Kxì nìmun! As promised, here’s a post that should add quite a few new entries to our dictionaries. I have more than 64 new words on my list; I’ll post 32 (°40) now and include the rest in a follow-up post shortly. Sìlpey oe, faylì’u amip sìyevunu ayngar ulte lesar lìyevu nìteng.
First, in keeping with the holiday season (mìftxele, for those who celebrate, Happy Easter and Happy Passover!), here is some new vocabulary specifically related to belief and the spiritual dimension:
aho (vin., a.HO, inf. 1,2) ‘pray’
Eywaru aho, ma ’itan, fte Nawma Sa’nokìl tìyevìng ngar tìtxurit.
‘Pray to Eywa, my son, that Great Mother will give you strength.’
Derivatives:
tìaho (n., tì.a.HO) ‘prayer (in general, abstract idea)
saho (n., sa.HO) ‘a prayer’
Saho is derived from *säaho, where the two vowels have merged.
syawn (n.) ‘blessing’
As in English, syawn can refer to the deity’s conferring favor upon something, or to someone’s sanction or support for a thing or activity.
Newey yawne lu oer ulte new oe muntxa sivi poehu. Rutxe, ma sempul, tìng moer ngeyä syawnit.
‘I love Newey and want to marry her. Please, father, give us your blessing.’
The verbal form is:
tìng syawn (vin.) ‘bless’
The syntax is similar to that of tìng mikyun, tìng nari, etc.
Eywa tivìng syawn ngar, ma ’ite.
‘May Eywa bless you, my daughter.’
(An alternative and acceptable rendering of the previous example is Eywal tivìng ngar sneyä syawnit.)
parul (n., pa.RUL) ‘miracle’
As in English, a parul is a surprising or extraordinary event with positive consequences that can’t be explained by the laws of nature and is often attributed to divine intervention. Also as in English, its meaning can be extended to events that are highly unusual, extraordinary, or unexpected.
Fwa ayioang apxay fìtxan Na’viru srung soli fte Sawtutet livätxayn lu parul nìngay.
‘That so many animals helped the Na’vi defeat the Sky People was a genuine miracle.’
Derivations:
parulnga’ (adj., pa.RUL.nga’) ‘miraculous’ (nfp)
parultsyìp (n., pa.RUL.tsyìp) ‘term of affection for children’
Txon lefpom, ma parultsyìp. Hivahaw nìmwey.
‘Good night, my dear little one. Sleep peacefully.’
A parul is more than unusual:
keltrrtrr (adj., kel.TRR.trr) ‘unusual’
(The derivation is obviously from ke + letrrtrr.)
It is in fact extraordinary:
txankeltrrtrr (adj., TXAN.kel.TRR.trr) ‘extraordinary’
nìtxankeltrrtrr (adv., nì.TXAN.kel.TRR.trr) ‘extraordinarily’
Oey ’eylan plltxe nìNa’vi na hufwe nìtxankeltrrtrr.
‘My friend speaks Na’vi extraordinarily fluently.’
Next, some vocabulary based on new roots:
hafyon (n., ha.FYON) ‘wisdom’
Note that hafyon is more than just tìomum ‘knowledge’; it implies the mature judgment that comes from experience.
Derivations:
lafyon (adj., la.FYON) ‘wise’ (ofp)
This comes from le + hafyon, where *lehafyon has evolved over time to simply lafyon.
hafyonga’ (adj., ha.FYO.nga’) ‘wise (nfp)’
(Here the n of hafyon has been absorbed by the ng of –nga’.)
So a wise leader is eyktan lafyon, while wise words are aylì’u ahafyonga’.
fkxara (n., FKXA.ra) ‘stress (mental or emotional feeling)’
Krra oe ftxulì’u, pxìm ’efu fkxarat nìtxan.
‘When I give a speech, I often feel a lot of stress.’
fkxaranga’ (n., FKXA.ra.nga’) ‘stressful’
Ngeyä fpomtokxìri fìtìfkeytok afkxaranga’ lu lehrrap.
‘This stressful situation is dangerous to your health.’
afpawng (n., a.FPAWNG) ‘grief’
Maw kxitx sempulä larmängu Peyralä afpawng txewluke.
‘After (her) father’s death, Peyral’s grief was endless.’
afpawng si (vin.) ‘grieve’
keyn (vtr.) ‘put down’
Keyn is the opposite of kxeltek ‘pick up.’
Ngey tskoti kiveyn. Li yerik holifwo.
‘Put down your bow. The hexapede has already run away.’
