tiɛ̈m acïn yic riɔ̈ɔ̈c, aye jɔk cieec nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r atɔ̈ në ke yiic.

Të len në pinynhom thök ënɔŋ yïïn wadɛ̈ ke yïn bë dhiil cieŋ në Bɛ̈ny du lɔ̈ɔ̈m.

4. Mïth ke Kërëtho, mïth ke Yecu awuut ke Kërëtho.

Të kɔɔr week Nhialic bäk dhiil nyic, ku na kɔr ba nyic ke yïn löm nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r.

Nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r yen ciɛk ɣen pinynhom ee nhiaar wɔɔk yen ciɛk ɣen raan.

Ku tuc wɔ Wën de bë thou në wɔɔk, jäl kë tïŋ da! Yen luɔi de nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r.

Të len në pinynhom thök ënɔŋ yïïn wadɛ̈ ke yïn bë dhiil cieŋ në Bɛ̈ny du lɔ̈ɔ̈m.

5.  Yïn Diäŋdïït ye yic diäk ku yï kë tök, käcë piɔ̈u në wɔ.

Miɔc wɔɔk në nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r käcë piɔ̈u në wɔ.

Yïn Nhialiny ye yic diäk ku yï kë tök, käcë piɔ̈u në wɔ.

Miɔc wɔɔk në nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r käcë piɔ̈u në wɔ.

Wɔ cï rɛ̈ɛ̈c ke nyaai yïn Bɛ̈nydït piŋ wɔ, käcë piɔ̈u në wɔɔk miɔc wɔɔk në nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r.

Wɔ cï rɛ̈ɛ̈c ke tɛɛm wei Nhialic kony wɔ, käcë piɔ̈u në wɔɔk miɔc wɔɔk në nhiɛ̈ɛ̈r.

Dinka Vowels

In Dinka, there are thirteen vowels, which are subdivided into two groups: non-breathy and breathy. The later vowels are characterized by placing two dots above their heads.


Here follows the non-breathy vowels:


(1) A--pronounced like a in art ------------e.g: Akɔ̈ɔ̈n (an elephant)

(2) E--pronounced like a in say or mail ----- -e.g: Weŋ (a cow) 

(3) I --pronounced like e in me or people-----e.g: Liεεt (sand) – pronounced lee-at

(4) O--pronounced like o in own or old or e in sew--e. g: Pol (play) – pronounced poll

(5) U --pronounced as in too, move, fruit-----e.g: nyuc (sitting/to sit) –pronounced nooch with n =ñ as in Spanish’s mañana

(6) Ɛ – pronounced like a in man, end, let or any --e.g: Ɣεn (me/I) – pronounced an

(7) Ɔ – pronounced as in John, all, caught, toy ----e.g: Tɔŋ (war) – pronounced T’ong



Here follows the breathy vowels:


(1) Ä – pronounced like a in father------e.g: Thudän (Sudan)

(2) Ë as in hen, hate-----------------e.g: wëu (money) 

(3) Ï as in team---------------------e.g: yïn (you)

(4) Ö as in hook--------------------e.g:ɣöt (house/apartment) – pronounced hood

(5) ɛ̈ as in term---------------------e.g: wɛ̈t (word) - pronounced what

(6) ɔ̈ as in long---------------------e.g: ŋɔ̈ɔ̈r (leadership)

Note: Be very careful with the non-breathy ‘ɔ’ and the breathy ‘ɔ̈’ since they
are the most commonly mispronounced of the Dinka’s vowels. The first must
be pronounced exactly as o in ‘John’ and the second is exactly as o in ‘long.’

The following examples contrast the usage of the two kinds of vowels:

Non-breathy----------------Meaning----------------------- Breathy--------------------Meaning

Man--------------her/his mother--------Män---------hatred

Weŋ--------------a cow---------------Wëŋ---------to deceive

Tiŋ---------------to score-------------Tïŋ----------to see/seeing

Thook-------------languages-----------Thöök-------to become unconsciousness

Pεi----------------month---------- ----Pɛ̈i---------months 

Jɔk----------------satan---------------Jɔ̈k--------beginning


This is it for the vowels, in the next entry we will look at the consonants. 

...More on the Dinka noun

The Dinka Noun

As soon as I had posted my last discussion on the state of the Dinka noun, I realized what a bad job I had done. Here, I shed a few more clues on how to survive with the languageJ But some inadequacy is guaranteed, oh oh...

The Regular Plural:

The good words that will not make your life difficult are the ones in which you add the suffix ‘ai’, ‘ei’, ‘oi’, ‘ui’ or ‘i’. If a word ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o u), then you just add one of the mentioned suffices. Examples:

Kɔmpiööta (computer) ..........................................................Kɔmpiöötaai (computers)

Turkana (The Turkana)..........................................................Turkanaai (Turkanas)

Kure (Dove) .........................................................................Kureei (Doves)

Murle (The Murle).................................................................Murleei (Murles)

ɣoro (Guard pole).................................................................ɣorooi (Guard poles)

Krithano (Christian)..............................................................Krithanooi (Christians)

Acolï (The Acholi) ...............................................................Acolïï (Acholis)

Kikuyu (Kikuyu, Kenya)......................................................Kikuyuui (Kikuyus)

The Compound plural

Nhom-thok (forehead)............................................................Nhïïm-thook (foreheads)

Nyan-ë-bïm ( a girl between age 20 – 30?).............................Nyïïr-ke-bïm (plural of the same)

Nhom-ë-kuta (lid)..................................................................Nhïïm-ke-kutaai (lids)

Note: It proved difficult to sit down and try to remember words. You can fill in and experiment with the rules. In Dinka, though, there are more irregular nouns than regular ones – good luck!!