Kaltxì, ma frapo!
I hope you’ve had fun trying to decipher the Na’vi for the communication episode of Expedition Pandora! I certainly had fun in putting it together.
Congratulations to Zángtsuva, Txonpay, and everyone else who took a crack at this. I glanced briefly at the forum posts but didn’t examine them carefully: as you know, I generally keep away from the forums because I don’t want anyone to think I’m “looking over their shoulder.” But I saw some perceptive analysis. Seysonìltsan, ma smuk!
Several factors made this text particularly challenging. First, it contains abstract language in long, sometimes convoluted sentences. In translating the narration, I tried to be faithful to the English original, but on occasion I departed from it a bit so that the Na’vi would sound idiomatic and (hopefully!) feel natural to a native speaker on Pandora.
Also, you probably heard some new vocabulary, words you hadn’t encountered before. I think there were about 20 of those. Some were derivations from existing roots, but others contained new roots. See if you can identify those new words. I’ll introduce them as new vocabulary in a subsequent post.
Finally, some of my reading was pretty fast! In making the original recordings, I didn’t time anything: I just recorded the narration as I usually would, then submitted the mp3’s to the tech people for them to match the words to the video. You see the potential problem here: The time it took to say a particular Na’vi sentence didn’t always match the time for the corresponding English one! (I know everyone is thinking about Tsu’tey’s Na’vi interpretation of Jake’s rally-the-clans speech at the end of A1! 🙂 ) It was up to the techs to make everything fit properly. I thought they did a phenomenal job with that. But at times it required speeding up my reading a tad. All in all, though, I think it sounds quite natural.
I’m sure many of you will have questions, so leave your comments and I’ll answer them when I can.
For now, though, let me say a word about kaltxì.
As you saw or will see, I’ve used it in this text as a noun meaning ‘a greeting’ or ‘a hello.’ We know it’s a noun because it takes case endings (kaltxìti). The question regards how this squares with my previous pronouncement. From the forum:
Original Question: Is kaltxì valid noun for “a greeting”? kaltxì si is the only example of a si-verb where there is no corresponding noun or adjective. We all know kaltxì functions as an interjection, in the same way that irayo functions as an interjection, however irayo is also an attested noun for thanks/a thanking [which forms irayo si], where kaltxì is not.
Quote from: Karyu Pawl For now, though, I’ll just say that kaltxì can’t be used as the noun for ‘greeting.’ We need a different word for that. (I’ll add it to my list. )
Well, there are times when you just have to admit you were wrong. I don’t recall why I was so adamant six years ago that kaltxì couldn’t also be a noun alongside its use as an idiomatic expression, just as we can say in English, “When I saw her, she gave me a big hello.” But when I needed a word for “greeting,” I decided on kaltxì rather than coming up with a new root. And part of what persuaded me was indeed the realization that kaltxì si was the only si-verb where the non-verbal part wasn’t a noun or adjective. So yes, kaltxì can be a noun, and we’ll add that to the dictionary listing.
In my defense, some of you may be familiar with this famous quote from the 19th century American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, who in 1841 wrote: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” 😀
Ayngaru tsapamrel:
Hayalovay!
ta P.
EXPEDITION PANDORA Episode 9—Na’vi Translation
- A word of kindness [NEYTIRI: I see you.] A welcoming gesture. A seeing glance.
Lì’u atìtstunwinga’. Tatìp atì’eylanga’. Säru’u a kame.
- For the Na’vi, language transcends the spoken and the written.
Na’viri lì’fyal nuäslew aylì’ut apawnlltxe sì pamrelit.
- Communication is far more than a matter of words.
Tìsäfpìlyewn ke lu aylì’u nì’aw.
- As with any ecosystem, the inhabitants of Pandora communicate in ways unique to their environment.
Na frave’o aruseyä, farwuntu Eywa’evengä säfpìlyewn nì’awnì’aw fa ayfya’o a tare fey pxawngipit.
- For the Na’vi, speech is but one thread in a larger tapestry. One woven with sounds, gestures, songs, and memories.
Na’viri tìplltxe lu ’awa kìng nì’aw mì sätäftxu atsawl nì’ul—pumit a fkol täftxu fa ayfam, aysatìp, ayway, sì ayok.
- Throughout Pandora’s various clans, only one language is spoken.
Ka leketengsyona ayolo’ Eywa’evengä, plltxe fko ’awa lì’fyafa nì’aw.
- The language of the Na’vi is consistent, despite the exo-moon’s varied landscapes and the vast expanse between clans.
Lì’fya leNa’vi lu tengwotx, ken ayreymsätsa leketengsyon Eywa’evengä, ken hoeta tayo a mìkam ayolo’.
- While minor dialectical differences have been observed, particularly between the coastal clans and the forest-dwelling clans, the linguistic uniformity is a rarity for any sapient species.
Hufwa fkeytok hì’ia sìketeng a mì aylì’fyafnel, nìpxi mìkam ayolo’ lereymtxew sì ayolo’ a parwun na’rìngit, fìtìtengwotx lì’fyayä lu säkelpxìmrun kip ayfnerusey afpusìl.
