| be | v.imp. |
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| ble | v.s.hypo. | |
| mera | cont. | mei er a |
merekung
/merkung | v.i.pred. | is about to come or arrive. |
mermang
/meremang | v.inch. |
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mlei
/mle | v.past | came; arrived.
|
| mlera | cont. | mlei er a |
| be kbong | expr. | goodbye; I'm leaving. |
me e mong
/memong | expr. | pass by; go on; "(in a direction) towards me and then keep going (past me)." |
| nguu el mei | expr. | bring. |
| ta el buil er mla me e mong | expr. | one month ago. |
Examples: |
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> They promoted him. |
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> The president persuaded the senators that were being stubborn. The president obtained the hearts of the senators that had high hearts. |
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> His family and the villagers were quite surprised at the boy's sudden good health and quick recovery. |
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> They would weigh more than the sands of the sea, so my wild words should not surprise you. |
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> (It turned out that) Droteo didn't go to the movies after all. |
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Proverbs: |
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> Bitter and salty. The strategy of "doing things the hard way." When alternatives are available, the appropriate choice is the more difficult one. In voice, expression, and action there is a positive accent on personal ability. |
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> From the mature tree the sapling dribbles. Eseos is a mature tree, dalm is a sapling; olengimech means to drip, drizzle, or dribble. Application is to the similarity of the child to its parents, generally its father. |
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> Are you the son of Redechor is that why you're standing around so much? |
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> The heart and assessment. This might better be translated, "Assessment with knowledge." The mind or head is thought to be the locus of knowledge in Palau, but such knowledge is made useful or is measured with the heart (reng). Chodab, in this context, would appear to mean "to take stock of" or "to measure." In essence, then, the phrase cautions one who seems on the point of making a rash decision to temper his thoughts with his heart. |
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> Without looking afield, it was cut down behind the house. From the folk tale concerning Mesubed Dingal, the inventor of the Palauan kite (see also No. 73). After his wife had been kidnapped, he constructed a kite using feathers from all the birds of Palau and he needed also wood from an Edebsungel tree to fashion the body of the bird-kite. After looking all over Palau and being on the point of giving up, he found the tree he needed behind his own house. The saying may be applied to anyone who does things the hard way, or who goes far afield to find something which is close at hand. |
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More Examples: |
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> Dang, you are so straight up. |
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> Yes, if the weather gets worse, I'll leave. |
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> He had to choose whom to serve. |
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> My budget was low, I could not buy cigarettes. |
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> Can you come closer to me? |
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