Ma eylan,
Relìl arusikx alu “Fya’o Payä” tok nì’i’a fìtsenget! “The Way of Water” is finally here!
More accurately, for those of us in the USA, it’s almost here. As I don’t have to tell you, our long-anticipated Avatar sequel debuts tonight at midnight. If you’re in Europe or other parts of the world, though, you may have already seen it. One way or another, I hope you find it a worthy successor to the first film.
John and I had the privilege of attending the star-studded U.S. premiere Monday night in Hollywood. What a memorable event! The only sad note was that James Cameron was absent, having tested positive for Covid. But everyone else was there.
Here’s our official premiere portrait. When they saw us, the photographers naturally abandoned Sam and Zoe and Sigourney and rushed over to take our picture. 😉
In honor of the premiere, here are some new words I hope you’ll find useful. And let me tease you by saying that you’ll hear one of them—I won’t say which—in a key scene. Also, I’ll have a major announcement at the end of this post, so make sure you don’t miss it.
val (adv.) ‘diligently, hard, with effort’
Makto val!
‘Ride hard!’
Po tìkangkem soli val nìtxan fte tsatsonur hasey sivi.
‘She worked very hard to complete the task.’
Note: To encourage someone to work hard, you could say, “Tìkangkem si val!” But a shorter and more colloquial expression is simply “Kangkem val!”
kangkem: (n., KANG.kem) ‘work, colloquial form of tìkangkem’
txotsafya (adv., TXO.tsa.fya) ‘if that’s the case, if that’s so’
Note that the stress is on the first syllable.
Ke sunu ngar teylu srak? Txotsafya, tìng oer pumit ngeyä!
‘You don’t like teylu? If that’s the case, give me yours!’
nìtrea (adv., nìt.RE.a) ‘in spirit’
Ke tsängun Tsyìm ziva’u ftxozäne, slä tok nìtrea.
‘Sadly, Jim couldn’t come to the celebration, but he was there in spirit.’
tìhangham (n, tì.HANG.ham) ‘laughter’
Txasunu oer fwa stawm ngeyä tìhanghamit.
‘I love to hear your laughter.’
lapx (vtr.) ‘regret’
Kemit a oe soli oel längapx.
‘I regret what I did.’
tìlapx (n., tì.LAPX) ‘regret’
Tsatìpe’unìri ke lu oeru kea tìlapx.
‘I have no regret(s) about that decision.’
uturu (n., u.TU.ru) ‘sanctuary, place of refuge’
Vuyin ohel uturut.
‘I respectfully request sanctuary.’
Nga ke tsun wäpivan; ngari ke lu kea uturu kawtseng.
‘You cannot hide; there is no sanctuary for you anywhere.’
txukxefu (vin., txu.KXE.fu, inf. 2, 3) ‘care, be concerned about, have deep feelings for’
This is clearly derived from txukx ‘deep’ + ’efu ‘feel.’ Recall that txukx not only indicates physical depth but can also refer to feelings, thoughts, and ideas, just as “deep” can in English.
The thing you care about is indicated either by the topical or with teri:
Ngari po ke txukxefu kaw’it.
‘He doesn’t care a bit about you.’
Furia teri lì’fya awngeyä nga txukxefu nìftxan, seiyi irayo.
‘Thank you for caring so much about our language.’
tìtxukxefu (n., tì.txu.KXE.fu) ‘care, concern’
tsun (n.) ‘heel’
This and the familiar word tsun ‘can’ are homonyms—words with the same spelling or pronunciation (in this case, both are the same) that mean different things. Since one is a noun and the other a verb, they fit into different slots in a sentence and shouldn’t cause confusion.
Oeri tengkrr terul mì na’rìng, tsunit askien tìsraw seykoli.
‘While I was running in the forest, I hurt my right heel.’
And finally,
lì’fyafnel (n., LÌ’.fya.fnel) ‘dialect, variety of a language’
I’m introducing this word at this time because . . .
Lu mì “Fya’o Payä” mipa lì’fyafnel lì’fyayä leNa’vi!!!
There’s a new variety of Na’vi in “The Way of Water”!!!
I haven’t been able to say anything up to now, but with the sequel upon us, I can finally reveal this to you. I’ll be describing the dialect in future posts, the first of which is coming soon. In the meantime, when you watch the film, see if you can determine when, where, and by whom this new dialect is spoken. There’s only a small bit of it, and you’ll have to listen closely. But even with the limited data, you may be able to detect something that’s different from the Na’vi you’re used to.
