Getting to Know You, Part 2

This post continues the conversational theme. Here we’re beyond the introduction stage and beginning to find out things about the person we’re speaking with. Thanks again to Prrton for his great work on this.

First, some useful expressions to help out generally in oral communication:

WHEN YOU’RE STUCK OR DON’T UNDERSTAND

11.  Sorry, I didn’t get that. Could you repeat it, please?
Hìtxoa, ke tslolam. Rutxe liveyn.

The transitive verb leyn means ‘repeat, do again.’ It’s applicable to any action or activity. For example, a mother can say to a naughty child who’s just been chastised for a misdeed, Rä’ä liveyn! ‘Don’t do that again!’ In the context of a conversation, it’s understood that the action in question is speaking, so you’re asking the speaker to repeat the last thing he/she said.

For added politeness:

12.  I didn’t quite understand. OR I may not have understood.
Ke tslolatsam.

The response on the part of the repeater is:

13.  Sure. (Gladly. With pleasure.) What I said was . . .
Nìprrte’. Poltxe san . . .

If you need clarification:

14.  Could you make that a bit clearer? Could you explain that further?
Tsun nga law sivi nì’it srak?

To ask the meaning of something specific:

15.  What does X mean?
Tsa’uri alu X, ral lu ’upe?

This actually means, of course, ‘What does the word X mean?’ If it’s not a word but a phrase you’re after, substitute tsa’fyaviri for tsa’uri.

A shorter and highly colloquial version of 15 is acceptable in informal circumstances:

16.  What does X mean?
X-(ì)ri peral?

Finally, what happens if you’re groping for a word or expression that’s not there, and no circumlocution comes to mind? Assuming you share another language with your audience, rather than having communication come to a screeching halt it’s better to insert the needed word or expression in the language you both know into the Na’vi sentence, preceded by nì’Ìnglìsì, nìFranse, nìToitsye, nìTsyungwen, etc. E.g., Sunu oeru nì’Ìnglìsì basketball nìtxan. (Of course, if you were Na’vi, you’d be more likely to pronounce “basketball” something like päsketpol, so that would be fine in this context as well.)


INITIAL CONVERSATIONS

17.  Tell me a bit more about yourself.
Nga läpivawk nì’it nì’ul ko.

18.  Tell me all about yourself.
Nga läpivawk nìno ko.

The adverb no means ‘in detail, expansively, thoroughly.’ The root on which it’s based, no, conveys the idea of fine detail. It’s not used by itself in modern Na’vi, but certain forms derived from it are found in the lexicon. Examples:

  • no adj.      ‘fine, detailed, precise, intricate–(of things)’
    Pol ngop frakrr sìkenongit a hìno lu nìhawng.
    ‘He always creates excessively detailed examples.’
  • leno adj.      ‘thorough, detail-oriented–(of a person)’
    Leno lu Loak nìtxan.
    ‘Loak is very thorough.’
  • no n.         ‘thoroughness, attention to detail’
    Längu tìkangkem feyä luke tìno.
    ‘Unfortunately there is no attention to detail in their work.’

The polite expression for “may I ask” is Ätxäle si oe pivawm, literally ‘I request to ask.’ (In an early version of the Avatar screenplay, the newly-arrived Norm is talking to a Pandoran for the first time in his overly formal, stilted Na’vi, and says: Ätxäle suyi ohe pivawm, peolo’ luyu pum ngengeyä? ‘May I ask what tribe you belong to?’)

19.  May I ask who the people in your family are?
Ätxäle si oe pivawm, ngari soaiä ayhapxìtu lu supe?

A couple of things to note here: First, the genitive of soaia ‘family’ is irregular: soaiä (not *soaiayä). Also, supe is ‘who (pl.)’—i.e., ‘what people’ as opposed to ‘what person.’

To ask someone’s age:

20.  How old you are?
Ngari solalew polpxaya zìsìt? OR Ngari solalew zìsìt apolpxay?

Literally, this is: ‘As for you, how many years have passed?’ Note that polpxay, ‘how many,’ behaves like an ordinary adjective.

