Ata – English dictionary with English – Ata finderlist by Kazuo Hashimoto SIL, Ukarumpa 2008 1 Introduction Ata (also called Pele-Ata) is spoken in the province of West New Britain in Papua New Guinea by about 2,000 people. It is a non-Austronesian language, grouped by Wurm in the East Papua phylum, but reclassified by Ross as belonging to a small and unique family called Yele-West New Britain, together with Yele and Anêm. Research for this dictionary was carried out in the village of Uasilau under the auspices of SIL from 1984 until 1996. The main language helpers were Thomas Uenga, Peter Mande and Gabriel Lupasi. All symbols have their expected value, except that <x> stands for a voiced or voiceless velar fricative, and the apostrophe for a glottal stop. This is a work in progress. Updates will be posted as they become available. 2 Ata - English Dictionary a amo A - a Ant: mamuxanu/teinu. a part. top. alaxu n. time. alaxu vile at once, quickly Syn: a- sub. I (1st pers, sing, subj, impf). Alai no xai. lalaxu. I will go to the garden. alaxu vt. meet him. aaluxu n. tree (sp.). ale n. outside. Natauxu navu no ale. Make a fire aaxu n. bank. outside. Syn: an nano. ae n. left hand. Ant: tema. ale n. sign of death of a man. ae interj. hey! Ae! Nalai ne'ei? Hey! Where are alelaxu n. broken pieces of trees, stones and taros. you going? Xasilo miitixo sie alelaxu tamei. My ai vi. sleep, exist. Keakea uai laixe. The baby is grandmother gave me two pieces of broken sleeping very well Vu'a uai 'ole. There is a taro. tani alelaxu one side house Syn: xasixu. betel nut there. alepeinu vt. kill pig. Syn: palepeinu. aiinu n. trunk, tree, height. vu'a aiinu betel nut tree aliko n. man/child/woman. John anu aiinu veveeni. John is very tall. aliku n. person. aliku soxu 'o a poor boy aliku se 'o ailili'osou vt. choke him/it with rope. Syn: a poor girl Syn: itema. kapiilaxu. alilua n. pigeon. aili'i n. man of finishing fight. [Note: These people are inherited from their fathers, and they alitama n. Eclectus Parrot. should be their first born children.] alivulane'i vt. conquer them. aingongo n. tree (edible). alixaxava n. place for hiding from rain and the aisou vt. make him/it sleep. Naaisou keakeameni. sun. Make your baby sleep. alixeni n. my child. aitaone'i vt. stay overnight with them. aloxo conj prep. like, as. Nini nakaukavu aloxo aitenga n. door. mamine ukaukavu. You write as your father does. Anu muiave palea loxo a'aa. He ran aiu adj. green. fast like a dog. ala n. Common Red Stem fig tree. Nalai aloxovaa adv. how. nasianoxu ngotu ala vile. You go and skin off the Common Red Stem-fig tree's bark. alu n. prayer, blessing, white magic. alusou xai [Note: the bark is used for cooking, clothes prayer for a garden etc] alua n. big lizard. Syn: laxa'uvale. alaele n. steep. aluaxa n. tree (sp.). alai adj. near. alusou vt. pray for, bless. Taalusou la'ilali Let's alai'a n. bird's mating. bless the food. Syn: saaxu. alamanu n. ribs, skinny. memee alamanu pig's aluve n. sea cucumber. From: nakanai. ribs alu'u n. fish trap. alasou vt. cross over, jump over. Syn: xisa'isou ame n. corn. (lexa). amemea adj. thin. Syn: komuko. alauna n. generosity, mercy, love. Alauna noxou Iesu toxoxa'a misevile. The love of Jesus is amo vi. being caught by a trap. Memee vile great. muamo no anu uoi. A pig was caught by the trap. alavua adj. new, first. Xai alavua the new garden Ata - English Dictionary 3 ananenge avolu xaxalo'u ananenge n. our (incl.) mouths. abundant food there.] ananexe n. our (excl) mouths. asou adv. almost. Lasipi vile asou ulutu sou ulai. A ship is almost leaving. anangenge n. your (pl) mouths. ata n. tropical spinach (Aramanthus gangeticus). anaxa'a n. their mouths. atasou vt. stop eating taro. Iatasou sie sou itema anaxe n. her mouth. musoli. They stop eating taro for the man who anaxene n. your (sg) mouth. died. anaxo n. my mouth. atasou vt. step on. Syn: malaxo'u. anaxu n. his mouth, sharpness. Viso anaxu. The ataxu n. shortness. Syn: kulunu. Ant: knife is sharp. Ant: lauvanu. veveenu/veveeni. anaxu ilaanu n. his teeth. ate'a n. wild banana (Hanging Heliconia). anaxu sosou n. his lips. atie n. mother. Syn: tie/nenilo. [Note: Mother and uncle have another words to be adressed, anaxu xiasiinu n. gum. because they are in a same clan and they