“Fya’o Payä” zìyevawprrte’ ayngane nìwotx!
Kaltxì ma Karyu anawm!
We indeed have already had the possibility to watch the movie yesterday, and it was truly stunning. I was hoping for a post following up with the release and was very happy it actually happened!
The news of a dialect in the movie actually is quite surprising to us – we didn’t notice at all, even though at least I tried to listen for it as I kinda expected one to exist. After the movie i thought that the sign language is the only big addition we will get, but if another dialect also is hidden in there, even better! We’ll go to our second viewing next Tuesday, and knowing that a dialect exists, I am very sure to know where, so I’ll listen even more closely at that part next week.
One question: Will you be able to provide us with the official transcription/translation of the song cord in a future post? We worked on it since the song was posted on Youtube, and I think we have most things figured out, but a few details we were not completely sure about.
Eywa ngahu,
Tekre
The Song Cord has been posted on YouTube??? Really? I had no idea! Could you send me the link? I tried to find it but couldn’t. Also, do you think people would prefer to work on it a little more by themselves, or should I publish the lyrics and translation in the next few days? I’ll do whatever people prefer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lDvyER0E6Y
So a few of us are kinda finished with our attempts (you can find mine in the comments on Youtube), and a few days is a good time span to wait, so others can see the movie first and create their own transcriptions. Irayo nìtxan nìli!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lDvyER0E6Y
That’s the link to it, Disney Music Vevo released it already 🙂
Tekre and I have been transcribing what we understand, so far only 3 passages / words are unclear.
I personally think it would be muiä to give others a chance / enough time to try for themselves, but not knowing if we’ve got these 3 questionable passages correct or wrong is killing me, hrh
oeri txe’lanti wrrzolärìp fula oel steiawm waytelemit
(it’s been a while, I hope I did not messed it up too badly)
I know a lot of people are really excited to try translating and documenting all the language from the film and the song on their own. A lot of people missed that from the first film and are excited for it this time around.
I highly recommend releasing things about the new film very slowly.
It’s an interesting window on Cameron’s world building that the waytelem song cord was already referenced in A1 materials, even though I’m pretty sure we didn’t see them, even in dropped scenes. And here there are now.
Lawnol a mì te’lan nìwotx nì’aw!!!
Tsaylì’u oeru teya si, ma tsmuk.
Also, re: dialect, I think it might be one character from a neighboring clan of the Metkayina, I don’t want to spoil anything here, but… the one female that spoke to a certain human kid while being attacked sounded very different than other Na’vi to my ears. I might’ve heard wrong, will make sure to listen again more closely on Saturday, when I see the movie for the second time 😀
That was what I suspected too (without actually hearing it), i hope I can find out the difference in my next viewing 😀
Oh, another question just popped into my mind.
Since we have kangkem now, could tìkangkemvi be colloquially shortened in the same way, too, resulting in kangkemvi?
Tì’eyngìri irayo nìtxan!
Is there a difference in meaning/usage between val and kawl?
This same question immediately occurred to me as well as soon as I saw val here. 😀
Ma Zángtsuva, ma Tirea: Val and kawl are synonymous. The difference is that in Omatikayan Na’vi, kawl is used more frequently. In another dialect, however, that situation might be just the reverse. 😉 More on that in a subsequent post.
I have spotted te’lan out there, is that another? 👀
Isn’t that just lenition because of the mì? Or are you referring to another occurrence of te’lan?
Another occurrence than the one that is in Songchord, I didn’t think it was because of lenition but relying solely on my ears is questionable at best hrh my hearing is terrible so I struggle very hard to hear anything. Pretty sure I spotted another one but I need to watch the movie again because wow a lot happened in that movie.
Ma Karyu Anawm, I detect zero sarcasm in your comment about the photographers and I am certain that is exactly what happened (hah), because you and John look stunning! I hope I look half as handsome as you by the time I’m in my fifties, much less my seventies! You’ll have to share your secrets to eternal youth at some point 😉
Aylì’uri amip, oe ngaru irayo seiyi nìtxan! Oeri mi fwa fìrelit arusik tsìye’eia fìtxon ke lam ke lefkeytongay!
Tstunwi, ma tsmuk. Eternal youth . . . if only! But thank you very much for the compliment. And glad you like the new words.
