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Mawey Na'via, Mawey

Started by Seze, December 23, 2009, 02:29:13 AM

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kewnya txamew'itan

1. Because na'vi doesn't like redundancy in sentences, hence effectual infixes once used once are assumed and there's no need for <ei> in "nga oer yawne lu".

2. Even if it was from the set not the script, I imagine that the line would have come from English first as the subtitle before being translated.

As for the a not ä, in a lot of English accents (I.E. all I've ever heard) the na'vi "a" does not equal the a in father. The na'vi is far closer to ä than you might think. If you know any Spanish, a is the a in casa which is effectively just a lax form of ä.
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numena'viyä hapxì amezamkivohinve
learnnavi's

Tsu'roen

In this context redundancy may have been wanted. Also I don't think it is all one sentence.

My native language is German so I know the difference between "a" and "ä" very well as it is a quiet common sound there. Also I had 3 years of Spanish in high school and the Spanish "a" as in "casa" is nowhere near how "ä" should sound - it is actually a perfect example for a Latin "a". The first "a" as well as the second in "again" come pretty close.
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kewnya txamew'itan

I've only seen the film twice so I was just throwing out reasons why that might no be right even though it may well be.

What dub have you seen? It's unlikely that the German voice actors got as much coaching in pronouncing the na'vi lines.
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numena'viyä hapxì amezamkivohinve
learnnavi's

Tsu'roen

#63
I'm in the US and have seen it 7 times in the cinema so far (original US audio of course).
[I've only seen it] with English audio.

Ta Ftiafpi: Please do not discuss pirated copies of Avatar, even for linguistic purposes.
"There are many dangers on Pandora, and one of the subtlest is that you may come to love it too much" ~ Dr. Grace Augustine

"You have a strong heart. No fear. But stupid!  Ignorant like a child!" ~ Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite

10x (1x 2D, 3x Real 3D, 6x IMAX 3D)
1x Special Ed. (1x IMAX 3D)

kewnya txamew'itan

Ok, I wasn't sure. Interesting, I guess I have another excuse to see the film again.  ;D
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hamletä tìralpuseng lena'vi sngolä'eiyi. tìkangkem si awngahu ro
http://bit.ly/53GnAB
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txo nga new oehu pivlltxe nìna'vi, nga oer 'eylan si mì fayspuk (http://bit.ly/bp9fwf)
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learnnavi's

Tsu'roen

Ok I listened a few times more ...
She says actually something right before that. So I think it's actually
Hrrap! Mawey Na'vi?a! Mawey!
Attention (Danger)! calm people ! Be calm!

That after Na'vi cold be a ...
-a  (that would be on the wrong side of the noun if I got that rule right)
-ya (an ending we don't know yet?)
-yä (incorrect? or sloppy pronunciation - not sure if it would make sense)
... or is that just an error made in the heat of the moment?

I think it's always important to consider the situation! She's all rallied up. In such a situation anybody could get something wrong - even in your native language (be honest - how often did any of you say something grammatically wrong in a heated situation?). 
So they may have left it even though Zoe pronounced it slightly wrong.
"There are many dangers on Pandora, and one of the subtlest is that you may come to love it too much" ~ Dr. Grace Augustine

"You have a strong heart. No fear. But stupid!  Ignorant like a child!" ~ Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite

10x (1x 2D, 3x Real 3D, 6x IMAX 3D)
1x Special Ed. (1x IMAX 3D)

kewnya txamew'itan

Bear in mind that the -yä (with an elided hapxì) is pretty hypothetical anyway.

It could possibly be "hrrap! ma oe-yä na'vi a-mawey" as oe-yä ~ weyä so it could mean "danger my calm people".
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hamletä tìralpuseng lena'vi sngolä'eiyi. tìkangkem si awngahu ro
http://bit.ly/53GnAB
The translation of Hamlet into Na'vi has started! Join with us at http://bit.ly/53GnAB

txo nga new oehu pivlltxe nìna'vi, nga oer 'eylan si mì fayspuk (http://bit.ly/bp9fwf)
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numena'viyä hapxì amezamkivohinve
learnnavi's

Tsu'roen

No. There are for sure two "mawey" - the only fuzzy thing is what's between "Na'vi" and the second "mawey"

And "my calm people" is contrary to the situation so that can't be it.

