Conversations: Daily Life in Tasha Rural Township

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These two texts paint starkly contrastive pictures of daily life. At first glance it might seem as though women do all the work, but this is not really the case. Educating children costs money, so typically the men go into the big cities to work in factories or on building sites while their wives manage the family farm on their own. Once their children have left home, life becomes a little more relaxed. Older folk often just look after the livestock while younger family members farm the land.

3.3.1: Village Life
3.3.2: Retirement

Zhang Fenglian & Liu Zhenying, Tasha Rural Township, Longshan County
recorded on 21 July 2002

01	A: bi²zi¹sa³ li³ me li³, mu²la¹ pa¹ sa³li³-di²-ta¹tiu¹. ang, bai¹die¹ wan³qian³ bi²zi¹sa³, ang² cu¹ me, wan³qian³ bi²zi¹sa³, qian³bu¹, bai¹die¹ wo⁴ta³ hhi² be² wan³qian³ bi²zi¹sa³ ang. A: Speak Tujia, don't speak any Chinese now. The children are completely Tujia-speaking, we all speak Tujia at home, all of us, the children always speak Tujia outside the home.
02	ang qi³ta¹di¹ me qie⁴ tai² me, qie⁴ li³ yo? ang, lao⁴reng³ga³-die¹ wan³qian³ tu¹jia¹zu³, mu²la¹ nian³qing¹reng³-die¹ ang² yi² pao¹ qian³bu¹ si¹ bi²zi¹ka³, ang. Other things, there's nothing to add, what should I say? The old people are all Tujia, nowadays our young people, we are all Tujia.
03	nian³zu³, qing³mo¹ bai¹die¹ ga⁴ la¹hu³ da⁴ zeng¹di¹hua¹, ku⁴-di you¹ mai²-di eng, bai¹die¹ ga⁴ la¹hu³ da⁴ zeng¹di¹hua¹ lao¹huo⁴ me, tuo¹ eng, bai¹die¹ ye⁴-bo³ mo³ zeng¹di¹hua¹ ku⁴ lie³ ku⁴. The New Year pig... All these children together, truly, we could have opened a shop to sell our unhappy times, we had so many. Having all these children was really tiring, raising them, raising the children really was hard.
04	mu²la¹ me you² kuai², gai¹huan³-le, kuai²huo¹-liao³ me be² kuai²huo¹-da², kuai²huo¹-liao³. ai¹, ni² ai¹ mu²la¹ me, you² ya²-hao¹-liao³. ai¹di¹ si³jie³ die³, guo² ku⁴ mo³, ku⁴ mo³ guo² yao¹gang¹ duo³ tuo³-liao³, guo²duo³... Now it's better, liberation, things are better, and sometimes not, happier. Things are better for you nowadays. Those days, your husband worked so hard that his back became bent, he himself...
05	B: mu²la¹ me, bai¹die¹ yi²si¹ qi¹si²-ji²-liao³, ni² ceng³long³be² da⁴ ai¹di¹ (null)-di¹xi³... ni² ang² da⁴ze³-da², ang² da⁴ze³ meng bai¹die¹ yi²si¹ bi²kui¹-bo³-la¹-nie². B: Now the children are all grown up, you and Cheng Longbe together can... you are not like us, we have children who are still small.
06	nian³qing¹ be² hong³huan⁴ hang²nie³, be² gai⁴-lang² ge²-bo³-da² la, nga² ni² qi¹ma¹ si³ lai¹ nian³, si³ lai¹ nian³ ci⁴. It's always like this when they are young. Our ages are not that different, You are at least ten years older than I am, ten or so years.