Some words connected with fire:
palon (vin., PA.lon, inf. 1,2) ‘burn’
We’ve already seen the transitive verb for ‘burn,’ nekx, which typically indicates fire burning or consuming something else. Palon is the intransitive ‘burn’:
Txep ahì’i mì teptseng parmalon.
‘A little fire was burning in the fireplace.’
rem (n.) ‘fuel’
Na’viri lu fìutralä rìn rem letsranten.
‘The wood of this tree is an important fuel for the Na’vi.’
tong (vtr.) ‘put out, quench’
Mawkrra ngal txepit tolong tsun hivum.
‘After you’ve put out the fire you can leave.’
The folks at the Disney theme park asked for some words to use with kids who are engaging in a coloring activity with crayons. First, they needed specific words for red and orange. As you know, the Na’vi words ean and tun cover the blue-green and red-orange parts of the spectrum respectively. Blue specifically is ta’lengean (“skin ean”) while green is rikean (“leaf ean”). But what about red and orange?
reypaytun (adj., REY.pay.tun) ‘red’ (“blood tun”)
(As a reminder, although the Na’vi have blue skin, their blood is red like ours.)
txeptun (adj., TXEP.tun) ‘orange’ (“fire tun”)
As for crayon:
vultsyìp (n., VUL.tsyìp) ‘stick’
’opinvultsyìp (n., ’O.pin.vul.tsyìp) ‘crayon’
A crayon, then, is literally a “color stick.” ’Opinvultsyìp is quite a mouthful for kids, but fortunately there’s a colloquial shortening:
pinvul (n., PIN.vul) ‘crayon’
Here’s a conversational term I think you’ll find useful:
srankehe (part., intj., sran.KE.he) ‘more or less, somewhat, yes and no, kind of’
You’re already very familiar with a compound word from srane + kehe, namely srake/srak. Srankehe comes from the same source but has a very different use. It’s an equivocal response to a yes-no question, when you don’t want to commit yourself—that is, when you want to hedge. You’re not saying yes, you’re not saying no.
A: Srake faysäfpìl lu pum ngey nìwotx?
‘Are all these ideas your own?’
B: Srankehe.
‘More or less.’
In colloquial speech, this word is usually pronounced srangkehe, although it’s not spelled that way.
tì’ongokx (n., tì.’O.ngokx) ‘birth’
Tì’ongokxìri ngeyä ’itanä seykxel sì nitram!
‘Congratulations on the birth of your son!’
Finally, a few words from my backlog of LEP suggestions:
rìkxi (vin., rì.KXI, inf. 1,2) ‘tremble, shake, shiver’
As the LEP members described it, “The meaning of this verb is ‘tremble, shiver’ as a leaf in the wind, or ‘shake’ as a vigorous, intentional movement. When not intentional, it is best described as a quick, erratic movement caused by the cold or [an] intense emotion.”
Pori mesyokx rìkxi, ha ke tsayun yerikit tivakuk.
‘His hands tremble, so he will not be able to hit the hexapede.’
Ralu rìkxi krra srew, rì’ir si palukanur a lu alaksi fte spivä.
‘Ralu does a shake while dancing, imitating a thanator that’s ready to leap.’
The transitive sense of shake is expressed by the causative <eyk> infix:
Reykìkxi utralti, zup mauti.
‘If you shake the tree, the fruit will fall.’ (That is, actions have consequences.)
Derivation:
nìrìkxi (adv., nì.rì.KXI) ‘shakily, tremblingly’
kawkxan (adj., kaw.KXAN) ‘free, unblocked, unobstructed, clear’
This is derived from ke + ’aw + exkan ‘barricade, obstruction.’
Nga tsun kivä set. Fya’o lu kawkxan.
‘You can go now. The way is clear.’
That’s it for Part 1. Part 2 of the Zama Lì’u Amip is coming soon.
As always, please let me know if you spot any typos or other goofs. And again, Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Happy Spring ayngaru nìwotx!
Hayalovay!
ta Pawl
P.S. My apologies to all those whose questions and comments I haven’t yet responded to. I will as soon as I can.
Tewti nìtxan nang!
Tsal ayoeti vayar ’eykivìn … pxaya swawo 🙂
I’m still rubbing my eyes, hoping it is not April Fool’s 😛
Pxaya lì’uri amip irayo seiyi nìtxan, ma Pawl. They are wonderful additions to the lexicon! For me especially, the word for a writing instrument is very dear to my heart 🙂
What is the difference between the hafyon-words and txantslusam (if there is any)? We have it listed as ‘wise’.