I’m just really excited, first the Songcord gets posted, then this Na’viteri update… I think my level of excitement could increase further only if Avatar 3 suddenly drops tonight too.
Nìyey oe mllte nìwotx hu Tekre Eanasì. Fìpostìri sì ngeyä lì’fyateri a kangkemìri, irayo seiyi ngaru nìtxan. Oeri txe’lan lu tsata teya 😀
Fya’ol payä fra’ut tareie!
Hrhn, ma Wllìm, mllte zam mì zam. It’s almost too much for my little heart to handle, too much joy and excitement 🙂
Fì’u txantsan nìtxan nang! Absolutely great news!
I had the possibility to watch Avatar: The Way of Water. It was just great! Ma Eywa anawm. 🙂 I am still excited! 😀
I’ve tried to listen at the Na’vi sequences as much as I could (which is not easy when other people are making noises) and I was not sure if I could trust my ears.
Txantsan!
Moe tsat tsìye’a fìtxan.
Moel, I guess.
Kaltxì ma Karyu Pawl,
My turn will be on Saturday evening, it’s not too far from now but I’m really looking forward to being part of the ‘club’ of the people having watched Fya’o Payä. At least I will try to pay attention to the dialect.
Kerìsmìsä stxeliri irayo nìtxan! Several nice words that contribute to the enrichment of the Na’vi vocabulary!
> Furia teri lì’fya awngeyä nga txukxefu nìftxan, seiyi irayo.
Nìprrte’, and I think we will keep caring for several years to come. 🙂
Ayftxozä lefpom ulte hayalovay!
Fya’o Payä a fì’u nìngay oeru prrte’ lu!
Just saw the new movie last night. Hard to talk about it without spoilers but, for now, it was a wonderful experience. Despite being HORRIBLY rusty with my Na’vi I was able to pick up quite a bit. I really enjoyed all the attention to detail that went in to the language and everything else.
Irayo ma Pawl! You and the rest of the Avatar team did a great job, thank you for all the hard work you put into making the language a part of this great film. While the Na’vi language (and sign language now!) is just only a part of the film it makes it into a much bigger whole and this really stands out.
I can’t wait for the next one. ‘Ivong Na’vi!
Kaltxì ma Karyu Pawl!
I just got back from seeing Fya’o Payä last night and I’m still processing the assault on my senses. Tsalie kosman loleiu. Tsari fwa pey leiey nìtxan nang! (irayo ma Tirea Aean for helping me with that one)
I’ve been learning Na’vi for the last two months and it paid off in spades. I think I spotted the new dialect in a particular scene too. Am I right that they have “sh” and “j” sounds? I can’t say any more or it would get into spoilers.
I’m totally psyched for Avatar 3, and I thank you and the entire team behind Kifkey Uniltìrantokxä for making something truly special. Ngengaru seiyi irayo ulte ‘ivong Na’vi!
Ma karyu anawm!
Mipa aylì’uri seiyi irayo ngaru oe.
Finally, a homonym that doesn’t exist because of lenition 🙂 I’ve been waiting for this since the beginning.
Am I right in assuming that txotsafya is the opposite of txokefyaw?
And a dialect! 🙂 I thought it would be the Metkayina variant but it seems to be the other clan—I didn’t noticed the first time I watched. I will have a closer listen the second time tonight.
Aylì’fyafnelìri nìwotx lu oeru law fwa ayoe txukxìyevu. ’Ivong Na’vi.
I consider txokefyaw and txotsafya as antonyms, but feel free to correct me ma Karyu Anawm!
Dear Pawl,
it feels good to see you both in good health. You both look dashing 😉
I was fortunate to watch the movie early on 14th December, it was an absolute blast ( again ). It was nice to see, or better hear, some new Na’vi and some new dialect or slang in the new movie.
Thank you again for taking us on this journey.
Much Love
Timon
Ma Karyu,
Ke latsu oer aylì’u a tam. Oeri lu Fya’o Payä txe’lanti wrrzärìp a lawnol… nìngay txanwawe, kuma vitrati reykol. Fkol oeti leykolatem. Ngeyä tìkangkemìri, nìt’iluke, ngaru irayo seiyi oe.
Lì’fyafnelìri amip, ‘en si oe, lu tsa’u pum olo’ä a olo’eyktan tatlam lu “olecthan”…
It’s really cool looking at people in the chat talk in Na’vi. I really want to learn.