07	A: ai¹ si³, si³ yi² nian³ ci⁴-nie³, nga² long³bai³ qi² si³ sui²-liao³ wa. se² me, sang¹ si². B: nga² me, si² si³ lu² qi²-liao³. A: jiu¹ jian¹ luo, se² da⁴ze³ me hai³ zai² qing³nie². A: Ten, eleven years older, I'm seventy this year. You, you are in your thirties or forties. B: I'm forty-six or seven. A: There you are,
08	B: ye¹ hang²nie³ la. ai¹di¹ you² hang²nie³, suo⁴ti³ be² hang²nie³, ye³ ri¹ be² ya² lao¹huo⁴, hong³huan⁴ gai² da⁴ze³, ni² guo²duo³ ku⁴ me ri¹-ta¹ you² bang²hua¹ tai². your time is still to come. B: Indeed it is, that's the way it is. Your health is the same, you work and you tire more easily.
09	A: ai¹ huan² ri¹-duo³, zi⁴ la long⁴ a, zi⁴ ga⁴ long³ long⁴ me, ye³ ri¹ me ni² be² ge⁴ bo³ la² long¹ hui³liao² le, be² tong³qian³... It's always like this, you work hard, but you have no choice. A: You have to keep on working: raise some pigs, raise a few pigs, work in the fields, you give them fertiliser for a year, you need money...
10	B: jiu¹ huo²nie³ bu²si¹, ni² cu¹ gao¹ be² suan² bu² long¹ zang², ni² qie⁴ gao¹ duo³ be² lao¹huo⁴, you² ye³ ri¹, qie⁴ gao¹ duo³ be² hang²nie³. B: It's like that, isn't it; you can't make ends meet, whatever you do leaves you tired, you work some more, whatever you do is like this.
11	A: you² bai¹die¹ mu²la¹ ci¹ci¹ tu¹-nie³ si³jie³ me, zi⁴ lao⁴ nie¹ long³ long⁴ a, ge⁴ze¹ lao⁴ cong¹ heng, jiu¹ huo²nie³, be² tong³qian³ dian² xie², ci¹ci¹ la¹ pang³. A: Now my child is at school, when they're at school, I keep two pigs, enough for school fees. In this way, I can have some money to send them to school.
12	B: gai² gao¹-ta¹ me kei³-lie¹ huo³-di² o? ni² ye³ri¹ma¹ tou³seng¹-bo³ bang²hua¹ tai², gao¹-ta¹ me, hang²nie³. B: If you don't do this, where would you get [money] from? If farming is your lot, that's the only way to get it.
13	A: ye³ri¹ma¹ me, huan² zang⁴jing³, huan² guo²duo³ ji²hua¹ la² di⁴ o. A: Farmers, they're getting ahead, but they must have their own plans.
14	B: eng, gao¹-ta¹ me bu²xing³, ni² gao¹-ta¹ me tai², hang²nie³ dian² duo³ tai², hang²la³, ang ni² gao¹-ce¹ me, be² dian² xie² ang, hang²la³ ang... B: If you don't, it won't do; if you don't, then you can't [earn money], you won't have anything. If you do something, then you'll get a bit, it's like that...
15	A: ni² guo²duo³ luo⁴ la² zi²-bo³, lao³dong²li³ me huan² dian² xie². B: si³tie² ngang²-da²-nie², me²ze³ kei³-lie¹ huo³-di² o? qie⁴ duo³ tai² la, ai¹ si³jie³ da⁴ze³, cu¹ gao¹. A: ni² ai¹di¹ ri¹ heng⁴-ma¹ jia¹cu¹ me you² tai² luo. A: You're also an able-bodied individual, you do have the ability to work. B: There's no water in the paddy fields, where are you going to get rain from? There's nothing worth selling, so we stayed at home, just like in the past. A: You don't have any fit young relatives who can help you.

