FORD HONKUD -- FIRST CONVERSATION:

Matei Huruten:  Mir tin.  Hello.

Hiv Albaker:  I be tho mir tin.  Be men nom Albaker.

Matei:  Huruten bu meve nom.  Is thev anst, e bu hun or?

Hiv:  E bu at tegedur or.

Matei:  A!  Vituz!  Men soju.  Thu mengetu est? 

Hiv:  U ereve, sad mengetu. 

Matei:  Sa, ej mir, av Albaker kun.  Anvituz!

Hiv:  Nen hiz.  Ej mir dil tho.

Ford Honkud -- Grammatical and Cultural Analysis

ford: first; ordinal of en “one.”

honkud:  conversation, dialog.

hon:  with, together; a preposition.

kud:  gerund/noun form of kove speak.

Matei:  Matthew; a male name.

Mir tin:  hello; lit., “good day.”  As in English, Thosk adjectives generally precede the noun they modify.  Matei offers greetings in both Thosk and English, a common practice among Thosk speakers, allowing the other person to choose the language.

Hiv: Lit., gray; a (usually) female name.

I be tho mir tin:  Lit., “and to you good day.”  A polite reply.  Hiv has chosen to speak Thosk, so Thosk rules apply.  When she introduces herself, she gives her family name, Albaker.  Among Thosk speakers this identifies one immediately as being of Thosk descent, and invites a similar disclosure from the other person.

Huruten bu meve nom:  lit. “Huruten is my name.”  Matei obliges with his Thosk family name.

Is thev anst:  one way of saying “please”; lit., “of your favor/kindness.”

E bu hun or?:  lit., “this is what hour/time?”  What time is it (now)?

E bu at tegedur or:  Lit., “this is near fourteen hour.” It’s almost two (p.m.). Thosk speakers typically use the 24-hour clock.

A!  Vituz!:  lit. forgive! A formal expression of apology, appropriate because Matei must leave after just meeting Hiv.

Men soju:  I [am] late.  Thosk sentences of the type “[pro]noun +linking verb + adjective” frequently drop the verb.

Thu mengetu est:  Lit., “you [are] often here?”  As Matei grabs his things to leave, he does his best to salvage something from their first meeting.

U ereve:  Lit., “in evenings.”  U is a convenient preposition, doing duty for “in, on, at” with expressions of time and place. 

erev+e: evening+s. e is the regular plural ending in Thosk.

Sad mengetu:  lit., “enough often.”  “Quite often; often enough.”

menge+tu:  “many + time-suffix.”  Compare solu+tu “always”; en+tu “once,” etc.

Sa:  well, then, now; a conversational “pause” word.

Ej mir: Lit., “[I hope that everything will] go well.”  An informal goodbye.

a: vocative particle, used before names in direct address.  The –v is for euphony before a following vowel.

Albaker kun:  “Miss Albaker.”  kun lit. means “woman”; after names it serves as a title similar to “Miss” or “Mrs.”  It does not show marital status.  The male equivalent is ner “man.”

Anvituz!:  lit., “again forgive!”  Sorry again.

Nen hiz: lit., “no concern/bother.” nen is an adjective, used before nouns; ne + en à nen; “not [a single] one.”

hiz:  worry, concern, bother, annoyance; a slang word.

Ej mir dil tho:  Lit., [may everthing] go well for you”; a reply to ej mir.

ANI HONKUD -- SECOND CONVERSATION:

Hiv:  Mir ejen, a Matei.

Matei: A Hiv!  Mir ejen.  Hun be tho?

Hiv:  Ahun dil vred.  I be tho?

Matei:  A’nahun.  Kikne tha valnast?

Hiv: Kikne tha sad.  Hon vil be naz …

Matei:  Hon vil.  Enoht aban urht?

Hiv:  Enoht nemir.  Abannoht?

Matei:  Therzakend!  Bev abannoht.

Hiv:  Ej mir.

Matei:  Dil tho.

Ani Honkud -- Grammatical and Cultural Analysis

ani:  second.  Ordinal of to “two.”

honkud: conversation, dialog.

mir ejen:  good morning; a greeting not requiring further response than an echo.

a:  vocative particle, used for direct address with the person’s name. Note that there has been at least one intervening meeting between Matei and Hiv between the two conversations given here, when they learned each other's ronome -- "forenames."

hun be tho:  Lit., “what [is] to you?”  How are you?  Note:  a non-rhetorical request for information.  Unlike in American English, this is a real question, soliciting an honest response.

be:  to; a preposition.

tho:  you; singular object form of thu, spoken to 1 person.  Note that Thosk, unlike English makes this distinction based on number.

ahun dil vred:  “something for speech”; [I have] something to tell.  A prompt for further inquiry and lengthier conversation.  Note:  non-rhetorical.

i be tho:  and to you?

ahunahun à a’nahun whatever, something; i.e., nothing important.

kikne:  know; Thosk verbs do not change for person or number in any tense.

tha: direct object particle.

valnast:  health.

Kikne tha valnast:  Lit., “do [you] know health?”  Are you well?

sad:  enough; here used as a noun, meaning “sufficiency; adequate amount.”

Kikne tha sad:  [I] know a sufficiency [of health].  I’m reasonably well.

Hon vil be naz:  lit., “with time to us”; if we had time …; a polite way of deferring a more lengthy conversation until both parties have leisure to talk. "Will Matei and Hiv ever get to have an unhurried and complete conversation? Tune in next week ..."

Hon vil:  a response to Hon vil be naz. 

Enoht aban urht:  lit, “tonight after work?”

e + noht:  lit., this night

aban:  [prep] after, following.

urht: n. work, labor, job

Enoht ne mir:  Tonight (is) not good.

ne: no, not; usually affixed to the verb or adjective it negates. 

abannoht:  lit., “afternight”; the following night; colloquial for tomorrow night

therzakend:  terrific, wonderful; lit., “terrifying.”

therz+ak: “tremble, shake” + causative suffix –ak = “terrify, frighten”

-end: present participle ending.

Bev abannoht:  until tomorrow night.

be + v/n liaison consonant before following vowel; be + o = bev o; tha + o = thano

je solu eje mir à ej mir [I hope] (that all) goes well; an informal good-bye.

Dil tho:  for you (as well); informal response to ej mir.