Language in Avatar 2

[omängum fra'uti]

No this isn't about a new language, it's about the one we have.

In Avatar, they got away with using mostly English, for the benefit of the audience, by virtue of following mostly the humans, or the humans adventures with the Na'vi.

But, as much as we'd all love to see Avatar 2 mostly in Na'vi...  That just wouldn't fly with the general public.  IMO, more so than anything else discussed, I worry exactly how James Cameron plans to pull that off believably.

[MIPP]

No this isn't about a new language, it's about the one we have.

In Avatar, they got away with using mostly English, for the benefit of the audience, by virtue of following mostly the humans, or the humans adventures with the Na'vi.

But, as much as we'd all love to see Avatar 2 mostly in Na'vi...  That just wouldn't fly with the general public.  IMO, more so than anything else discussed, I worry exactly how James Cameron plans to pull that off believably.

Oh
I'd like to see the movie mostly in na'vi of course
Even so, i believe that AVATAR 2 will have some neu na'vi words that can be very useful and that we still do not have :-)

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

No this isn't about a new language, it's about the one we have.

In Avatar, they got away with using mostly English, for the benefit of the audience, by virtue of following mostly the humans, or the humans adventures with the Na'vi.

But, as much as we'd all love to see Avatar 2 mostly in Na'vi...  That just wouldn't fly with the general public.  IMO, more so than anything else discussed, I worry exactly how James Cameron plans to pull that off believably.

Another thing I did notice is the lack of some words we have now. For example Jake's speech, when Tsu'tey translates wind it sounds something like wìn instead of hufwe

[Muzer]

I've been wondering about that - maybe he had a mental block and couldn't remember what wind meant, and so to avoid interrupting Jake's speech he just said the word as-is and hoped they got the gist

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

I hope enough of it will be in na'vi for it to win awards for being a foreign language film.

[Carborundum]

Another thing I did notice is the lack of some words we have now. For example Jake's speech, when Tsu'tey translates wind it sounds something like wìn instead of hufwe

I've been wondering about that - maybe he had a mental block and couldn't remember what wind meant, and so to avoid interrupting Jake's speech he just said the word as-is and hoped they got the gist

I think he says ka makto nìwin, ayngati spivule hufwel, more or less meaning "ride quickly across the land, propeled by the wind".

[Muzer]

Ah, that would make sense - I still don't know much Na'vi, but I've seen a few people comment on this now so I thought it probably was the case - ah well.

[omängum fra'uti]

No this isn't about a new language, it's about the one we have.

In Avatar, they got away with using mostly English, for the benefit of the audience, by virtue of following mostly the humans, or the humans adventures with the Na'vi.

But, as much as we'd all love to see Avatar 2 mostly in Na'vi...  That just wouldn't fly with the general public.  IMO, more so than anything else discussed, I worry exactly how James Cameron plans to pull that off believably.

Oh
I'd like to see the movie mostly in na'vi of course
Even so, i believe that AVATAR 2 will have some neu na'vi words that can be very useful and that we still do not have :-)

Oh almost certainly it will have new words.  Hopefully sensible new words, and not junk created by someone they hire instead of Frommer who is just there for a paycheck.

But I don't think it would be in their interest to make the movie mostly Na'vi.  Consider there are 3 segments they need to appease to.

1. Die hard fans.  Many of these would probably be thrilled to have it mostly in Na'vi.
2. Other fans.  Possibly not so enthusiastic about it, but they would see it anyway.
3. Everyone else who saw the first movie and enjoyed it.

The problem is 3 is likely the largest segment of the population they are targetting.  And while 1 and 2 will probably go see it no matter what, 3 is the ones they have to win back.  And making them read subtitles the entire movie, esp a movie that is supposed to be about visual effects where looking at subtitles would draw the eye away, would probably be a bit off-putting to people.

[eanayo]

Hey, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to introduce libretti to Hollywood cinema? Like in the olden days, have the plebs read the dialogue in rural English before the movie.

I just have this weird idea of a Steampunk-Avatar crossover in my head. Where is my top hat?

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

No this isn't about a new language, it's about the one we have.

In Avatar, they got away with using mostly English, for the benefit of the audience, by virtue of following mostly the humans, or the humans adventures with the Na'vi.

But, as much as we'd all love to see Avatar 2 mostly in Na'vi...  That just wouldn't fly with the general public.  IMO, more so than anything else discussed, I worry exactly how James Cameron plans to pull that off believably.

