Pet: ngii / yao’yao

Named by Jale (ngii) and Razrez (yao’yao)

Humans call this little guy the yengi or yengi cat, though it’s more properly known in the Xi’an language as a ngii. It’s a semi-aquatic domesticated mammal that’s lived alongside the Xi’an since they first developed farming. It’s also their most popular pet. We picked ngii for the animal’s proper name, based on Jale’s suggestion that an animal so old would have a simple name. His choice of ngii was also very Xi’an-sounding to our ears. We picked yao’yao as a nickname for the animal for similar reasons.

Jale has also suggested two wonderful idioms:

o ki’a loa .u Ngii Y.āth – Yath eats like a Yengi – Yath eats quickly and quietly.

e run nai’yeth e Ngii Thl.oan – Thloan has the deep knowledge of a yengi – Somewhat sarcastic. Yengi aren’t especially smart or wise, but do sit in your house all day watching you. So this implies that Thloam is a gossip, obsessed with the personal lives of his peers.

Congratulations to both of you!

Britton’s Comments

This animal is so common in Xi’an culture and has been around for so long that it would not likely have a long descriptive name. Just like “dog” or “cat” or “beaver,” for which we are not commonly aware of the words’ etymologies, the ngii would be so “every-day” in Xi’an lives that they would not think about the term’s origins either. “Beaver” actually likely derives from an Indo-European linguistic root meaning “brown,” but who knew that before reading it here? The common nickname, yao’yao, is based on the sounds that the creature makes. The Xi’an would be more likely to use this term when speaking with children about the animal and ngii pups would also be more likely to be referred to by this diminutive nickname. cf: “cat” vs. “kitty.”

Honorable Mention