Assertive Interjections
- Interjections in Mirad include the assertive expressions yes, no and maybe:
Common Assertive Interjections
| Va! |
Yes!
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| Ve! |
Maybe!, Perhaps!
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| Vo!* |
No!
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- * Not to be confused with voy, which translates the English adverb not, as in Vo, wit voy se tadxwa.....No, he is not married.
- Examples:
- Va. At se otadxwa.....Yes. I am unmarried.
- Va. At se vay otadxwa.....Yes. I am indeed/really unmarried.
- Va, vay.....Yes, indeed.
- Va ay vo. Hus vey se vyaa.....Yes and no. That may be true.
- Va ey vo?....Yes or no?
- Ve. At te voy valay.....Maybe. I don't know for sure.
- Vo. At voy vatexe et.....No. I don't believe you.
- Vo! Dilwe von xu hus.....No! Please don't do that.
- Et se Amerikama, vao?....You're American, yes or no?
- Ven va, (van et) xu has.....If so, (let you) do it.
- Ven vo, von (et) xu has.....If not, don't (you) do it.
- There are also some hybrid combinations of the above assertive expressions:
Hybrid Interjections
| Vao? |
Yes or no?
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| Vea! |
Maybe so!
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| Veo!* |
Maybe not!
|
H interjections
- There is a group of common interjections called the H interjections, because they all begin with the letter h:
Greetings
| Initial Greeting
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hay! |
Hello!, Hi!
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| Vocative Greeting
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hey! |
Hey!, O!, Oh!
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| Terminal Greeting
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hoy! |
Goodbye!, Bye!
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| Proximal Specifier
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hiy! |
Voici!, Here is...
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| Distal Specifier
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huy! |
Voila!', There is...
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| Positive Exclamation
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hyay! |
Great! Wow!, Bravo!, Woopee!, Hurrah!
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| Surprise Exclamation
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hyey! |
What a...!, Oh!, Well!
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| Negative Exclamation
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hyoy! |
What a pity!, It's a shame!, Woe is...!, Darn it!, Yikes!, Boo!
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| Expression of Thanks
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hway!1
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Thanks!
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| Expression of Welcome
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hwey! |
You're welcome!, Please
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| Expression of Sorrow
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hwoy! |
Sorry!, Excuse me!
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| Expression of Joy
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hwiy! |
Whee!, O la la!
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| Expression of Pain
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hwuy! |
Ouch!, Ow!, That hurts!
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| Laughter
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hihi!
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Ha ha!, Hee hee!
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| Lamentation
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huhu!
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Boo hoo!, Woe is me!, Oy veh!
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| Admiration
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hwaw!2 |
Wow!, What a show!
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| Disgust
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hwow!3 |
Yuck!, Eeoow!, Gross!
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- 1Pronounced like English why. Mirad hw is pronounced like English wh.
- 2Pronounced like English wh+aw.
- 3Pronounced like English wh+oh.
Examples of H Exclamations
- Hay! Ata dyun se Johan.....Hi! My name is John.
- Hey, Johan! Duhoyen et xeye?....Hey, John, how are you doing?
- Hey, Tot!....O, God!
- Hoy. At teato et zajub.....Bye. I will see you tomorrow.
- Hiy ha dyen ho et dila.....Here's the book you requested.
- Hiy Tob.....Behold Man. (Ecce Homo).
- Hiy ata dyundraf.....Here's my caling card.
- Huy! Se xwa.....Voilà! It's done.
- Huy hos at yaka.....There's what I expected.
- Hyay et!....Good for you!
- Hyay! Et utnaze his......Bravo! You deserve this.
- Hway! Et sa gla fitipa......Thanks.! You were very kind.
- At fu hwayder et.....I'd like to congratulate you.
- Hwey!....You're welcome!
- Et efe hwoyder at.....You need to apologize to me.
- Fi. Hwoy.....Ok. I'm sorry.
- Hyey via imaj! ....Oh, what a beautiful morning!
- Hyey At ta voy van et upo.....Oh! I didn't know you were coming.
- Hyoy at.....Woe is me.
- Hyoy! Ga fia fikyen jonay.....Pity!. Better luck next time.
- Hwoy. At yefe hyoder et.....Sorry. I must take leave of you.
- Hihi! Hus sa gla diza.....Ha ha! That was very funny.
- Von hihidu.....Don't laugh.
- Huhu!.....Oy!
- Ha tudet voy poxo huhuder.....The baby won't stop crying.
Expletives
- Vulgar expletives are not offered here, but may arise naturally in daily speech.
Ways to Say Please
- The English expression Please can be expressed in various ways:
- Hwey! Yepu.....Please! Come in. (Hwey can also mean you're welcome in answer to thank-you.
- Diwe von et tyopu ab ha vab.....Please (= it is requested lest you) don't walk on the grass.
- Diwe van et yanupu yat.....Please (= it is asked that you) join us.
- Diwe!....Please!
- Xu (at) (ha) fis bi yubeler at hua tyoyafi.....Please (= do (me) (the) favor of) bring me those shoes.
- A stronger form of please is dilwe....it is requested.
- Many of the interjections in this section can be made into verbs with the addition of -der (to utter), eg.:
- hayder....greet, say hi
- heyder....address, call out to, wave down
- hoyder....say goodbye to
- hyayder....congratulate
- hwayder....thank
- hwoyder....apologize, excuse oneself, say you're sorry
- hihider....laugh
- huhuder....boo, cry
- Some examples using the above verbs:
- Be Eniged, yat hayde hyuti bay "Hi!".....In English, we greet others with "Hi!".
- Heydu at bay ha dyun Pedro.....Address me with the name Pedro.
- Yat ifu hyayder yet av yeta ujak.....We would like to congratulate you on your success.
- Hyadwu av eta bun.....Thank-you (=Be thanked) for your gift.
- Hia vyok voy se hihidyefwa.....This mistake is not something to be laughed at (=laugh-worthy).
- Von huhudu ayv ilokxwa bil.....Don't cry over spilt milk.