Oh
I'd like to see the movie mostly in na'vi of course
Even so, i believe that AVATAR 2 will have some neu na'vi words that can be very useful and that we still do not have :-)

Oh almost certainly it will have new words.  Hopefully sensible new words, and not junk created by someone they hire instead of Frommer who is just there for a paycheck.

But I don't think it would be in their interest to make the movie mostly Na'vi.  Consider there are 3 segments they need to appease to.

1. Die hard fans.  Many of these would probably be thrilled to have it mostly in Na'vi.
2. Other fans.  Possibly not so enthusiastic about it, but they would see it anyway.
3. Everyone else who saw the first movie and enjoyed it.

The problem is 3 is likely the largest segment of the population they are targetting.  And while 1 and 2 will probably go see it no matter what, 3 is the ones they have to win back.  And making them read subtitles the entire movie, esp a movie that is supposed to be about visual effects where looking at subtitles would draw the eye away, would probably be a bit off-putting to people.

I fall into group #1 LOL. 

[Zhowìntll]

No this isn't about a new language, it's about the one we have.

In Avatar, they got away with using mostly English, for the benefit of the audience, by virtue of following mostly the humans, or the humans adventures with the Na'vi.

But, as much as we'd all love to see Avatar 2 mostly in Na'vi...  That just wouldn't fly with the general public.  IMO, more so than anything else discussed, I worry exactly how James Cameron plans to pull that off believably.

I've been having similar thoughts. There's absolutely no reason why anybody who stays behind on Pandora, after the Skypeople are sent off, would speak English, at least not with any regularity. I think, in order for English to believably be the primary language of the sequel(s), there needs to be a major new character, who comes in from outside. Somebody from RDA who is sympathetic to the Na'vi, and is a major player in the film, and since they're new on Pandora, they don't speak Na'vi.

I dunno. I trust that Cameron will think of something. He's got a pretty good track-record for making sequels better than the original.

[Human No More]

I'd like to have a 'Na'vi subtitles' option

[Toruk Makto]

Perhaps do it like Red October. Start the film in Na'vi and subtitles. Then at a strategic point, shift everything to the local language (English, French, whatever). The audience understands that the dialog continues in Na'vi in the story but is delivered so they can understand it.

[Zhowìntll]

Perhaps do it like Red October. Start the film in Na'vi and subtitles. Then at a strategic point, shift everything to the local language (English, French, whatever). The audience understands that the dialog continues in Na'vi in the story but is delivered so they can understand it.

No way. Lame!

From a filmmaker's perspective, I get what you're saying, and that's smart. From an Avatard's perspective -- NO! 



I'm just messin with ya. That's a good idea, but I really hope they don't do it. I wanna see an entire movie in Na'vi.

Eywa gnahu.

[Tsamsiyu92]

No this isn't about a new language, it's about the one we have.

In Avatar, they got away with using mostly English, for the benefit of the audience, by virtue of following mostly the humans, or the humans adventures with the Na'vi.

But, as much as we'd all love to see Avatar 2 mostly in Na'vi...  That just wouldn't fly with the general public.  IMO, more so than anything else discussed, I worry exactly how James Cameron plans to pull that off believably.

Another thing I did notice is the lack of some words we have now. For example Jake's speech, when Tsu'tey translates wind it sounds something like wìn instead of hufwe

win - adj - Fast
nìwin - adv - fast

Ride fast makes sense...

[Le'eylan]

Something interesting that Paul said,
was that there might be needed to do some kinda dialect if the next movie will show more tribes...

['Oma Tirea]

Something interesting that Paul said,
was that there might be needed to do some kinda dialect accent if the next movie will show more tribes...

One of the non-standard things I am doing to my Na'vi is saying {x} whenever the h is a result of lenition and {h} elsewhere.  Who knows what other little phonemic phenomena may occur with the other tribes...

[Wll]

I want to see some accents in there, you know, like we have Scousers and Jordies and stuff in England Pandora could have Lok Pay (Near Water) and Lok Ik (Near Mountains) or Lok Na'rìng (Near Forest). That'd be pretty good.

[abi]

Wasn't Pan's Labyrinth released in theaters in subtitles (in the U.S. at least)? I remember that film doing decently.

[Kä'eng]

In a movie whose main selling point is impressive visuals, it wouldn't be good to constantly make people draw their eyes away from them to read some text instead.