Peng Shikuan & Wang Huanming, Tasha Rural Township, Longshan County
recorded on 21 July 2002

01	A: nga² le zao⁴gu¹die¹ le, ei¹di¹ da²kai¹ ba² dian¹zong¹ yi¹qian³ zu²-diu², zu²-le yi¹hou² le ce³ lian¹ tong¹ di¹di¹, ce³ di¹di¹ yi¹hou² le, ai¹lie¹ jiu¹ xie¹pong¹ la² dong² wo¹ A: In the morning, I usually get up before eight o'clock. After getting up, I fetch two buckets of water. After getting the water, I wash the cooking-pot.
02	xie¹pong¹ wo¹-le yi¹hou² le, zi³hhe³ wo¹-lie³ jiu¹ ai¹ mei³lu³zi³ ga³-lie¹ jiu¹ mang¹mang¹ la¹ bang², ge³la¹bi¹ bang² le eng¹ge¹la¹bi³ ha¹ce¹ you² dian² la² dong² zun¹bei³, ai¹lie¹ tuo³tuo³ [huo³lie³] guo² cai³mo¹ la² dong² suo⁴, When I've washed the pot, I wash some rice and cook it on top of the coal burner. While the rice is cooking, I prepare a few vegetables and slice them up neatly with a chopper.
03	suo⁴-lie³ yi¹hou² eng, ai¹lie¹ nga² jiu¹ zao⁴huan³ la² hu³-lang² ga²-la¹-hu³. re² huan² di¹di¹-bo³ hu³-la¹, nga² huan² da²kai¹ ong¹ wo³ ze² hai³si² hu³-duo³. After slicing them, I start eating my breakfast, on my own. I'm always bringing wine back to drink, five or six mouthfuls with every meal, I still need my wine.
04	nga² ri¹-xi² mang, wo³ ze², wo³ ze² ri¹-la¹-nie² a, ti¹zi¹ hai³si² hao¹qian² gao¹-di¹xi³-nie². ai, lai⁴ sa³ tai², zao⁴huan³ ga²-ji²-lie³ jiu¹ qie³bi² la¹ wo¹. My habit, six mouthfuls, I'm still used to six mouthfuls, my body is still able to take that much. And if I've nothing to do that day, I wash up after finishing breakfast.
05	wu² jie⁴-lie³, ai¹lie¹ nga²duo³ you² eng¹ge¹ ge⁴ da⁴ha³ pai³ ji¹ pai³ ha³, pai³ ha³-lie³ yi¹hou² le you² eng, ai¹lie¹ you² ye²huan¹ bang²-bo³ ga². I take the cow out, and then I go round to their place to play a few rounds of cards. After playing cards, I cook my evening meal and eat it.
06	ye²huan¹ bang²-bo³ ga²-lie³ me you² dian²si² ga⁴ dong² ba⁴, ba⁴-lie³ da²kai¹ si³ lai¹ dian¹zong¹, nga² xi³guan²-liao³. After the evening meal, I watch a bit of television, watching until about ten o'clock, that's my usual habit.
07	ei! xiao¹ye¹-duo³-nie², you² ye³ la² mong² ga²-nie²; re² suo¹ ze² zai² hu³-lie³; ai¹lie¹ jiu¹ nie²-bo³-hu³. you! ngo¹ yi² tian¹-di seng¹huo³ jiu¹ ze²guo¹ xi³guan², jian¹-wan³liao¹ o! Oh! I also have a midnight snack, I still need another meal, drinking about three mouthfuls of wine, and then I go to bed. So, my daily life follows this pattern, that's all!
08	B: ngo¹ hao¹qian² mei³you¹ seng¹mo³ jian¹-di. A: ri¹ la! B: nga² hao¹qian² he²ba³ la li³-ci³ tai² me, qie⁴ duo³ jing¹ li³-lie³ li³-ci³la¹ tai². B: I don't really have anything to say. A: Go on! B: I don't have anything worth saying, you've said it all, there's nothing more to say.
09	la² nie¹ hi⁴lie³ ga²-lie³ me jiu¹ ri¹, ri¹-lie³ me ga², ai¹lie¹ me qi³ta¹di¹ qie⁴ li³ yo? gai³di¹ qie⁴ yi²si³ la¹ tai², li³-ci³la¹ tai² ya! Every day I eat and I work, work and eat, what else is there to say? This really isn't very interesting, there's nothing to say.
10	A: ni² re² hu³-ti². B: nga² re² hu³-ti², nga² re² hu³-da². la² nie¹ hi⁴lie³ qie⁴, he²ba³ li³-ci³ tai², mei²die³ hao¹duo¹ jian¹-di! A: You can't drink. B: I can't drink, I don't drink. Every day is the same, there's nothing to say, I don't have much to say!
11	A: na² wo¹ jiu¹ mei³you¹ jian¹-di la! A: I don't have anything to say either!