are ane pro. she, it. Ant: ano. so important in the culture.] — dem. that. ato n. sago grub. — rel.pro. which, that. Laixe musuku no anu atola n. post. Alotaxu tani. A post of a house. la'ilali ane nexi teno'u. Thank you so much Alotaxu luu. A post of a bed. for the food which we (excl) had. atolu n. egg. koko'a atolu a chicken egg — copula. be. Ane'i tatei ne, lapemui'a ane atume n. wind. Syn: sivo. ila. Long time ago, their axe was a stone axe. aue n. head of a plant. aue sou ie head of a pitpit anexe n. hers (food). aue sou ue head of a sugarcane aue sou laxa ane'i pro. they. aulaxu vt. put arm around shoulder. ane'ixa'a pro. theirs (food). aululu n. old man, old woman. angelo n. angel. From: kuanua. aululu mulu n. old man. ani adv. yes. aululu sema n. old woman. ano dem. this. Ant: ane. auo interj. wow. Auo! Eni navuxo! Wow! I feel anu pro. he, it. Anu ane. That's it. Ant: ane. pain! Syn: iauo. anuxou pro. his (food). ausou vt. salted, put salt on it. apisou vt. keep. ava adv. where. Ilaxeni ava? Where is my stone axe? Syn: ne'ei. asa n. tree (sp.), vine. [Note: This vine is used for weaving baskets] avile adv. quickly, straight. asaxa vi. lift quickly. Uoi muasasaxa. The pig trap avo n. hand, branch. was lifted up quickly. avokolu n. spider. asenesi adv. that's all. avole n. her hand. asila n. outsider, foreigner. Syn: lavaila. avolo n. my hand. asima n. vine. [Note: This is used for roofing. In avolu n. his hand, it's branch. Pidgin, it is called Kimve.] avolu lataanu n. back of his hand. aso n. sun, daytime, day. Aso laixe. Good day Nenge taxaxai no aso. We work during the avolu loxou n. his palm. daytime. avolu mautunu n. his lower arm. aso iou n. time, cicada, center of the sun. Aso iou avolu simisou n. his finger. ta'ei? What time is it now? [Note: It is believed that this is the place where the good avolu xaxalo'u n. his fingernail. people can go after they die. And there is 4 Ata - English Dictionary avone e'enenge avone n. her hand. axu vi. breathe. Uee muaxu. He breathed. Syn: ee. avonge n. our (incl.)hands, your (pl) hands. — n. breath. avoxe n. our (excl) hands. a'a vi. open mouth. avo'a n. their hands. a'aa n. dog. avutuna n. yellow sweet potato. a'aa iau n. big rat (Mallomys rothsschildi). axa n. anchor. From: Pidgin. a'alo n. story, news. axa n. orchard. — vt. tell story, tell out. axe'u n. young shoot (banana, taro). lavuxi axe'u a'alosou n. story, news about something. young banana shoot Syn: toxosou. — vt. tell story about something. axiaxi adv. strongly. Axiaxi mo takalusou xaixai. a'aloxu vt. tell story. Let' be strong and finish the work. a'anu vt. feed him/it. axoxo n. white dry clay. Syn: an pilika. [Note: The Ata people use this clay as medicine for a'ue n. louse (for a dog). diarrhea and pregnancy.] E - e e interj. surprise. E, talavusou uasi. Oh, we elima n. mud crab in the sea. From: nakanai. don't know. Elove pro. village (sp.). [Note: Today many people e rel.pro. that, which, where. Milai no tualasi'a of the Elove village are living in the Milikina e mi'umesou tatei mo. They have gone to village.] their village where they had left a long time ena adj. many, others. Ngingi ena ngaxoxolu 'o, ago. ia 'ei mulai. Many of you have been staying e- sub. I (1st pers, sing, subj, perf). Emaisou here, but who has gone. John. I have seen John. ena'ei interj.pro. who. Syn: 'ei. ea n. cockatoo. eni pro. I. ee vi. breathe. Muee tanu. He breathed his enixo n. mine (food). inside. Syn: axu. ese'i n. boil. eiseo Syn: eisoxu. n. my wife. [Note: This word is used for adressing a woman in general.] ete n. traditional edible plant which looks like a bamboo shoot (Setaria palmifolia). Syn: eisoxu Syn: eiseo. n. my husband. [Note: This word leilemi. is used for adressing a man in general.] etuluvi n. red fish. eixene dem. that. Syn: ane. evile n. one person. Evile umomomo sou utelai ekelesia n. church member. From: kuanua. [Note: uasi. No one can't go up. This word is used among the United Church people.] evuu interj. hurrah! ekue n. whale. From: nakanai. exe vi. say, tell. Muexe lexe ulai ne Ualo. He said that he would go to Ualo. Ant: vikala. ekusi n. spear. exe n. black shell. [Note: This shell used to be elaxu n. axe used to chop sago palms. John used to cut off taro from the stem.] mutautalonu elaxu no popo.