I’ve noticed in the first example sentence: *tìyeving should be tìyevìng.
And not an error, just a repetiton: mawftxele was already mentioned in the September 2017 blog post 😉
Ngeyä vusara tìslanìri sì slantireri fìlì’fyaolo’ä seiyi oe irayo ngaru nìtxan! Eywa tivìng syawn ngar.
Nìprrte’, ma Plumps. It’s my pleasure. 🙂
Txantslusam and lafyon are quite similar and can usually be used interchangeably. The hafyon words, however, have a bit more connotation of the wisdom and maturity that come with age. In any event, the usual word for ‘wisdom’ is hafyon, although tìtxantslusam is sometimes encountered.
Fìtìoeyktìngìri irayo nìmun. 🙂
Ke pey oel parulit slä …
[1] (ofp) = ? (nfp) = ?
[2] ftem = pass by but pass him by = don’t see him
pass by him= go and see him
[3] fkip = up among dictionary knows “up”, knows “among” but only separately
[4] no, later…
ofp = only for people; nfp = not for people.
merci, merci, merci
It is so obvious, I’m ashamed
Kaltxì ma Karyu Pawl! Mipa faylì’uri a lesar si irayo seiyi ayor ngaru. Sunu faylì’u taluna feyä pam lu lor.
However, you can’t get away without my jokes. 😛
1. Wou, mawl fya’oyä solalew! WOU, ayoe rerey fa saho!
2. Oeru äpll, oeru lu pinvul. O, äpll pinvul.
3. Tuteo syivaw 911! Yawntu txep peralon mì yo tìsrusewä!
Kìyevame ulte Eywa ngahu!
Srake fkol txepit li tolong, ma Vawmataw? 😉
hrh! Tsari oe sìlpey 😉
Ma nawma Karyu,
again many thanks for all the awesome new words and happy easter to you and your loved ones! 🙂
I have a small question regarding ‘opinvultsyìp (small typo there, btw, in your post: ‘opinvulstyìp)/pinvul; could this word refer to any drawing utensil like pencils, ball pens or even stylus (pinvul [eltuä] lefngap, maybe? hrh), or is it restricted to only crayons/colored pencils?
Even if this question may be redundant, I just want to make sure. 🙂
Tì’eyngìri ngeyä irayo nìli!
Kxì, ma EanaUnil.
Since ‘opinvultsyìp)/pinvul have the word for ‘color’ in them, I’d like to reserve those words for crayons or markers, which can be thought of as “color sticks.” A marker, as opposed to a crayon, could be, as you suggested, pinvul lefngap. (Most markers are made of metal, I think. Or are they plastic? Hmm . . . )
As for other drawing implements like pens and pencils, let’s call them pamrelvul, that is, “writing stick.” A pencil in particular could be a pamrelvul lerìn, a “wooden writing stick.” But that’s 5 syllables. In this case I think a borrowed term would be justified: pensìl, especially since it looks so Na’vi-like. 🙂
‘ä’, eltur tìtxen seiyi nìtxan! Irayo seiyi ngaru 🙂
That’s awesome, haha, and as an artist these additions made me really happy x)
Pamrelvul I like, loanwords are ok, too, of course. I’m just curious, still, though; could one say (instead of pensìl) something like relvul? 😀
Yes, I think relvul is OK. I was actually about to say it shouldn’t be shortened, since relvul would be a “picture stick” or “image stick,” and I tend to think of a pen as an implement for writing (pamrel), not drawing. But of course that’s wrong: People draw pictures with pens all the time! And besides, pamrel, a “sound image,” is just a special kind of rel. So relvul is fine. Good suggestion!
kaltxì ulte oe irayo si ngar, ma karyu Pawl
mipa aylì’u eltur tìtxen si sì zeiawprrte’ oene. nì’aw lu oeru ‘awa tìpawm- srake li lu ayoeru kemlì’u a sla’tsu kemit a sar pinvulit? lu tsaw kemlì’uvi alu weyn srak? txo zusawkrrmì tsakemlì’ut ngal kiyevar ayoeru, tsakrr tsivun oe maweypivey.
nìfrakrr fìfnepostì tsranten sì sunu oeru sì franumeyur alahe nìtxan. ngeyä srungìri oe irayo seiyi ngaru nìmun!
Ngeyä faylì’uri atìtstunwinga’ seiyi oe irayo, ma Pamìrìk. 🙂
Ngaru tìyawr. Pinvulìri kemlì’u a tsun fko sivar lu weyn.
