TETUM LANGUAGE THAT IS OFTEN USED IN DAILY LIFE

 

TETUM LANGUAGE IS EASY THAN YOU THINK!

Most people from Europe, America and Africa always ask where is Timor-Leste?

Timor-Leste, island country in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands, at the southern extreme of the Malay Archipelago. It occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, the small nearby islands of Atauro (Goat) and Jaco, and the enclave of Ambeno, including the town of Pante Makasar, on the northwestern coast of Timor. Dili is the capital and largest city.

Timor-Leste is bounded by the Timor Sea to the southeast, the Wetar Strait to the north, the Ombai Strait to the northwest, and western Timor (part of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara) to the southwest. The eastern part of Timor island is rugged, with the mountains rising to 9,721 feet (2,963 metres) at Mount Tatamailau (Tata Mailau) in the centre of a high plateau. The area has a dry tropical climate and moderate rainfall. Hilly areas are covered with sandalwood. Scrub and grass grow in the lowlands, together with coconut palms and eucalyptus trees. There are hot springs and numerous mountain streams. Wildlife includes the cuscus (a species of marsupial), monkeys, deer, civet cats, snakes, and crocodiles.

Most of the people are of Papuan, Malayan, and Polynesian origin and are predominantly Christian. About 40 different Papuan and Malayan languages or dialects are spoken, dominated by Tetum. Portuguese is spoken by a small fraction of the population, but it is one of the country’s two official languages, the other being Tetum; Indonesian and English are considered to be “working” languages.

If you work in Timor-Leste then you will definitely spend a lot of money just to get Tetum language training. Therefore in this blog I would like to share some day-to-day language in English-Tetum which can help you save your pocket money. 😁

Let's Start!

Nu	English	Tetum
1	What is your name?	Ita naran sá?
2	My name is…	Hau nia naran…
3	How are you?	Ita diak ka lae?
4	I am good, how about you?	Hau diak, oinsá ho ita?
5	Very good	Diak lós
6	Where do you live	Ita hela iha nebé?
7	I live at…	Hau hela iha…
8	Where do you work?	Ita serbisu iha nebé?
9	I work at…	Hau serbisu iha…
10	What is your father’s name?	Ita nia aman naran sá?
11	What is your mother’s name?	Ita nia inan naran sá?
12	My father’s/mother’s name is…	Hau nia aman/inan naran…
13	How many brothers do you have?	Ita iha maun-alin nain hira?
14	I have two brothers and 2 sisters	Hau iha maun nain-rua no bin nain-rua
15	Where did you study?	Ita uluk eskola iha nebe?
16	Can you tell me the story about…	Ita bele konta istoria mai hau kona-bá…
17	The weather is very hot today	Ohin loron rai manas lós
18	Looks like it's going to rain today	Hare hanesan udan sei mai ohin loron
19	When was the last time you saw (him/them)?	Ita hasoru (nia/sira) ba dala ikus horibainhira?
20	I met him/them about a (week/month/year) ago	Hau hasoru nia/sira iha (semana/fulan/tinan) ida liu ba
21	Do you like soccer?	Ita gosta futebol?
22	Yes! I like it	Sim! Hau gosta
23	Do you know how to play guitar?	Ita hatene toka viola?
24	Yes! I know	Sim! Hau hatene
25	I like to eat grilled chicken, where can I get it?	Hau gosta hán manu-lalar, hau bele hetan iha nebé?
26	I love swimming, where do you think is the best place to swim?	Hau gosta nani, tuir ita nia hatene fatin atu nani nian diak liu maka iha nebé?
27	How much is this?	Ida ne’e folin hira?
28	This is very expensive	Ne’e karun lós
29	Can you reduce the price a little bit?	Ita bele hatún nia folin oitoan?
30	Yes, of course!	Sim, bele!

Dear readers, don't forget that the Tetum language is greatly influenced by the quotation marks in each letter.

For example:

Nebé – Where

Ne’ebe – So, Then…

Hakuak – Hug

Haku’ak – Perforate

If you have a word that you don't understand or you want a translation in Tetum, don't forget to write it in the comments.

Have a Good Day!😊

CLIMATE CHANGE IN TIMOR-LESTE

CLIMATE CHANGE IN TIMOR-LESTE

Timor-Leste was Portuguese colony until 1975 and also under Indonesian sovereignty from 1975 to 1999.

In 1999 there was a popular referendum that was held under the UN auspices, the International Force for East Timor kept the peace until formal independence was established in 2022. After that, the United Nations began to recognize East Timor as Timor-Leste after achieving formal independence on May 20, 2002.

Many efforts have been made by the government of Timor-Leste for the prosperity of the people and the country since 2002 until now and many donors (Embassy of Japan, The Asian Development Bank-ADB, Australian Government, and other donors) invested in providing clean water to the communities, but many of its citizens still have problems with their basic needs, especially clean water, even though many donors have invested in the provision of clean water for communities in Timor-Leste. The problem of clean water is not a problem in the entire country but has a very positive impact on residents in several districts and rural areas, and this sometimes leads to crime among Timorese.

According to the Fresh Water Watch Organization, the quality of fresh water is just as important as the quantity. Poor water quality is the cause of more deaths each year than from all forms of violence, including wars. Poor water quality is also putting over 50% of freshwater fish species and 30% of amphibians at risk of extinction.

Water quality refers to a range of measures including temperature, pH, nutrient, and chemical levels. These levels naturally vary between different freshwater environments, but human activity can cause extreme changes in water quality, from which natural environments cannot always recover.

You will have heard about the devastating impact of oil spills in marine environments, but did you know that our freshwater environments are also under threat, from the chemicals we use every day? This pollution comes from our farms, our homes, our roads, our sewage treatment works and more.

However, of all the problems that exist, if it is reviewed carefully, it is the residents themselves

who are the source of the problem because the community is not yet aware of the importance of protecting nature and its resources.

Until now the residents still have characteristics that are not beneficial to nature such as burning forests during the dry season, illegal logging, traditional farming method, less participation in reforestation activities, and cutting wood in the mountains for firewood and selling it to local markets including national markets.

Because of all these problems, climate change often occurs which is very unfavorable for the country which is dubbed as the youngest country in Southeast Asia, such as prolonged heavy rains, cyclones, flash floods, landslides, and long droughts that make its citizens suffer.

 

Question for the reader, what is a good solution for this? 

What kind of technologies need to be addressed?

I am waiting for your answers in the comments.

PROMOTIONS!

Acio Ferquin - Ema Ne'e Maka Hau

Acio Ferquin - Matan Wen Sei Maran