Lesson:Qafesona/3. My name is...

Dialogue

In the following text Mikheil and Zurab meet, introduce one another and have a short conversation.

Михе́ил: До́бры динь!

Зура́б: До́бры динь! Рого́р вы йимену́йетесь?

Михе́ил: Йа йимену́йусь Михе́ил, и вы?

Зура́б: Йа йимену́йусь Зура́б, рого́р вы йима́те?

Михе́ил: До́бше, џеку́йу. И вы?

Зура́б: Йо, до́бше теж, џеку́йу. Куде́ вы жи́вете? В Тбили́сийе?

Михе́ил: Не, йа жи́ву в Кутати́сийе, але́ мой ма́тка жи́вет сде.

Зура́б: Да, йа жи́ву сде, але́ роди́лси в Йерева́не.

Михе́ил: Вы е́сте ӽа́йкски?

Зура́б: Йо, и мо́йа роди́тели йечье́ жи́вут в Ӽа́йкие. Ва́ша роди́тели сеть картве́лска?

Михе́ил: Мой ма́тка есть картве́лски и мой оти́чь был ӽа́йкски.

Зура́б: Зайи́маве!

Карт Ковкаса (Map of the Caucasus)
File:Qf-lesson 1 (map).png
This map of the Caucasus region shows the places mentioned in the dialogue, amongst others, in Qafesona and English.

Vocabulary
Qafesona	Transliteration	Part of speech	English
до́бры динь	dóbry dinǐ	int	hello, good day
рого́р вы йимену́йетесь?	rogór vy jimenújetesǐ?	phrase	what is your name?
рого́р	rogór	adv	how
йимено́ватьси	jimenóvatǐsi	v	to be called
рого́р вы йима́те?	rogór vy jimáte?	phrase	how are you?
йима́ть	jimátǐ	v	to have
до́бше	dóbše	adv	well, kindly
џеку́йу	džekúju	int	thank you
йо	jo	int	yes
теж	tež	adv	also, too
куде́	kudé	adv	where
жить	žitǐ	v	to live
в(е) (+LOC)	v(e) (+LOC)	prep	in, at
не	ne	prep	int
але́	alé	conj	but
ма́тка	mátka	n	mother
сде	sde	adv	here
да	da	int	ah
роди́тьси	rodítǐsi	v	to be born
ӽа́йкски	hájkski	adj	Armenian
роди́тель	rodítelǐ	n	parent
йечье́	ječǐé	adv	still, already, even, again
Ӽа́йкиа	Hájkia	n	Armenia
картве́лски	kartvélski	adj	Georgian
оти́чь	otíčǐ	n	father
зайи́маве	zajímave	adv	interesting

Useful phrases
Qafesona	Transliteration	Part of speech	English
до́бры динь	dóbry dinǐ	int	hello, good day
до́бры йу́тро	dóbry jútro	int	hello, good morning
до́бры ве́чер	dóbry véčer	int	hello, good evening

Language points

Articles

In Qafesona there are no articles, that is "the" or "a(n)" - this is typical of Slavic languages. Thus "йа есмь оти́чь" can mean "I am a father" or "I am the father", in order to translate this into English context is needed otherwise it is unclear which is meant.

Personal pronouns

Number →	Singular				Plural
Case ↓	1st p (I)	2nd p (you)	3rd p (he, it)	3rd p (she)	1st p (we)	2nd p (you)	3rd p (they)
Nominative	йа	ты	он	она	мы	вы	оны

• Personal pronouns only have singular and plural number, but no paucal.
• "Он" is used as a masculine personal pronoun ("he") for people and "она" is used as a feminine personal pronoun ("she") for people.
• "Он" is also used as a personal pronoun for non-human objects ("it").
• "Вы" can be used as either a singular formal pronoun or as a plural pronoun; cf. "vous" in French.

Possessive pronouns

Singular

Person →	1st (my)			2nd (your)			3rd (his, her, its)
Case ↓	Singular	Paucal	Plural	Singular	Paucal	Plural	Singular	Paucal	Plural
Nominative	мой	мойа	мойи	твой	твойа	твойи	йейи	йейа	йейе

Plural

Person →	1st (our)			2nd (your)			3rd (their)
Case ↓	Singular	Paucal	Plural	Singular	Paucal	Plural	Singular	Paucal	Plural
Nominative	наш	наша	наши	ваш	ваша	ваши	йихи	йиха	йихе

Paucal number

The paucal number is a concept that will be foreign to many learners. Dictionary.com defines this as "a grammatical number occurring in some languages for words in contexts where a few of their referents are described or referred to." Amongst the Slavic languages the paucal is unique to Qafesona, however its origin is in the Common Slavic dual number and is often used in the same way, i.e. for pairs. Another language that uses the paucal is Arabic, with which Qafesona has had significant contact.

Verb "to be"

The verb "to be" in Qafesona is "быть". As in most languages, this is a key verb and is also irregular. The conjugation for the present tense is given below. Note that despite the Qafesona's paucal number, verbs only conjugation according to the singular and plural numbers and paucal subjects take plural verb conjugations.

Number →	Singular			Plural
Tense ↓	1st p	2nd p	3rd p	1st p	2nd p	3rd p
Present	есмь	еси	есть	есми	есте	сеть

Exercises

Extra vocabulary
Qafesona	Transliteration	Part of speech	English
жи́ви	žívi	adj	alive
вы́течне	výtečne	adv	excellently
палыхе́	palyȟé	adv	badly (i.e. not very well)

True or false?

Using the short text above, decide whether or not the statements below are "правдивы" ("true") or "неправдивы" ("false").

1. Михе́ил жи́вет в Тбили́сийе.
2. Ма́тка Михе́ила нежи́вет в Руси́е.
3. Зура́б есть картве́лски.
4. Зура́б роди́лси в Кутати́сийе.
5. Роди́тели живут в Ӽа́йкие.
6. Ма́тка Михе́ила есть картве́лски.
7. Оти́чь Михе́ила йечье́ есть жи́ви.

Questions

Answer the following questions in Qafesona:

1. Рого́р ты йимену́йешьси?
2. Рого́р ты йима́шь?
3. Ку́де ты роди́лси?
4. Ку́де ты жи́вешь?
5. Ты еси́ картве́лски?

Translation

Translate the following sentences into Qafesona:

1. Hello, what's your name?
2. My name is Vladimir.
3. How are you?
4. Well, thank you!
5. My parents live in Armenia.