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LONWEB PARALLEL TEXTS
DAISYSTORIES
     by Crystal Jones ©
 
 
 

HEBREW
(transliterated)
THE SEARCH FOR LORNA
 Translated by Pnina Tadmor, transliteration by Pnina Tadmor
rearranged by Robert B. Casiraghi
Rules of our transliteration

  • a=ah, o=oh, e=eh, i=ee, u=oo, x=like Scottish ch in loch. The sign ' (apostrophe) represents the glottal stop within a Hebrew word (alef or ain). 

  • The article and certain prepositions are written separately: ha xipus  instead of haxipus (the search), ba boker instead of baboker (in the morning)

  • Compounds that are pronounced as a single word are separated by an hyphen when it may be useful to the learner. Example: be-meshex instead of bemeshex (during)

  • Treatment of the shva (virtual e, that sometimes is sounded, sometimes not) is not entirely consequent because of inherent difficulties and difference of pronounciation by Israeli speakers

  • Italics are sometimes used at the end of a word to indicate the affix personal pronouns: sheruteha=her services

  • The stress is marked by an underline under the relevant vowel. Where no stress mark appears in a word, the stress is by default on the last syllable as is typical for Hebrew.

  
 

Ha xipus axarei Lorna

The search for Lorna
Daisy Hamilton hayta xokeret pratit. Daisy Hamilton was a private detective.
Hi haita bat shloshim, ve avda  ke  xokeret pratit be-meshex  ha shnatayim ha axronot. She was thirty years old and had been a detective for the past two years.
Be xol boker halxa la misrad shela kdey lehamtin le sixot telefon o liftoax et ha delet le lakoxot ha zkukim le sheruteha. Every morning she went to her office to wait for phone calls or open the door to clients needing her services.
Daisy adayin lo hayta meod yedu'a, ax le-itim anashim tilfenu eleha be ikvot ha hoda'a she hi pirsema ba iton ha mekomi. Daisy wasn't very well known yet but occasionally people telephoned her from the advertisement she had put in the local newspaper.
Boker exad, be sha'a axat-esrei be-erex, mishehu hikish al delet misrada. One morning at about eleven o'clock someone knocked on her office door.
Zu haita isha shmena she lavsha parva sviv tsavara. It was a fat lady who wore a fur around her neck.
"Shalom, ani yexola la'azor lax?", sha'ala Daisy et ha isha. Ana, hikansi u shvi". "Hello, can I help you?" Daisy asked the lady. "Please come and sit down."
"Ken, be-hexlet! Ani zekuka le ezratex be ofen no'ash. "Oh yes indeed! I need your help desperately.
Lorna, ha ktana sheli, ne'elma. Eini yoda'at ma la'asot. Lorna, my little one has disappeared. I don't know what to do."
Daisy hitsi'a la isha ha shmena sefel kafe names ve xikta li pratim. Daisy offered the fat lady a cup of instant coffee and awaited the details.
Ha isha ha shmena hityashva bi xvedut ve sama et tik ha or ha gadol shela al ha shulxan shel Daisy. The fat lady sat down heavily and put her large red leather handbag on Daisy's desk.
"Ana, sapri li ha kol, gveret ...?" "Please tell me everything - Mrs. ...?"
"Shmi hu gveret Edwina Humphries. Ani xosheshet she hem yevakshu mimeni kesef - ani xosheshet she Lorna nextefa!" "Mrs. Edwina Humphries is my name. I am afraid they will ask me for money - I'm afraid Lorna has been kidnapped!"
"Ze nora, gveret Humphries. Ha'im gam mar Humphries xoshev she Lorna nextefa?" "That's terrible, Mrs. Humphries. Does Mr. Humphries, too, think Lorna has been kidnapped?"
"Ba'ali eino mit'anyen im Lorna nextefa o lo!" "My husband is not interested if Lorna has been kidnapped or not!"
"Be-emet, gveret Humphries, aval ha'im mar Humphries eino aviha ha amiti shel Lorna?" "Really, Mrs. Humphries? But is your husband Lorna's real father?"
"Eineni yoda'at le ma at mitkavenet. Anu kaninu et Lorna be-yaxad", heshiva gveret Humphries. "I don't know what you mean. We bought Lorna together," replied Mrs. Humphries.
"Atem kanitem... gveret Humphries, ze bilti xuki, at yoda'at". "You bought ............Mrs. Humphries, that's illegal, you know."
"Lo, ze lo, lo be Hodu." "No it isn't, not in India!"
"Atem kanitem et Lorna be Hodu?" "You bought Lorna in India?"
"Ken, be-hexlet! Ve hi tamid mesapeket li xevra nifla'a, at yoda'at". Yes indeed! And she always keeps me great company, you know."
Gveret Humphries patxa et tik ha or he anak shela kedei lehotsi mimxata. "Mrs. Humphries opened her huge leather bag to pull out a handkerchief.
Daisy hitxalxela bir'ota yetsur mitpatel ha yotse mi-tox ha tik. With horror Daisy saw a wiggling creature come out of that bag.
"Gveret Humphries, tikxi mi kan et ha davar haze miyad!", tsa'aka Daisy. "Mrs. Humphries - move that away immediately!" screamed Daisy.
"Ma? Oy, Lorna - sof sof matsati otax!" amra gveret Humphries. "At hitxabeit ba tik sheli, yalda shovava she kmotex!" "What? Oh Lorna - I've found you at last!" said Mrs. Humphries."You hid in my bag - you naughty girl!"
"Gveret Humphries, zu hi Lorna?" "Mrs. Humphries. This is Lorna?"
"Ken, naxash ha bitsot ha Bengali shelanu. Oy, toda lax, yakirati. Lo, eineni xoshevet she ani zkuka yoter le sherutayix!" Yes, our Bengali swamp snake. Oh thank you my dear. No, I don't think I need your services any longer!"
Ka-asher Daisy sagra et ha delet axarey tseita shel gveret Humphries, hi tsiyna le atsma lehosif la moda'a shela: Lelo xayot, lelo nexashim. As Daisy shut the door after Mrs. Humphries, she made a mental note to write in the advertisement: no animals, no snakes.