The meaning (intent) is something along "Halt/stop! Stand down (people)! Stand down!"
That's not the translation but what you might say in English in that situation. The second repitition is for enforcement.
"There are many dangers on Pandora, and one of the subtlest is that you may come to love it too much" ~ Dr. Grace Augustine

"You have a strong heart. No fear. But stupid!  Ignorant like a child!" ~ Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite

10x (1x 2D, 3x Real 3D, 6x IMAX 3D)
1x Special Ed. (1x IMAX 3D)

kewnya txamew'itan

Given Frommer's pronunciaton of oeyä as almost exactly weyä there'd be next to no (as in, extraordinarily easily missable) difference between ma oeyä and maweyä and given other noise it's quite reasonable for the ä to get lost.

Maybe the a- is used as a way of implying an imperative in verb elided situations.

Ma oeyä na'vi a-mawey =?= be calm my people
Internet Acronyms Nìna'vi

hamletä tìralpuseng lena'vi sngolä'eiyi. tìkangkem si awngahu ro
http://bit.ly/53GnAB
The translation of Hamlet into Na'vi has started! Join with us at http://bit.ly/53GnAB

txo nga new oehu pivlltxe nìna'vi, nga oer 'eylan si mì fayspuk (http://bit.ly/bp9fwf)
If you want to speak na'vi to me, friend me on facebook (http://bit.ly/bp9fwf)

numena'viyä hapxì amezamkivohinve
learnnavi's

Tsu'roen

No, it's definitely mawey both times.

Though "be calm my people" makes sense
"There are many dangers on Pandora, and one of the subtlest is that you may come to love it too much" ~ Dr. Grace Augustine

"You have a strong heart. No fear. But stupid!  Ignorant like a child!" ~ Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite

10x (1x 2D, 3x Real 3D, 6x IMAX 3D)
1x Special Ed. (1x IMAX 3D)

tsrräfkxätu

#70
Sorry for reviving this ancient thread, but I think I've got a solution. The first part is a simple VOC with a 1SG-GEN prn added in. It just happens to sound almost exactly like maweya, but in fact it is ma oeyä. The "a" heard in the second part is not the attributive marker, but the relative clause conjunction (they're the same basically.) The relative clause is an IMP one, with the lu/livu elided (this is something that often happens in languages, and there are other examples of it in the movie too, as far as I remember.) It might seem strange that a relative clause is used to convey a command, but such interjections are possible in spoken English too.

So the complete Na'vi sentence is:

Ma oeyä na'vi a [lu] mawey!
O my [be-IMP]-still people!
Be still, my people!

Either that or it's really just mawey and the a is Saldana's mistake. Any thoughts? Perhaps we should ask Pawl?
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Ftiafpi

Yeah, I think that was one of the ideas that was considered. To me it being a mistake on the actors part seems more likely to me but it's definitely something that could go many ways.

I believe Karyu Pawl was asked and I believe we're just waiting for an answer.

TheMerrle

@Tsu'roen

its always hard trying to explain the correct pronunciation of the german ä/ö/ü "umlauts/mutations"
ok the "ä" is easy - its simply the english "a", the "ö" and "ü" not though  ;D
i tried it many times with american friends on phone or smthing else ^^

anyway i dont really understand why they used to implement those stupid signs while creating na'vi ^^;

Seze

Quote from: Ftiafpi on April 16, 2010, 09:16:09 AM
Yeah, I think that was one of the ideas that was considered. To me it being a mistake on the actors part seems more likely to me but it's definitely something that could go many ways.

I believe Karyu Pawl was asked and I believe we're just waiting for an answer.

This question has now been answered.  link


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