/r/conlangs Chat Network Relay Game - Learn a Lang Natlang Relay 6

#6Hokkien by Rick Shaw
HokkienEnglish

愛若親像一隻無規律的鳥仔,
無人會當使伊的心平靜落來。
當拒絕是上好的方法的時陣,
欲安搭伊是毋好的也做袂到。
愛親像一個波希米亞的囡仔,
伊永遠毋願好好仔遵守規定。
你若無愛你家己我袂當愛你,
當我真正愛你我欲做你的靠山。

Ài nā tshin-tshiūnn tsi̍t tsiah bô kui-lu̍t ê tsiáu-á,
bô-lâng ē-tàng sú i ê sim pîng-tsīng lo̍h-lâi.
Tng kī-tsua̍t sī siōng hó ê hong-huat ê sî-tsūn,
beh an-tah i sī m̄ hó ê iā tsò bē kàu.
Ài tshin-tshiūnn tsi̍t ê pho-hi-bí-a ê gín-á,
i íng-uán m̄-guān hó-hó-á tsun-siú kui-tīng
Lí nā bô ài lí ka-kī, guá buē-tàng ài lí,
tng guá tsin-tsiànn ài lí, guá beh tsò lí ê khò-suann.

Love is like an irregular bird,
no one can calm its heart down.
When refusing it is the best way,
settling it is both wrong and undoable.
Love is like a Bohemian child,
it never wants to follow the rules properly.
If you don't love yourself, then I can't love you either,
when I do love you truly, you shall have got my back.

  • 愛 - ài - love
  • 若親像 - nā tshin-tshiūnn - seem
  • 一 - tsi̍t - one
  • 隻 - tsiah - classifier word
  • 無 - bô - negation particle
  • 規律 - kui-lu̍t - rule
  • 的 - ê - description marker/possession marker/relativization marker
  • 鳥仔 - tsiáu-á - little bird
  • 無人 - bô-lâng - nobody
  • 會當 - ē-tàng - can
  • 使 - sú - let
  • 伊 - ê - third person singular
  • 心 - sim - heart
  • 平靜 - pîng-tsīng - calm
  • 落來 - lo̍h-lâi - down
  • 當 - tng - when
  • 拒絕 - kī-tsua̍t - refuse
  • 是 - sī - be
  • 上 - siōng - superlative
  • 好 - hó - good
  • 方法 - hong-huat - method
  • 時陣 - sî-tsūn - time
  • 欲 - beh - want
  • 安搭 - an-tah - settle
  • 毋 - m̄ - negation particle
  • 也 - iā - also
  • 做 - tsò - do
  • 袂 - bē - negation particle
  • 到 - kàu - completion complement
  • 親像 - tshin-tshiūnn - seem
  • 個 - ê - counter word
  • 波希米亞 - pho-hi-bí-a - Bohemia
  • 囡仔 - gín-á - child
  • 永遠 - íng-uán - forever
  • 願 - guān - be willing
  • 好好仔 - hó-hó-á - in good condition
  • 遵守 - tsun-siú - follow
  • 規定 - kui-tīng - rule
  • 你 - lí - second person singular
  • 若 - nā - if
  • 家己 - ka-kī - self
  • 凍 - tàng - can
  • 真正 - tsin-tsiànn - truly
  • 做 - tsò - be (as in role)
  • 靠山 - khò-suann - backing

Taiwanese Hokkien is often conducted in SVO, but the occasional SOV is tolerated as well.

若親像 and 親像 are synonyms and one of them is changed due to literary and aesthetic purposes.

Taiwanese Hokkien lacks grammatical number, gender, tense, and personal conjugation, and several particles are used to denote aspect or mood.

Classifier words come between a numeral and a noun, and although required, do not denote any special meaning

In the text, a total of three negation articles are used, they possess the same meaning, however, they are not interchangeable.

In the text, all three forms of the article 的 are used. As a possession marker, it is situated between the pronoun and the noun. As a description marker, it is after the adjective and before the noun. And being the relativization marker, it is placed between the verb and the noun.

In Taiwanese Hokkien, 伊 as the 3rd person singular can signify he, she, or it.

The character 到 in this text is served as a verbal complement to indicate the successful completion of an action, and only serves only in an auxiliary manner.