Lemko быти ⟨bŷty⟩ ‘be’

To be or not to be? Быти або не быти? That is the question, and now you can conjugate the infinitives made famous by the opening line of Hamlet’s soliloquy in Lemko using the automatic translation service LemkoTran, or craft your own copulae using this handy DIY guide.

Translations

The Lemko verb быти (scientific transliteration: ⟨bŷty⟩) means”to be” in English, być in Polish, бути ⟨buty⟩ in Standard Ukrainian, and быть ⟨byt’⟩ in Muscovite Russian.

English	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
be	быти ⟨bŷty⟩	być	бути	быть

Etymology

The Lemko infinitive быти ⟨bŷty⟩, meaning “to be”, comes from the Proto-Slavic athematic verb *byti, and is related to Sanskrit भूति ⟨bhūtíṣ⟩ “wellbeing” (Vasmer 1953, p. 159; Pokorny 1959 147), Persian بودن ⟨būdan⟩ “be” (Pokorny, p. 147), Latin futūrus “future” (Vasmer, p. 159, Pokorny, p. 149), and via Old English bēon, English be (Pokorny, p. 149).

Attestation

Hamlet’s famous opening line “To be or not to be, that is the question” is alluded to in the following published pieces found in the wild:

Для дакотрых орґанізаций є то быти або не быти, значыт, без тых грошів не сут в силі нич зреализувати.” (LEM.fm 2021)

Transcription

dl'a dakotrŷch organizacyj je to bŷty abo ne bŷty, značŷt, bez tŷch hrošiv ne sut v syl'i nyč zrealyzuvaty.

Translation

For some organizations, it's to be or not to be, meaning they will not be able to achieve anything without those funds.

От нашых діл и нашой віры буде рішатися вопрос: ци нам лемкам быти, ци не быти?….” (Цисляк 1964, p. 162)

Transliteration

Ot našŷch dil y našoj virŷ bude rišatysia vopros: cy nam lemkam bŷty, cy ne bŷty?…

Translation

Our affairs and our faith will be decide the question of whether we Lemkos are to be or not to be…

Inflection

Future Tense

Root: буд– ⟨bud-⟩

The future tense of the Lemko verb for to be, быти ⟨bŷty⟩, is formed by adding personal endings to the root bud-, equivalent to will in English.

Etymology

Lemko bud- comes from the Proto-Slavic root *bǫd-. Compare the suffix -bund in English moribund from Latin moribundus (Pokorny, p. 150, Vasmer, p. 136).

Conjugation Table

English	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
I will	буду ⟨búdu⟩	będę	буду	буду
you will	будеш⟨búdeš⟩	będziesz	будеш	будешь
(s)he will	буде ⟨búdet⟩	będzie	буде	будет
we will	будеме ⟨budéme⟩	będziemy	будемо	будем
you all will	будете ⟨budéte⟩	będziecie	будете	будете
they will	будут ⟨búdut⟩	będą	будуть	будут

Reference

Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 106).

Present Tense

Root: є– ⟨je-⟩, с– ⟨s-⟩

In Lemko, the present tense of the verb to be is formed in the singular from the root є- ⟨je-⟩, and in the plural from the root с- ⟨s-⟩.

Etymology

All the below forms trace back to the ancestor of the Proto-Slavic root *es-, to which personal endings were affixed. Compare to English is, German ist, Latin est, Ancient Greek ἐστί ⟨estí⟩, Persian است ⟨ast⟩, and Sanskrit अस्ति ⟨ásti⟩ (Pokorny, pp. 340-341; Vasmer, p. 405).

Conjugation Table

English	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
I am	єм ⟨jem⟩	jestem	є	есть
you are	єс ⟨jes⟩	jesteś	є	есть
(s)he is	єст ⟨jest⟩a	jest	є	есть
we are	сме ⟨sme⟩b	jesteśmy	є	есть
you all are	сте ⟨ste⟩c	jesteście	є	есть
they are	сут ⟨sut⟩	są	є	есть

^a The Lemko third-person singular form єст ⟨jest⟩ is now being replaced by є ⟨je⟩, though this is still rare (Fontański & Chomiak 2000, p. 109).

