Book of Mormon arrived: Persian, Hawaiian, Maori, Niuean

[pne]

Today, four copies of the Book of Mormon arrived which will help me complete my collection. They're in Persian, Hawaiian, Maori, and Niuean. (Let me see, what would that be in the native language? فرسی, ko `ōlelo Hawai`i, te reo Māori, ko e vagahau Niuē?

The first three I won on eBay from a lady who sells the BoM in various languages in addition to other things; the fourth I asked her to add to the package since she was sending it anyway.

I've been wanting a copy of the BoM in Niuean for quite a while, ever since I started becoming interested in the language.

She could also help me get copies in various other Polynesian languages, which would be interesting for comparison purposes. I'll have to ask Sister Achterberg first, though, whether it's possible to order "exotic" languages through her as well, and whether that would be cheaper.

I'm a bit disappointed that the book in Niuean (which I glanced through briefly) doesn't use macrons to designate long vowels. While native speakers may know which is correct, I think it's part of the orthography (just as macrons should be used in Māori, or macrons and `okina in Hawai`ian).

Comments

[nik-w.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of "Niuean" - where is/was it spoken?

How many copies of the book do you have now?

[pne.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of "Niuean" - where is/was it spoken?

On Niue (http://www.niueisland.com/), a small island in the South Pacific, between Tonga and the Cook Islands, south of Samoa. It's related most closely to Tongan.

How many copies of the book do you have now?

Ooh, I'd have to have a look at my bookshelf at home. About 20, I think. When I started collecting several years ago, the Book of Mormon had been translated into 88 languages, I think; the number has grown since then.

[nik-w.livejournal.com]

How many languages can you actually speak/understand?

Languages I speak

[pne.livejournal.com]

I'd say four: English, German, French, Greek.

My Japanese used to be good enough for simple conversation but has fallen into disuse long enough that I don't think I could manage very well.

All languages beyond that are limited to a couple of words and phrases, some knowledge of grammar, and/or ability to understand parts of sentences due to cognates (e.g. Spanish due to English and French, Dutch due to German).

Re: Languages I speak

[nik-w.livejournal.com]

Ah - I was wondering because every time a language was mentioned in linguaphiles, you seemed to have some knowledge of it! Being able to write in a totally different alphabet like you did with Persian in this entry is something I think is even more impressive than being able to speak another language - I know it's just a matter of getting used to it, but even so, it's pretty clever! I can only really speak English. I know some Italian and some Spanish. I was pretty good at German when I did it for a year in school, but that was 12/13 years ago! I also know bits of Norwegian and about 5 or 6 words in Welsh (things like "goodbye"). One of my aims in life is to be able to speak another language fluently (or at least to a good standard), but I've yet to decide which language that will be - I dislike the sound of French, so it'd probably be Spanish or Italian.

Re: Languages I speak

[pne.livejournal.com]

Ah yes :)

I have "some knowledge" of lots and lots of languages, but generally only enough to impress, or a few random-but-interesting factoids about it.

Languages and writing systems fascinate me.

Re: Languages I speak

[elgrande.livejournal.com]

When I read your comments about Greek, I automatically assumed it was Ancient Greek you were referring to. But now that you say you speak it fluently, I'm curious: Which version of Greek do you actually know?

Re: Languages I speak

[n-true.livejournal.com]

Languages and writing systems fascinate me.

Und mich erst. ;)

Re: Languages I speak

[pne.livejournal.com]

Modern Greek. I spent two years in Greece and Cyprus.

(I also picked up a smattering of Ancient Greek, but not enough to understand everything or to write much on my own.)

Re: Languages I speak

[pne.livejournal.com]

Βας ду nɪçt زاگست :p