-: - pn: Tujia language vt: to say part: (topic marker) advt: now n: Chinese language n+vt: to speak vsuff: [come] vsuff: [can't+now] part: (excl) n: children advm: completely pron: we n: home n: all n: outside vt: to go advm: also n: other (ones) pron: what vi: to not have part: (excl) n: elderly person nsuff: [plural] n: Tujia minority n: youth num: one cl: crowd vc: to be n: Tujia minority n: pig killed at New Year pron: how num: several, how many? cl: (for people) advm: all, together expr: true words, truth vi: to be hard, difficult suff: ['s] vt: to have vt: to sell part: (excl) vi: to be tired vt: to drag vt: to pull vsuff: [stative] part: (-wise) part: (emphasis) advm: again; both... vi: to be fast vt: to liberate vsuff: [past] vi: to be cheerful vsuff: [past+now] vsuff: [not] pron: that pron: you vt: to compare vsuff: [well] pron: that n: period of time part: (emphasis) pron: he n: lower back advm: all vt: to carry on the back pron: (him)self -: - advm: all vi: to grow up vsuff: [end] pn: (name of a person) vt: (omitted verb) vsuff: [can] vt: to resemble part: (topic marker) n: small (one) vsuff: [continuous, repetitive] vsuff: [yet] vi: to be young advm: always advm: like this pron: many; how many? suff: [only] vt: to separate part: (excl) pron: I, me advm: at least num: ten vt: to come cl: year vi: to be large suff: ['s] advt: this year num: seven cl: year (of age) part: (excl) pron: you (pl) num: three num: four num: six conj: then vt: to tell part: (excl) advm: still vt: to be at advt: after, behind advm: also n: body n: thing vt: to work, do pron: this vsuff: [won't] n: means advm: always vsuff: [want] n: pig vt: to give birth; to raise part: (excl) cl: (for animals, fish, jars, logs, plants) pron: they part: (IO) num: one cl: year n: fertiliser part: (new topic marker) n: money advm: so vc: is not vt: to work, do vt: to calculate neg: not vt: to gather up n: tent n: writing, books vt: to read, study num+cl: one (person/animal) num: two pron: they vi: to be sufficient part: (excl) n: a little vt: to have cl: a while vt: to supply pron: where nsuff: [at, from] vt: to hold part: (excl) n: farmer vi: to seek a livelihood vi: to make progress n: plan vt: to want vi: to not work advm: like this vsuff: [willing] n: person vt: to change n: labour n: (irrigated) field vi: to submerge n: rain vi: to be formidable vsuff: [doer] n: family members advt: morning pron: that advm: approximately num: eight cl: o'clock advt: before vi: to go out vsuff: [come+now] advt: after n: water num: two cl: bucket vt: to carry conj: then n: three-legged pot for cooking rice cl: (for actions taking a short time to do) vt: to wash n: rice (as grain) vsuff: [past] n: coal stove n: on n: cooked food vt: to cook advl: here advl: there n: vegetables vt: to prepare n: kitchen chopper vt: to use advm: well vt: to cut, slice n: breakfast cl: (for people) vt: to eat, bite vsuff: [imminent] n: wine, spirits vt: to drink, smoke num: five num: six cl: mouthful, sentence advm: still vsuff: [can] part: (excl) n: body, constitution advm: as if part: (excl) advt: today n: words, matters n: bowl n: cow vt: to chase pron: I myself advl: there advm: all, together n: playing card num: some, several cl: round of cards vt: to hit n: supper n: television vt: to look at vt: to be accustomed part: (excl) vi: to have a night-time snack n: cooked rice, meal cl: (for meals) num: three num: [about] vi: to go to bed part: (excl) pron: I, me cl: day n: life pron: this vsuff: [completed] vi: to not have pron: what advm: such a big one vsuff: [that which] advm: usually vsuff: [that which] cl: day num: [each one] pron: this n: meaning advd: a little part: (excl) vsuff: [can't] vt: to not have n: a lot pron: that pron: I, me