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Hello,
I'm trying to put a particular phrase used in Scouting into NU.
"I too, have kept the vigil"
I'm pretty sure the first part would be "Nepe" (SU nèpe), but there does not seem to be a verb (at least that I can find) which conveys the meaning of 'to keep a vigil'; though, there is "wëbuënt? mën: in SU with the menaing of 'he watched over/guarded it'.
Wondering if something like that might work?? I'd need to get the NU form and change it for an "I_X_it" construction rather than the "s/he _X_it".
Is there a better word to use for this in NU??
Thanks!
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Would I need a TI verb (preterite form)??
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By wëbuënt?mën I assume you mean wënutëntamën. This word would work okay: nepe nutëntamën in SU, if what you are watching over or guarding is something definite that is inanimate ("it"). You could even make the inanimate object indefinite ("something") by saying nepe nutëntam.
In NU, I would say, nepe n'woachpasimsa; which, by using the archaic imperfect tense (what Goddard calls the present aspect), would more nearly match your English phrasing ("I too, I have kept the watch"). In SU (if it ever existed in SU) it would be written as nëwahpasimsa.
[Note: The forum will not reproduce the SU short a with the grave accent, so I've simply used the plain a in the Lenape words in the first paragraph.]
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Yes - that was a typo - didn't even notice it.
Thanks -actually, I'd probably go with something definite rather than indefinite in this case.
What is the root of 'woachpasimsa?? So, main stress on the next to last syllable?
Thanks very much!
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If you need a definite inanimate object then go with the SU word. The stem of woachpasimsa is woachpasi- ('keep watch'). It's an intransitive verb, so there is no object. It just means you're engaged in keeping watch. Stress is on the next-to-last syllable.
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Thanks, actually, I think the NU form is better in this case. what's being watched is really not defined. So something like"I too, have kept watch" may work in this case.
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