Na'vi numbers

Started by Nongyu te Syulang Swokioang'itan, November 19, 2011, 03:44:43 AM

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Nongyu te Syulang Swokioang'itan

I know there's no way to write in Na'vi. But do they have any written numbers system? It'd be very cool to see an octal system written with other symbols than 1-7. And for me, it'd be easier to learn the octal number system that way.  :)
In the unwieldy situation of knowing way more grammar than vocab

Swoka Swizaw

No...there is no way to write it. The Na'vi have no writing system like you mentioned above. As for how you can learn better, I figure to just use our (Arabic) system to write it all out. But, you have to remember that it's not what you use to count, but rather how you count. The octal "ten" is actually our eight. So, writing it in decimal way would look like: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 (8), 11 (8+1), 12 (8+2)...get it? The symbol for eight and nine do not exist in Na'vi, but there are loanwords they have to describe the concepts, these being 'eyt and nayn.

As a fun fact, I learned a few weeks back that the few cultures on earth that use the octal system don't count their fingers like most tend to do, but, instead, count the spaces in between their fingers. Hearing that was a sort of a "Why the hell hadn't I thought of that before?" moment.

Kamean

For number system - see Na'vi dictionary, appendix A. :)
Tse'a ngal ke'ut a krr fra'uti kame.


`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

There are actually cultures that use octal?? Who may these be?

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Kamean

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on November 22, 2011, 03:22:38 PM
There are actually cultures that use octal?? Who may these be?
Оn Earth? I don't know.
Tse'a ngal ke'ut a krr fra'uti kame.


P.A.'li makto

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on November 22, 2011, 03:22:38 PM
There are actually cultures that use octal?? Who may these be?
The Yuki language in California and the Pamean languages[1] in Mexico have octal systems because the speakers count using the spaces between their fingers rather than the fingers themselves
(quote from Wikipedia)

facebook: soaia leNa`vi

Kamean

Quote from: P.A.'li makto on November 22, 2011, 03:32:43 PM
Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on November 22, 2011, 03:22:38 PM
There are actually cultures that use octal?? Who may these be?
The Yuki language in California and the Pamean languages[1] in Mexico have octal systems because the speakers count using the spaces between their fingers rather than the fingers themselves
(quote from Wikipedia)
Wery interesting. Irayo ma Pam. :)
Tse'a ngal ke'ut a krr fra'uti kame.


hemmond

Na'vi is a spoken language, so writting of any kind was made by aysawtute. But if you don't want to write it with arabic numbers you can easily write numbers by words. :D So octal 3733 is pxevozamkizampxevopey. ;D
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Nongyu te Syulang Swokioang'itan

Well I ment like a sort of system with pearls or something like that.
I've read that the inqas used something called quipu. It was a system with threads and pearls, wich made it easier for them to remember their harvests and stuff like that.
Could the Na'vi use something like that?
In the unwieldy situation of knowing way more grammar than vocab

Kamean

I think it's possible. Maybe something will be in Avatar II & III.
Tse'a ngal ke'ut a krr fra'uti kame.


Yawne Zize’ite

Quote from: Nantang tihusahaw on November 24, 2011, 04:30:10 AM
Well I ment like a sort of system with pearls or something like that.
I've read that the inqas used something called quipu. It was a system with threads and pearls, wich made it easier for them to remember their harvests and stuff like that.
Could the Na'vi use something like that?
On anthropological grounds, it's unlikely. Tally marks are a very common system to indicate numbers, but khipus are unique. More importantly, the Na'vi we know have no need for permanent number records. Inca bureaucrats needed khipus to keep track of tribute payments and harvest totals and such, but the Omatikaya live as a tribe without tribute or bureaucrats. Writing spreads quickly through cultural diffusion, but the invention of writing requires a state with a king or temple that needs to keep records, and has only happened 2-5 times in history.

It would not be much of a surprise if, in the next 50 years, some indigenous Na'vi syllabary appeared among one of the other clans that followed Jake into battle; once exposed to the concept of writing, it's not rare for a talented linguist to develop a syllabary for his own language. (Na'vi isn't all that well suited to a syllabary? Tough. The alphabet was invented once, by speakers of a language that can be written clearly without vowels, so the conceptual jump between "syllabary with all the useless info stripped out" and "alphabet" was very short for them.)

Irtaviš Ačankif

Na'vi can't be written with an abjad or abugida afaik. For example, there are CV and CCV and even CCCV clusters which would make an abugida break apart, as abugidas are best suited to CV or VC syllable types. Additionally, vowels are distinguishing:

ke/kä
ne/nì-
etc.

and abjads can only work in CV syllables (ex how can one know whether "fngp" is "fngap" or *fangap?)

EX can you read this properly:

l ngt km m y tsmkn lt ngr sy ry

Na'vi is an extremely vowelly language.
Previously Ithisa Kīranem, Uniltìrantokx te Skxawng.

Name from my Sakaš conlang, from Sakasul Ältäbisäl Acarankïp

"First name" is Ačankif, not Eltabiš! In Na'vi, Atsankip.

'Oma Tirea

Quote from: Uniltìrantokx te Skxawng on December 03, 2011, 01:32:43 PM
Na'vi can't be written with an abjad or abugida afaik. For example, there are CV and CCV and even CCCV clusters which would make an abugida break apart, as abugidas are best suited to CV or VC syllable types. Additionally, vowels are distinguishing:

ke/kä
ne/nì-
etc.

and abjads can only work in CV syllables (ex how can one know whether "fngp" is "fngap" or *fangap?)

EX can you read this properly:

l ngt km m y tsmkn lt ngr sy ry

Na'vi is an extremely vowelly language.

Even though abjad doesn't fit well with Na'vi, abugida might, especially in the form of a syllabry.  Na'vi only allows CCVC at a max.  An example system would contain characters and combinations for the following:

Vowels: {none}, a, ä, e, ì, i, o, u, ay, aw, ey, ew, ll, rr
Consonants: f, h, k, kx, l, m, n, ng, p, px, r, s, t, ts, tx, v, w, y, z, '
Consonant clusters: fk, fkx, fl, fm, fn, fng, fp, fpx, fr, ft, ftx, fw, fy, sk, skx, sl, sm, sn, sng, sp, spx, sr, st, stx, sw, sy, tsk, tskx, tsl, tsm, tsn, tsng, tsp, tspx, tsr, tst, tstx, tsw, tsy.

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