Some of the 150 Canonical Sentences in kót wàwa

from 150 Canonical Sentences for Identifying Semantic Primes and the Core Lexicogrammar of any Language

SOMEONE~WHO, SOMETHING~THING~WHAT, PEOPLE, BODY

1. Who did it?

ján zèm li nɒ́

2. Someone took it. I don't know who.

ján li gàm-án jò-nɒ́. mí li ɣɛ̀ŋní: ján nɒ̀ li zèm?

ján li gàm-án jò-nɒ́. mí li ɣɛ̀ŋ-íl-án jàn ip nɒ̀.

3. What happened?

zèm?

4. I did something bad.

mí li ìke.

5. What is this?

ní li zèm?

6.a. This thing is big.

ní li zùl.

6.b. This thing is small.

ní li lìli.

7. They are good people.

nɒ́ li jàn li bòn.

8. Many people don't know this.

ján mùt li ɣɛ̀ŋní.

9.a. Sometimes bad things happen to people.

tém nol ìke-ján.

9.b. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

tém nol ìke e ján bòn.

10. The body of a man is not like the body of a woman.

mìje la síjel li ɒ́ɰsíjelmél.

an mìje na lèjis-ɒ́ɰsíjelmél.

11. The stomach (liver, etc.) is part of people's bodies, it is inside the body.

íns ìlo-án mòk li ìnssíjel.

PARTS, KINDS

12. This thing (knife, axe etc) has two parts.

ílo nì li gùlup zǹi e ékep ə̀n.

13. People's bodies have many parts.

síjelján li zǹi e ílo mùt.

14. There are two kinds of yam (bat, bird etc.)

nòl e nási-án gìl ip Jæ̀m na ə̀n.

15.