Pol relit woleyn fa pinvul.
‘He drew a picture with a crayon.’
Slä ‘to color’ lu keteng.
‘opinsung (vtr., vin. ‘O-pin-sung, inf. 3,3) ‘color, color in’ (literally: ‘add-color’)
‘Evengìl fìrelit ‘opinsolung fa pinvul areypaytun.
‘The child colored (in) this picture with a red crayon.’
‘Eveng ‘opinsarmung mì fuk.
‘The child was coloring in a book.’
(I’ll add these new words to the next post to make sure no one misses them.)
wou! ngeyä tì’eyngìri zene oe irayo sivi ngaru nìmun!
Given the etymology of ‘opinsung, I now wonder if this would extend to painting or otherwise applying paints/dyes. At first glance, it appears to be a very broadly applicable verb!
Yes, I don’t see why ‘opinsung couldn’t be used as you’ve suggested. When you paint something you’re certainly adding color to it! 🙂
Kxì ma karyu Pawl 🙂 Oe irayo si ngaru fpi pxaya mipa aylì’u!!! Wou! Set awnga tsun pivlltxe nìNa’vi nì’ul. Fì’u lu txantsan nìwotx!
Irayo, ma Nick. Fwa sunu ngar faylì’u nìftxan oeru teya si.
While translating into German I noticed that the opposite of keyn should be kxeltek, not *keltxek 😛
Happens to me as well.
Fixed. Thanks!
Faylì’uri oe irayo si, ma Karyu!
I think I have spotted a typo
Eywaru aho, ma ’itan, fte Nawma Sa’nok tìyevìng ngar tìtxurit.
‘Pray to Eywa, my son, that Great Mother will give you strength
You miss -ìl in ‘Sa’nokìl’ or I’m mistaken.
Srane, ma tsmuk, oeri fpìl oe nìtengfya. Nìngay lu tìkelu uolì’uviyä alu -ìl.
Kezemplltxe ngaru tìyawr, ma Kxrekorikus. Irayo! (I’m thankful for my indefatigable team of faithful proofreaders!)
Kxì, ma Nawma Karyu a leioae seiyi oetsyìp nìtxan!
Hìtxoa, slä oeru lu mesìpawm: srake tsatsun fko lì’ut alu *tìkawkxan sivar fte ralpeng sivi pumur alu “freedom” krra tuteor fu ‘ioangor lu skxom tsu’osì a rikx, tìran, tul, fpìl, plltxe fu kem si luke ekxan? Srake skxapek tsatsun fko ngivop lì’uti alu *tìlawnonu fu *sälawnonu fte nìNa’vi pivlltxe pumit alu “liberty” krra ‘awpo spe’etu larmängu, pot ngian lalmoneiu fkol nì’i’a nì’aw? Furia eltu solatsi oe irayo seiyi nìli. Kìyevame ulte Eywa ngahu!
‘Ä’, ‘awa tìkxeyeyit tsìmeri oel..Fte ralpiveng pumit…
Kaltxì ngar, ma Marlon! Ulte txantsana faysäfpìlìri ngeyä irayo.
Kezemplltxe tsamelì’u alu “freedom” sì “liberty” tsranten nìtxan. Ha ngeyä aysämokteri a eltur tìtxen si new oe fpivìl nì’ul. Tìng oer krrti nì’it ulte tsayun oe ‘iveyng ngar ye’rìn, nìsìlpey.
(Nìvingkap pivlltxe oe san seiar ngal lì’fyati leNa’vi nìltsan nìtxan!)
Kaltxì nìmun, ma Karyu
Ngeyä aylì’uri atìtstunwinga’ kop säplltxeviri, oe irayo seiyi nìtxan. Mìftxele, ätxäle si oe läpivawk nì’it.
Oeru syaw fko Marlon ulte zola’u ftu *Prrazil/*Pìrazil (Brazil). Smon nìprrte’. Oeri solalew zìsìt apxevofu, pukapa zìsìto kelku soleiyi oe mì *Folìska (Poland).
Fìtsengne polähem oe fte tsivan’ul mezìsìto ftalmia nì’awtu oeyä txanlokxemì a lì’fyat lePolìska. Oeri txintìn lu fì’u a kar aylì’fyat a yawne leru oer takrra lamu ’eveng.
