The Babel Story, Glossed in Abakwi
The gloss
Nd'ulu-ja d'araba-mu q'abaka-nwa j'abaka-dwi.
At'time-that have'world-whole q'tongue-one with'tongue-good.
Kam-il'abwa-na kim'onggwo, nging'ana q'ekika juk'aShinara sh-und'a nd'ugu-ja.
Move-while man-pl come'east, find'them q'plain around'Shinar be-continuing'they at'place-that.
Bak'a, Kim'wi b'wi sh'etwe, haket-ungg'wi q'edoba. G'etwe g-wad'agake, g'ojwejage jabul.
Speak'they, Come'we make'we be'brick, bake-well'we q'mud. Use'brick use-insteadof'stone, use'tar stick.
Bak-end'a, Kim'wi b'wi-sha sh'umara, j'iskara kim'ulama, b-uz'wi q'aya d'wi-sha, kwanak-ang'wi jak'araba-mu.
Speak-then'they, Come'we make'we-same be'city, with'tower come'sky, make-so'we q'words of'we-same, scatter-not'we on'world-whole.
Kimbad-enj'ulugu nik-uz'a q'umara j'iskara b-und'abwa-na q'e.
Comedown-rather'demon see-to'he q'city with'tower make-continue'man-pl q'which.
Buk'ulugu,sh-eng'abwa-kwe-nwa bak'abaka-sha b-ind-ul'a q'a, sh-ang-war-ang'e j'ana b-wab'a.
Speak'demon, be-if'man-group-one speak'tongue-same make-begin-then'he q'it, be-not-can-not'which with'them make-intend'he.
Kim'wi, kumbad-wi shekesh-wi q'abaka-da bak-war-ang-uz'ana.
Come-we, comedown-we shatter-we q'tongue-his speak-can-not-so'they.
Kwanak-ul'ulugu q'a kum'ugu-ja jak'araba-mu, b-wik'a sh'umara.
Scatter-then'demon q'he go'place-that on'world-whole, make-stop'he be'city.
Sh-ul'aya q'aBabela -- shekesh-um'ulugu q'abaka d'araba-mu. Kum'ugu-ja kwanak'ulugu-ja q'a jak'araba-mu.
Be-therefore word q'Babel -- shatter-because'demon q'tongue have'world-whole. Go'place-that scatter'demon-that q'he on'world-whole.
Translation to English
At that time, the whole world had one language and a good language at that.
As people moved to the east, they found a flat place in Shinar and moved in.
They started talking and said, "Come, let's make bricks, let's cook mud and cook it good." They used brick not stone, and stuck it together with tar.
Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city with a tower to the sky, so that we may make our story known and not be scattered over all the earth."
But a demon came down to see the city with the tower that the men were building.
The demon said, "If as one people speaking one language to each other they have begun to do this, then nothing they intend to do will not be done.
Come, let's go down and shatter their language so they will be unable to speak to each other."
So the demon scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
Therefore it is called Babel -- because there a demon shattered the language of the whole world. And from there that demon scattered them over all the earth.
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