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A Traveller's Phrasebook of Vogu

Hello

da'gnesn.

May-be-well [you]

yo.

Hi

How are you?

pa'thap thu'ta dyu.

Goodness with-you question.

My name is...

u'nsha ... ani'.

... names me.

What is your name?

na'vav u'nsha thi.

How does it name you?

I am lost.

udata'k a'ni glozhisathana'.

I do-not-know my-location.

Where am I?

nsu'vri (u'rQm) a'ni.

Where am I?

Where is...

nsu'vri u'lozhis ...

the bathroom (WC/toilet/human waste collection center)?

rzona'.

my luggage?

katsa'tlathani.

the tourist center?

srihngde'nye aha'pulongrata.

Department for-the-sake-of-visitors

the embassy?

srihngde'nye atana'rjihf na'gdarch.

Department of-governments foreign

I'm sorry.

u'slamsl

Please

kdasi'

Thank you!

pabo' thi

Help!

(dar) tsema'

[give] aid!

I don't speak Vogu very well.

u'gu vo'gukadanav slathapa'kambo

Speak [I] by-means-of-Vogu sufficiently ungoodly.

I don't understand.

unyata'k

Speak more slowly please.

thih'meduzg da'gu thu kdasi'

Slow-er cond.-speak you please.

It was my wife's/husband's idea to come here for vacation!

grihbj mi'blosh/po'blosh-athani opulonga' na'sbri tha'vremlolitl

Decided my wife/husband visiting-d.o. here for/as a vacation.

Could you recommend...

do'gugl gli' ... kdasi'

Please recommend to-us ...

a good restaurant?

hwishpleshta' ka'slathap.

something good to eat?

kapleshta' ka'chkyus.

tasty food

a good hotel?

hwishpita' ka'gasu.

suitable hotel

a good doctor?

chensetla' a'slezra

skilled doctor

That was a lovely meal. What was it?

u'slihthihsha migo'boteb. u'pote ka'plesht.

Is-wonderful this-meal. Is-what-sort [the]-food.

How much do we owe you...

u'pokaben i'shat ...

Is-how-much [the]-cost ...

for the meal?

migo'betl.

for the room?

bu'smetl.

for the things that we broke?

tho'letl, gre'thva glu thagda'.

for-those, broke we which.

How much did you say it cost again?

da'guri ishata' kdasi'

Repeat [you] cost please.

You are joking, aren't you?

jo'lo u'gune gli dyu.

Certainly [you] joke to-us question.

I am sorry, I didn't mean to insult you.

u'slamsl. ukusha'k oguthropa' thi.

I am sorry. I do-not-intend insulting you.

Our customs are very different from yours.

uhozha'k nasn ka'vdnathpagru kagla'.

Do-not-resemble much your-custom ours-d.o.

I don't know anything about local politics, I'm afraid.

u'slamsl, udata'k jebl a'ni nabjolihsa' na'vnasob.

Sorry, do-not-know by-no-means I politics here-ly.

Our guide did not tell us that there was a (revolution/war/soccer[football] championship) going on in this country.

kihgu'k aha'thuchataglu di, nastu'gotebkri syech u'pul thaki'zn / vo'matha / napi'tashizg tsazgwi'duku.

Was-not-saying our-guide that in-this-place now occurs revolution / war / competition about-sport.

Thank you for your hospitality. We enjoyed our visit very much, but now we must be going home because we have many important things to do there.

pabo' thi pami'kathurata. kih'twor nasna'sn glu opulongagla', i'na ma da'pultyo olzh hwi'shosh na'duku, buhn tam uzhdl chihdorga'sn tha'ntihs, ukre'tun thagda'.

Thanks to-you for-your-kindness. Were-enjoying much-much we our-visiting, but now must return [we] homeward because there await many-tasks important, want-to-do [we] which.

© 1997, Terrence Donnelly (Vogu text); Thanks to Mia Soderquist for the Traveller's Phrasebook

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