In conversation, the age question may be shortened in several ways. The following are all possible, with decreasing formality as you move down the list:

  • Ngari solalew polpxay?
  • Ngari solew polpxay?
  • Solew polpxay?

As you see, if zìsìt will be understood from the context, it can be omitted. Also, in quick, casual speech, solalew reduces to solew, just as palulukan reduces to palukan. These reduced forms, however, are not used in written Na’vi except when you want to reproduce the effect of casual speech. (Compare “going to” vs. “gonna” in English.)

To answer an age question:

21.  I’m 24 years old.
Oeri solalew zìsìt apxevol.

Shorter, more colloquial versions:

  • Oeri solalew pxevol.
  • Oeri solew pxevol.
  • Solew pxevol.
  • Pxevol.

22.  Where are you from?
Nga z(ol)a’u ftu peseng / ftu tsengpe / pesengeftu / tsengpeftu ?

The choice between za’u and zola’u depends on the context. Zola’u is correct in all cases. However, if the question is a general one—“Where’s your hometown?”—then za’u is sufficient. But if the intention is “Where have you come from (to attend this gathering)?” then zola’u is required.

23.  I was born in a town near the ocean, but I now live in Hometree.
Oe ’olongokx mì sray a txampayìri sim, slä set kelku si mì Helutral.

The intransitive verb ’ongokx [’•ong•okx] means ‘be born.’ It’s a compound of ’ong ‘unfold, blossom’ and nokx ‘give birth to,’ where the internal ngn cluster has reduced to ng:
*’ongnokx > ’ongokx. (Note also that proper nouns are subject to lenition just like common nouns: mì Helutral.)

An example of nokx used by itself:

24.  Mom gave birth to my new sister yesterday.
Sa’nokìl oeyä tsmuket amip nolokx trram.

To ask about someone’s occupation or central activity:

25.  What is your primary role (in society)?
Ngaru lu pefnetxintìn nìtrrtrr?

Nìtrrtrr obviously means ‘on a daily basis, regularly.’ (Compare letrrtrr.) Pefnetxintìn, though, requires some explanation. Its first two morphemes (minimal elements of meaning) are clearly pe ‘what’ and fne ‘kind (of).’ But what about txintìn? It’s a compound noun derived from the adjective txin ‘main, primary’ and the noun tìn, ‘activity that keeps one busy.’ So txintìn could be glossed ‘occupation’ or ‘primary role in society.’

Some possible ways to answer the question:

26.  I am a student / hunter / warrior / teacher / cook.
Oe lu numeyu / taronyu / tsamsiyu / karyu / ’emyu.

27.  My central societal occupation is to catch fish.
Oeyä txintìn lu fwa stä’nì fayoangit.

28.  I look after the infants.
Oel vewng frrnenit.

The transitive verb vewng means ‘look after, take care of, be responsible for.’

29.  I tend to the refuse.
Oel vewng aysngelit.

30.  I see to it that the children learn about the forest plants.
Oel vewng futa ayeveng nivume teri ayewll na’rìngä.
(Note that this person does not necessarily teach the children regarding the flora, but makes sure that the teaching is taken care of whether he/she instructs directly or not.)

Edit 30 Sept.: Two minor typos corrected.

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21 Responses to Getting to Know You, Part 2

  1. Plumps says:

    Ma Karyu,

    What’s the word for ›busy beaver‹? 😀
    Truely useful vocabulary, again! Thank you so much.

    Interesting, sngel is countable…
    polpxay is also intersting – does the adjective-like quality only remains with this form or with holpxaype as well?

    ta Stefan

  2. Carborundum says:

    Munea trr, munea ‘upxare wou!

    I noticed that in the sentence alu
    Sa’nokìl oeyä tsmuket amip nolokx trram.
    you used the regular possessive pronoun rather than a topical construction. Are family members not considered inalienable possessions?

    As always, ngaru seiyi irayo!

  3. Tirea Aean says:

    Fìpìlok yawne lu oeru NÌTXAN.