- Human xenolinguists have attributed this single language development to the Na’vi’s exceptional and rigorous oral culture.
Ìlä sìftiatu aylì’fyayä hifkeyä alahe, lun tìmimuä lì’fyayä a’aw lu keltrrtrra reyfya apawnlltxe suteyä leNa’vi.
- Through their connection to Eywa, the Na’vi used mnemonic Song Cords and ceremonial singing to communicate stories through generations.
Fa sneyä sätare a hu Eywa, solar Na’vil aywaytelemit sì tìrusolit a’eoio fte ayvurit säfpìlyivewn ayswayìka.
- It shows that even without a written component to their language, nothing is forgotten.
Wìntxu fì’ul futa keng pamrelluke mì lì’fya, ke tswa’ fkol ke’ut.
- This consistent use of song and the powerful bonds created via tsaheylu have enabled the Na’vi to preserve histories going back almost 18,000 years. [NEYTIRI: My grandfather’s grandfather was Toruk Makto.]
Fa tìsar atengwotx tìrusolä sì aysäyìm atswalnga’ tsaheyluä, Na’vi tsolun swiveyn ayokrolit stum zìsìto amrrzazam.
- This method of communication allows for a living memory of the Na’vi people.
Fìfya’ol tìsäfpìlyewnä tung ’okit arusey suteyä leNa’vi.
- A way to see beyond the present. Beyond what’s in front of them. It gives weight to the words “oel ngati kameie” Or I see you.
Lu fya’o fte tsive’a nuä sekrr, nuä ayzum a ayfoeo. Tìng wawet aylì’ur alu Oel ngati kameie.
- A greeting, but also a declaration of recognition, of presence, and of understanding.
’Awa kaltxì lu, slä lu kop sätxurplltxe tìlätekä, tìtokä, tìtslamä.
- When the Na’vi see each other, they’re not just bearing witness to another, they are perceiving them and their life. What connects them beyond the physical.
Krra Na’vi käpame fìtsap, ke plltxe nì’aw san tse’a oel futa eo oe nga kllkxem sìk. Tutel a’aw ’efu tìreyti tuteyä alahe fa sätare a lu nuä hifkey letrrtrr.
- Often words this strong require some form of gesture to accompany it.
Aylì’ul atswalnga’ fìtxan pxìm kin fnetatìpit sko sìhuslew.
- The Na’vi often pair the greeting by extending one hand to their forehead and bringing it back down to the other.
Fte kaltxìti huslivew, Na’vil pxìm tspu’ tsyokxit ne zare’ tsakrr zeykup nekll.
- The Na’vi are no strangers to these more silent forms of communication.
Fayfnetìsäfpìlyewn atìfnunga’ smon Na’viru nìtxan.
- Their gestures, shaped by their unique four digit hands, form a subtle and expressive sign language.
Fey satìp a fko ‘on si fa tsìnga zekwähu a tsyokx le’awnì’aw slu weseka lì’fya a yewn nìno nìfnusì.
- Coastal clans of Na’vi make particular use of this silent expression, which aids communication during underwater endeavors,hunts, and ceremonies.
Ayolo’ìl lereymtxew Na’viyä sar nìpxi tìfnunga’a fitìyewnit a srung si tìsäfpìlyewnur krrka aysätaron sì aysä’eoio a len mì fay.
- Like much of Na’vi culture, the natural world plays an invaluable role in how their language develops.
Na tsawla hapxì reyfyayä leNa’vi, kifkey txanley mì sìmimu lì’fyayä feyä.
- At sacred sites like the Hometree, Na’vi language extends beyond words to reflect a living relationship with the land, where memory and song help carry the histories of the Na’vi through time.
Ro ayswotu a na Kelutral, lì’fya leNa’vi tspu’ nuä aylì’u fte tivìng rì’ìrit ruseya sätareyä a hu atxkxe, tsenga ’ok tìrolsì srung si fte hivena ayokrolit Na’viyä ka krr.
- For the Na’vi, language is more than a tool.
Na’viri ke lu lì’fya sä’o nì’aw.
- It is a bridge, one that connects clans, community and generations.
Lu semkä a tare ayolo’it sì ayswayìt.
- As we continue to explore this wondrous exo-moon, perhaps it can also be a bridge between our world and theirs.
Tengkrr verar awnga livang fìtsenget akosman, tsivun kxawm tsa’u slivu semkä a mìkam kifkey awngeyä sì pum ayfeyä.
Kaltxì ma Karyu Pawl,
Just a very tiny mistake in sentence 4: aYruseyä 😉
I’m glad the issue with kaltxì is now resolved for good. I think it makes sense that kaltxì is also a noun, in fact in some languages do the same thing (for example, salut (hi/greeting/salute) in French or shalom in Hebrew).
Also, is tatìp a new root or is there an etymology for that ?
Hayalovay