How old is your mother?
Here is a short conversation we can have about ages. There are two important points to notice.
First, the word me' is used a lot in Mi'gmaq. Here it means 'still___'. You will see it later on also meaning 'more___, ___-er'.
Second, look at the last word, tapuisgegi-puna'p. When you replace the usual -t for 's/he' with -p, it changes the meaning from 'she IS twenty years old' to 'she WAS twenty years old'.
Dialog
Ta'si-puna't 'ggij? |
|
How old is your mother? | |
'Ngij newisgegi-puna't jel ne'w. |
|
My mother is forty-four. | |
Ta'si-puna't gujj? |
|
How old is your father? | |
Nujj newisgegi-puna't jel ta'pu. |
|
My father is forty-two. | |
O', me' maljewe'juijig! |
|
Oh, they are still young! | |
E'e, me' maljewe'juijig. Ugs'tqamuianeg, 'ngij tapuisgegi-puna'p. |
|
Yes, they're still young. When I was born, my mother was twenty. |