Monday, April 28, 2008

Sticking you with the rent

This morning was tons of fun. We were going over all the stories and working out the finer points, differentiating different words semantically where we could, adding onfirmation where necessary for clarity, cutting things that didn’t add to the stories, etc.

Cool Shiyeyi word of the day: ikhiamina – “stick with the rent”

OK, that’s not the actual meaning. I’d be hard pressed to put it in the dictionary as follows but here is the conversation that clarified the meaning for me:

ME: What does it mean for someone to ikhiamina?

SARAH: It’s like if you and I were living together. We were always together and then, one day, I move to Maun [geograpical note: at least a full day’s drive away]. I don’t tell you that I’m going, I don’t call you with an address, nothing. I can’t be any help to you now. Finally, you call me and say, “Why did you ‘ikhiamina’ me?” You see?

ME: And did I leave without leaving you any money for my share of the rent?

SARAH: [laughing] Exactly.

It’s the word we’re using in the Bible Story “Jesus is crucified”, in the part taken from Matthew 27:46.

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