Once you’ve introduced yourself to someone in Cumbraek you’ll probably want to know a little more about them and tell them about yourself.
Where Do You Live?
To find out where someone lives you say Cu thrigidh? Where do you live? or, if you’re being very formal or talking to more than one person, Cu thriget? Where do you (pl.) live? Here are some responses:
- Mi trigav in Aber Duwon I live in Aberdeen
- Mi trigav in Livrpoll I live in Liverpool
- Mi trigav in Workington I live in Workington
The word in in causes nasalisation to the following word, e.g. Mi trigav in Nin Edin I live in Edinburgh. Unusually, word in itself also changes to match the following sound – it is ing before words beginning g- or c- and im before m-, b-, p- or f-.
- Mi trigav ing nGlaskow I live in Glasgow
- Mi trigav ing Cayr Luwel I live in Carlisle
- Mi trigav im Pennrit I live in Penrith
- Mi trigav im Fleetwood I live in Fleetwood
In most cases, foreign-language place names do not undergo mutations. This includes English names which are not assimilated into Cumbraek. So we would usually say Mi trigav im Belfast I live in Belfast or Mi trigav in Derby not **Mi trigav im Melfast or **Mi trigav in Nerby. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, though.
Once you’ve responded to the question, you’ll probably want to reciprocate by asking A thidi? And you? (formal: A hwiwi?), which is a helpful catch-all phrase to keep the conversation going.
Talking About Work
The word for job or occupation is soodh. To find out what someone does for a living you can ask Peth iw de soodh? What is your job? (formal: Peth iw ach soodh?) or Cu gnividh? Where do you work? (formal: Cu gnivyet?). The simple answer to these questions is the name of your occupation followed by oov I am, eg:
- Medhik oov I’m a doctor
- Ammaythur oov I’m a farmer
- Postidh oov I’m a postal worker
Another option is to say Mi gnivyav in… I work in… followed by your place or field of work (remember the word following in is nasalised!):
- Mi gnivyav ing clavdy I work in a hospital
- Mi gnivyav in Starbucks I work in Starbucks
- Mi gnivyav im fainans I work in finance
By replacing in with er you can say I work for…, e.g. Mi gnivyav er MI6 I work for MI6, Mi gnivyav er cunsarn mu teylou I work for my family business.
You can find more names of occupations here and places of work here.
Cumbraek 