Lesson 2: Responses to Greetings

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The best response to any of the greeting phrases seen in the previous lesson is another greeting phrase.  So, if someone comes up to you and says, «Kuwe!», you can say «Kuwe!» right back at them.

If someone next asks you «Skênö' nae?», and everything is in fact going well, you can respond with:

Ê'.                     Yes, that's right.
Túkës.                  Yes, indeed.

If you want to turn the question around, and ask your friend how they are doing, you can either ask them «Skênö' ti nae?», or you can tack the phrase «ís ti?» or «ís khu?» onto the end of your answer.

Ê', ís ti?              Yes, that's right, how about you?
Túkës, ís khu?          Yes, indeed, and you?

If things are going just okay, you can respond with:

Ha'tekayéí'             Good enough.

This phrase is the same one you use to tell someone that they've served you enough food.

If your friend has asked you «Satökwetha' nae?», and you don't want to worry them, you can respond with:

Katökwetha'.            I feel well.
Köhíyú.                 I feel healthy.

With just about any of these phrases (indeed, with just about any sentence in Mingo) you can add the phrase «aayê' nae» at the beginning to give yourself a little more leeway.

Aayê' nae ha'tekayéí'.      Good enough, it seems.
Aayê' nae katökwetha'.      I guess I feel well.



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