I find that translating this is a great way to come up with new bits of grammar & vocabulary when conlanging, so I decided to try translating the Lord’s Prayer in my unnamed conlang. Came up with some fun stuff, such a “subjunctive” suffix to change the meaning of auxiliary verbs, a way to write first-person plural pronouns, and the use of second-person pronouns to create vocative expressions.
English
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from the evil one.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Conlang
Pen Najo, öx ʌhir ky ilŭ, son jyk’a,
hŭn k’lenĭ hoq’e son pen;
hŭn t’ʌ p’aqlak;
hŭn la kĭr ky nunka;
nɔ qlak ʌn lar ʌhi ilŭ.
Hŭ hɔ nɔ jʌšu k’ejŭ pen qlakɔ son jyk’a ky jyk’a .
Ĭ hŭ ölonɔ pen enpir son jyk’a ky jyk’a,
ʌn ölonɔr son jyk’a ky ʌkk’a öx enpir ky jyk’a.
Ĭ hŭsŭ yrusa pen jyk’a t’ʌ nelosŭr;
špe hŭ ške pen jyk’a isa ʌk öx akokor.
It’ʌ son p’aqlak ĭ ŭšap’rŭ ĭ ŭšap’ap’rŭ pen,
rokri ɔq son k’ejŭ k’an.
Anpen.
IPA
[ˈpen ˈnajo ˈøx ˈʌçiɾ ˈky ilʊ ˈson ˈjykʰa]
[ˈhʊn ˈkʰlenɪ ˈhɔqʰe ˈson ˈpen]
[ˈhʊn ˈtʰʌ ˈpʰɑqlak]
[ˈhʊn ˈla ˈkɪɾ ˈky ˈnuŋga]
[ˈnɔ ˈqlak ˈʌn ˈlaɾ ˈʌçi ˈilʊ]
[ˈhʊ ˈhɔ ˈnɔ ˈjʌʒu ˈkʰejʊ ˈpen ˈqlakɔ ˈson ˈjykʰa ˈky ˈjykʰa]
[ˈɪ ˈhʊ øˈlonɔ ˈpen ˈembiɾ ˈson ˈjykʰa ˈky ˈjykʰa]
[ˈʌn øˈlonɔɾ ˈson ˈjykʰa ˈky ˈʌkkʰa ˈøx ˈembiɾ ˈkyˈjykʰa]
[ˈɪ ˈhʊzʊ yˈɾuzaˈ pen ˈjykʰa ˈtʰʌ neˈlozʊɾ]
[ˈʃpe ˈhʊ ˈʃke ˈpen ˈjykʰa ˈiza ˈʌk ˈøx aˈkokoɾ]
[ˈitʰʌ ˈson ˈpʰɑqlak ˈɪ ʊˈʒapʰɾʊ ˈɪ ˌʊʒaˈɸapʰɾʊ ˈpen]
[ˈɾokɾi ˈɔq ˈson ˈkʰejʊ ˈkʰan]
[ˈamben]
Gloss
Pen Najo, öx ʌhi-r ky ilŭ, son jy-k'a,
2SG Father PREP.COM be_above-GER PREP.DAT sky PREP.POSS 1PL-1+3.PL
hŭ-n k'lenĭ hoq'e son pen;
want-SUBJ shine name PREP.POSS 2SG
hŭ-n t'ʌ p'aqlak;
want-SUBJ come country
hŭ-n la kĭ-r ky nunka;
want-SUBJ be build-GER PREP.DAT plan
nɔ qlak ʌn la-r ʌhi ilŭ.
PREP.LOC earth PREP.SMBL be-GER above sky
Hŭ hɔ nɔ jʌšu k'ejŭ pen qlakɔ son jy-k'a ky jy-k'a.
want give PREP.LOC DEM.PROX.1 day 2SG bread PREP.POSS 1PL-1+3.PL PREP.DAT 1PL-1+3.PL
Ĭ hŭ ölonɔ pen enpi-r son jy-k'a ky jy-k'a,
and want forgive 2SG harm-GER PREP.POSS 1PL-1+3.PL PREP.DAT 1PL-1+3.PL
ʌn ölonɔ-r son jy-k'a ky ʌkk'a öx enpi-r ky jy-k'a.
PREP.SMBL forgive-GER PREP.POSS 1PL-1+3.PL PREP.DAT 3PL.SUPAN PREP.COM harm-GER PREP.DAT 1PL-1+3.PL
Ĭ hŭ-sŭ yrusa pen jy-k'a t'ʌ nelos-ŭr;
and want-NEG lead 2SG 1PL-1+3.PL PREP.ALL enjoy_mischief-GER
špe hŭ ške pen jy-k'a isa ʌk öx akoko-r.
but want take you 1PL-1+3.PL PREP.ABL 3SG.SUPAN PREP.COM be_evil.GER
It'ʌ son p'aqlak ĭ ŭšap'-rŭ ĭ ŭšap'ap-'rŭ pen,
For be_of country and be_strong-GER and be_very_prideful-GER 2SG
rokri ɔq son k'ejŭ k'an.
before end PREP.POSS day 3PL.SUPAN
Anpen.
amen
EDIT: Fixed some errors in the IPA.
Additionally, a few notes about the gloss:
SUPAN
means superanimate, one of the three animacies (the others being animate and inanimate). Superanimate corresponds to humans, gods, and other things of great significance like the celestial bodies.- This conlang’s demonstratives make a three-way distinction between distance (near, slightly far. and very far) and a three-way distinction between person (speaker, addressee, and both).
DEM.PROX.1
is the “meoproximal” demonstrative, meaning “that near me”. - First-person plurals used to be two pronouns joined by ĭ (and). “Me and them”, for example, would literally be ju ĭ ʌkk’a (
1SG and 3PL.SUPAN
). Over time, these constructions got condensed into single words, starting with jy (coming from ju ĭ). Ju ĭ ʌkk’a, for example, got shortened to jyk’a (1PL-1+3.PL
), which you can see in the translation.
That looks very interesting and promising so far, how long have you been working on this conlang?
That’s a hard question to answer because of how on-and-off my conlanging has been. I’ll typically conlang a bunch for a couple of months, leave it for a few months, etc. I started this conlang back in early 2020, though I’d say that I only spent a smaller part of those 4 years working on it.