Ma smuk,
I thought you might like to hear about some of the Na’vi-related things I’ve been doing and am planning to do soon.
First, there’s this very nice segment in the PBS web series “The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers” which has been online for a while now. The taping was done here in Burbank, California last fall. If you scroll down, there’s a little Na’vi word puzzle I constructed that the aysulfätu lì’fyayä will find very easy (but try to fill in all the blanks without using the dictionary!) but that others might find challenging.
And keep checking the site for the appearance of Prrton’s contest-winning Na’vi haiku! It’s coming.
A week ago I was down in San Diego for this event at UCSD—the University of California San Diego—put on by the linguistics department.
It was quite a success. The audience was the biggest I’ve ever had—700 people! I guess that’s what happens when you put Star Trek, Avatar, and Game of Thrones together. 🙂 You can read about it here.
In the video on that page, my self-introduction in Na’vi could have been better—the “f” in fko (Oeru syaw fko . . . ) didn’t come out clearly. But it was there in my mind!
Oh, and here’s a picture of the three of us. The fellow in the middle is David Peterson, creator of the Dothraki language for “Game of Thrones” and the languages for the new TV series “Defiance.” And of course the guy on the right is Marc Okrand, the father of Klingon.
Photo by Grant Goodall
As for the future, I’m very excited about our upcoming trip to Europe, the highlight of which will be the EuroAvatar meet-up in Berlin. John and I will arrive on May 12. I hope we’ll get to meet some of you there!
And in July I’m very much looking forward to attending the U.S. AvatarMeet in Washington, DC, where I hope to connect with old friends and meet new ones.
Hayalovay . . . Eywa ayngahu nìwotx.
Wow, *loss for words*
Wish I could go to some of these, I really miss out on the wonderful people that go to the meetups =(
I hope you’ll be able to make it at some point, ma P.M.T., whether in Europe or the U.S.
Kaltxì ma Karyu Pawl,
It is very interesting blog post! Irayo! I hope you had a lots of fun and I hope you will have a lots of fun on the upcomming events (Avatar Meet, EuroAvatar).
Just enjoy it! 😉
Thanks, ma Tìtstewan. I certainly did have fun, and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming meet-ups.
Tewti! It sounds like you are keeping yourself really busy! Being a PBS system engineer, I was absolutely delighted to see you and Na’vi showcased in such a prominent way! That clip will be available to PBS viewers for many years to come.
I really wanted to come down to San Diego and hear You, David and Marc speak together. I fondly remember the event up in Boise a couple of years ago, and how much fun that was, meeting you and Marc for the first time. Now, I can honestly say I know all three people in that picture– I met David Peterson the summer after Boise, right in my home town, and we have been good friends ever since!
I hope you enjoy your upcoming travels. The European fans look like they are putting on a great meetup, and I am eagerly anticipating our meetup in DC this summer. See you there!
Thanks, Tim. Sorry you couldn’t be there, but I know it would have been a long trip for you. But the whole panel was videotaped, and I believe it’s going to be up on YouTube at some point. If it is, you’ll have a chance to see and hear a fluent speaker of the world’s most successful conlang, Esperanto. Our moderator, Grant Goodall, is truly fluent; without warning he began his introduction by speaking Esperanto for around three minutes. It was very impressive!
That was a lot of fun in Boise, wasn’t it. 🙂
Looking forward to seeing you DC.
AH! of course! I was confused at the title because I kept thinking of adp.- sìn, and not the short plural of tìn.
Cool stuff. 😀
I REALLY HOPE to attend US AvatarMeet 2013, but at the moment I am entirely unsure whether I am able to go or not.
Yup. Sìn the adposition and sìn the short plural are homonyms. Since they’re different parts of speech, they don’t fit into the same slots in a sentence, so for the Na’vi there shouldn’t be any confusion. (For us learners, however, it’s a different story.) The real problem with homonyms comes when they’re the same part of speech, like the adjectives right (not left) and right (not wrong) in English. With those, there’s real potential for misunderstanding.
Sìlpey oe, nga tsìyevun ne Wasyìngton kivä. Slä fìfya tsafya [one way or another], ngari tireal tsatenget tayok.
Fìfya tsafya!
🙂
Is it money or time holding you back ma Tirea?
Well, when I read this post first time, I was also wondering how adposition can be connected with adjective 🙂 but English translation gave me the correct meaning. Lenition is sometimes big hell only 🙂
I’ll take part in Euroavatar. It’s very close now, it starts next Saturday! Ke tsun pivey ulte ultxari hu Pawl alu Nawma Karyu awngeyä srefereiey nìprrte’!
’Efeiu oe nìteng, ma Blue Elf!. Very much looking forward to seeing you Berlin.