Sko haryu krro krro vrrengìn oe nìftxan, kuma ngäzìk slu fwa krrti run fte ftivia nìtut. Furia set vay ke fnängan oel futa nìNa’vi plltxe, tsap’alute si oe, taweyka tsat ftolia oel pxehintrro nì’aw ko. Sìlpey ngian oel tsnì tsyìyevìl haya yìne ye’rin.
Nìvingkap pivlltxe oe nìteng san ngaru fpalme’ oel upxaret a teri eltur tìtxen satsi a txeleo sìk. Kìyevame ulte Nawma Sa’nok ngar sì soaiaru ngeyä tivìng syawn fratrr! 🙂
Kaltxì ma Karyu Pawl,
This is probably a Cameronian question, but do the Na’vi either blush or sunburn, ie. do they “color up”? If so, I have another idea about clever potential applications of ‘opinsung, or some variation thereof… 😉
ta Alyara
Good question! And yes, it is Cameronian. (At least I’m not aware we’ve had information on this up to now.) I’ll try to ask JC the next time I see him. 🙂
Wou, mipa aylì’u apxay nìtxan! So much new words, it’ll take quite a lot of work to update dictionaries – maybe it is better idea to publish them in smaller batches? 😀
But I must ask some nitpicking questions, as often. Some words are similar to those already known, so:
– what is difference between yengwal and afpawng? They seems similar or very close to each other, so when to use first, when second? Can you give more details?
– tong sounds like sloan payti nemfa txep. Is such replacement possible / correct?
Tìkangkemìri a fpi lì’fyaolo’ awngeyä seiyi irayo.
Irayo, ma B.E. Yes, I know it requires a lot of work to update our dictionaries. But there’s no pressure. 🙂
Good question about yengwal and afpawng. The two words are similar and can sometimes be used interchangeably. Afpawng, though, is usually stronger. Yengwal expresses a great sadness, a feeling of loss, a feeling of regret. Afpawng is the deepest, most intense kind of yengwal which overcomes you and turns your life upside down.
Sloan payti nemfa txep is certainly a kind of tong. But tong is more general. You can tong a txep by pouring dirt on it, for example, or by smothering it with a cloth.
I was asking myself the same question as Blue Elf when I translated afpawng for the German dictionary and found that almost the same words are used to translate both words. So, it’s nuanced but there is a slight difference. Good to know.
Since we have a word for ‘birth,’ ‘be born,’ and ‘giving birth’ … any knowledge that you can share how to convey the idea that a Na’vi is pregnant? 🙂
Ma tsmuk, mi zene oeng pivey, tsivun oe ngian fmivi peut ‘ivem… *”Fyeyntel prrnenti herena (mì frrku)?”, *”fyeynteri prrkul prrnenti herena”, *”tutél prrnenit perey”, *”tutéri tokxìl perey prrnenti”, *”fyeyntel prrnenti ngera’ “, *”fyeynteri tokxìl prnenti ngera’ “, *”Prrnen tsawl sleru mì suté”, *”Tutéri ‘itan tsawl sleru mì frrku”, *”Tutéri ‘itan tsawl sleru mì frrku”, *”Tutémì prrnen kelku seri”, *”Fyeynteri prrku teya leru tìreyfa.”, *”Tutéri prrkuti Eywal tolìng syawn.”, *”Tutéru lu syawn sa’nokä.”, “*Tutél sa’nokä syawnti tolel.”, *Tutéfkeykit Eywal tolìng syawn.”, “Tutéri prrkumì Eywal tìreyti ngolop.” … 🙂
tsivun oe ngian fmivi peut ‘EN SIVI…
Pxaya aylì’u akosman nìngay! So’ha! Sunu nìpxi oeru pum alu ‘hafyon’ sì ‘aho’. Irayo! 🙂
Shouldn’t be nìtxankeltrrtrr marked as adverb instead of adjective?
Eywa tivìng syawn ngar, ma ’ite.
‘May Eywa bless you, my daughter.’
Hmmm, i think there is a mistake
translation sould be “May Eywa bless you, daughter.”
(or maybe “oeyä” had flee ? ^^ “Eywa tivìng syawn ngar, ma oeyä ’ite.” )
I can not edit my post (pxasìk)
‘Ralu does a shake while dancing, imitating a thanator that’s ready to leap.’
The ASG say that “it (palulukan) is not celebrated in dance or song” p101
the fact that Ralu is imitated palulukan movements is the same that Lakota crow dance when dances imitate the bird ?
So, the text of ASG is only for Omatikaya ?
(or the autor had not information that other clans celebrate/imitate palulukan in dance/song)