  4. Kemaweyan says:

    Wou! Txantsan. Irayo nìtxan, ma Pawl. Fpìl oel futa fì’u lu nìtxan lesara aylì’u aylì’fyavisì nìngay 😉

    Ngian lu oer ‘a’awa tìpawm:

    1. Aylì’uri alu nìno, lenotìno lu ‘awa ngrr alu -no. Srake tsun tsaw livu tstxolì’u a tsari ral lu “detail“?

    2. Srake lì’ut alu sa’nok fkol ngolop ta lì’u alu nokx? Txo srane, tsakrr sa’-ìri peral?

    Tì’eyngìri oe siveiyi ngaru irayo 😉

  5. Kì'eyawn says:

    Tewti! ‘Upxare amuve a pximaw pum a’awve!

    I need to practice saying “Hìtxoa, ke tslolam. Rutxe liveyn.” Spaw oel futa tsalì’fyavit kayin nìtrrtrr. Probably also “Nìk’ong, rutxe…”

    Lu oer mesìpawm:

    If there is a plural form of tupe, is this true of other question words?
    E.g., Tewti, sop nga pxìm! *Sengpe folrrfen? Relatedly, i’m assuming question words can still take case markers when the -pe is at the end, kefyak?

    Also, if polpxay can behave like an adjective, is that also true of hìmtxan and tsawlhì’?

    Ngeyä tìkangkemìri atxantsan (sì tìnori) ngaru irayo seiyi oe nìtxan, ma Karyu!

  6. Dawid Dahl says:

    I’m no longer an active learner, but I really enjoy reading these entries and have subscribed to the blog. Thanks a lot for the time you put into this, Paul!

    Kxawm oel zusawkrr fìlì’fyati alor nìmun nìyevume.

    • Prrton says:

      Ruxte tivätxeiaw pxiye’rìn, ma Tavit. Furia mi ke terok ngal ayoehu set nìtrrtrr, pxìm ’efu oe keftxo nìtxan. Ngeyä ronsem tireasì lu nìngay meu alor ulte tìktok ngeyä längu na skxe mì te’lan.

      Pereiey oe nìsìlpey…

  7. Carborundum says:

    Rolun kxeyey ahì’i:

    Pol ngop frakrr sìkenongit a hìno lu nìhawng.
    ‘He always creates excessively detailed example.’

    Fìlì’u zene livu pum alu “examples“, kefyak?

  8. Candace says:

    Irayo Pawl!
    This does help alot actually, Im going to try to apply it when in Project NgayNume with Tirea and Kay and Le’eylan.
    Keep the fantastic work and im hoping it doesn’t snow soon here in edmonton!

  9. Wm Annis says:

    Ma Karyu Pawl,

    Pol ngop frakrr sìkenongit a hìno lu nìhawng.
    ‘He always creates excessively detailed examples.’

    Is this just a stylistic variant, or must attributive adjectives always be shunted into an attributive phrase if they take an adverb?

    • Pawl says:

      A probing question as always, ma Wìlyìm. Tsari irayo.

      The given sentence is indeed a stylistic variant–a particularly idiomatic one. But it’s also possible to omit the copula:

      (a) Pol ngop frakrr sìkenongit ahìno nìhawng. OR:
      (b) Pol ngop frakrr nìhawng hìnoa sìkenongit.

      The constraint is that the adjective has to be adjacent to the noun. That is, you can’t have

      (c) *Pol ngop frakrr hìno nìhawnga sìkenongit. (etc.)

  10. Ftiafpi says:

    Woohoo, reading material for the flight out. This is exceedingly useful stuff, irayo nìngay!

  11. `Eylan Ayfalulukanä says:

    Irayo ma Kayru!
    These two recent posts are a huge step to making Na`vi a useful language that can be used eyeryday. (I’ll be busy trying to take this all in for the next couple of days.) Thanks again for all you do!

  12. Muzer says:

    Mì tìkenong apxevomrrve, nga pamrel soli san aysgnelit sìk, slä ral ngeyä latsu aysngelit, kefyak?

    (Sorry for any mistakes, I’m pretty tired at the moment)

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