^b Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) give the Lemko first-person plural form as (єсме)сме/зме ⟨(jesme)sme/zme⟩.

^c Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) give the Lemko second-person plural form as (єсте)сте ⟨(jeste)ste⟩.

Reference

Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 106).

Past Tense

Root: был- ⟨bŷl-⟩

The past tense of the verb “to be” is formed in Lemko by adding any appropriate gender and plural markers to the stem был- ⟨bŷl-⟩, translatable into English as was or were.

Etymology

Lemko был ⟨bŷl⟩ is undoubtedly the continuation of Proto-Slavic resultative participle *bylŭ. Compare to Ancient Greek φῦλον ⟨phylon⟩ (Vasmer, p. 159), whence English phylum.

Conjugation Tables

Masculine

Use the following to refer to males or mixed parties of males and females, as well as objects of grammatically masculine gender. Male virility is not a grammatical category in Lemko, unlike Polish.

English	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
I was	я былa ⟨ja bŷl⟩	byłem	я був	я был
you were	ты былb ⟨tý bŷl⟩	byłeś	ти був	ты был
he was	він был ⟨vin bŷl⟩	był	він був	он был
we were	мы былиc ⟨mŷ bŷly⟩	byliśmy	ми були	мы были
you guys were	вы былиd ⟨vŷ bŷly⟩	byliście	ви були	вы были
those guys were	они были ⟨ony bŷly⟩	byli	вони були	они были

^a Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite был єм ⟨bŷl em⟩ as an alternative masculine first person singular form of the past of the verb “to be”.

^b Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite был єс ⟨bŷl es⟩ as an alternative masculine second person singular form of the past of the verb “to be”.

^c Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite были сме ⟨bŷly sme⟩ as an alternative first person plural form of the past of the verb “to be”.

^d Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite были сте ⟨bŷly ste⟩ as an alternative second person plural form of the past of the verb “to be”.

Reference

Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 106).

Feminine

Use the below to refer to females and objects of grammatically feminine gender.

English	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
I was	я былаa ⟨ja bŷla⟩	byłam	я була	я была
you were	ты былаb ⟨tý bŷla⟩	byłaś	ти була	ты была
she was	она была ⟨ona bŷla⟩	była	вона була	он была
we were	мы былиc ⟨mŷ bŷly⟩	byłyśmy	ми були	мы были
you gals were	вы былиd ⟨wŷ bŷly⟩	byłyście	ви були	вы были
those gals were	они были ⟨ony bŷly⟩	były	вони були	они были

^a Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite была єм ⟨bŷla em⟩ and былам ⟨bŷlam⟩ as alternative feminine first person singular forms of the past of the verb “to be”.

^b Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite была єс ⟨bŷla es⟩ and былас ⟨bŷlas⟩ as alternative feminine second person singular forms of the past of the verb “to be”.

^c Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite были сме ⟨bŷly sme⟩ as an alternative first person plural form of the past of the verb “to be”.

^d Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 109) cite были сте ⟨bŷly ste⟩ as an alternative second person plural form of the past of the verb “to be”.

Reference

Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 106).

Neuter

Use the below to refer to objects of grammatically neuter gender.

English	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
it was	оно было ⟨ono bŷlo⟩	było	воно було	оно было
they were	они были ⟨ony bŷly⟩	były	вони були	они были

Reference

Fontański & Chomiak (2000, p. 106).

References

1. Fontański, H., Chomiak, M.  (2000). Ґраматыка лемківского языка [Grammar of the Lemko Language]. Śląsk.
2. Vasmer, M. (1953). Russisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, Erster Band: A – K [Russian Etymological Dictionary, Volume One: A – K]. Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.
3. Pokorny, J. (1959). Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, I. Band [Indo-Germanic Etymological Dictionary, Volume One]. A. Francke AG Verlag.
4. Цисляк, А. (1964). Нашы Родны Бескиды [Our Ancestral Beskid Mountains]. In: Карпаторусский Календарь Лемко-Союза На Год 1964. Типография Лемко-Союза.
5. Lem.fm (2021). Хто робит, а хто… но власні, што? [He Who Does, and He Who… Well, What?], www.Lem.fm.