For people to get other people interested in Na'vi

Started by Ftiafpi, January 04, 2010, 11:14:32 AM

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Ftiafpi

So, I was chatting with some of my friends about Avatar and they were wondering how easy it is to learn Na'vi and I came up with the following write-up and figured some people on here would be interested or would like to share this with other interested friends of theirs.

All this has been said before but I wanted to keep it as brief as possible (leaving out a lot, I know). If I made any gross mistakes or left any pertinent details out let me know and I'll revise.

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I'd say Na'vi is easier to learn than most languages but only because, like programing and other "made-up" languages, it has strict rules and it follows them explicitly. No weird things such as "i before e, except after c and except for a bunch of weird words that violate this rule". It does have some interesting features though. This will get a little long winded so forgive me.

Na'vi is essentially a conglomerate of many Earth languages and has some very interesting features. The biggest being word order, as in there is none. Normal English, and most other languages, follows a noun verb subject format (such as "I see you") but Na'vi does not. It uses what's called an ergative accusative format. Thus, I can say "see you I" or "I see you" and as long as I put the proper affixes on the right word to denote what is the agent of the verb and which is the object and it will mean the same thing.

Another is that in English, and most languages, you have words for different tense (I see you, I saw you, I will see you), but in Na'vi you not only have affixes for different tense but also affixes for different aspect. In a nutshell perfective aspect describes an event as a whole while imperfective aspect describes an event as ongoing, habitual, repeated, or generally containing internal structure.  As a simple example, if you were saying you were hunting with someone without going into detail, you could include the perfective aspect, because you are talking about the entirety of your hunting trip in the abstract.  But if you are telling a hunting story and started "While we were hunting..." you would use the imperfective aspect, because hunting is an ongoing aspect of what you are saying, not something that happens at some point. This can be quite hard to get at first. Also, there are more tenses, not just past, present, future but past, immediate past, present, immediate future, and future (for example I will see you soon is future, I will see you in a minute is immediate future). Oh, and there's also affixes for mood, "I see you (and am happy about it)", but these are fairly easy.

Now, while hard to learn at first the affixes present a distinct advantage for a new language in that you don't need much base vocabulary to make words of different tense, aspect, etc. unlike English (such as I be, I am, I was, I will, etc.).

There's some other interesting things but for the most part those are the biggest trip-ups. The only other would be pronunciation, Na'vi is very similar to Polynesian (if I recall correctly) language with a little African and a few others (or so I'm told). It lacks some sounds such as b and d but has some non-English sounds such as trilled r's (like in German) and it also has edjectives (px, tx, and kx) which sounds like clicks (similar to the clicks in African Swahili), and it also has ì and ä vowels.

All that said though, I've gotten a pretty good hold on the grammar in only 5 days and I'm working on my vocab now, so, in short, yes, it is pretty easy to learn and we have a great group of helpful people and over 1000 members in our forum trying to learn it. Good fun. If you are ever interested in learning head over to www.learnnavi.org or just hit me up and I can teach you a few of the more memorable movie phrases (they're great for scaring off telemarketers :P)

Tsun oe ngahu nìNa'vi pivängkxo a fì'u oeru prrte' layeiu, kìyevame
Literally: be able I you-with ADVERB-Na'vi chat that this thing I-DATIVE pleasure will be, see you soon
It will be a pleasure to be able to chat with you in Na'vi, goodbye.

Mako

Sìltsan! Wow! And yeah, when I'm telling people how easy Na'vi is to learn, I mention the verbs.

Atanä mungeyu

euh,sadly none of my good friends(the ones that won't find me ridiculous for learning na'vi) really likes avatar...
I haz teh DVD yaaaayy xD


nederlandse pocket guide door mij en txura tirea.

MonocleO.Q

First off, unil, thant is a tragedy. All of my friends loved it and my English teacher was impressed with my dedication to the language!

Secondly, Ftiafpi, I love this and will use this with all of my inquiring friends, should they show interest. Thank you!!
rey yol ulte lu fpom.

Jaysc

Even though i was interested in learning before. I saw the "Come learn Na'vi at learnnavi.org" youtube video as it surprised me on how you can learn a fictional language! It sound really impressive.

Reading the post, it makes me think i can actually succeed in learning =) So thanks. One of the main downside of learning any language though is where to start.

Maweya tirea

I really liked this! Unfortunately, all of my friends care too much what the popular people think about them.  :P
God síltsan lu!!!!!

Ftiafpi

Wow, I'm glad this is getting such a positive response. I may write up a follow up to this of where to start with learning Na'vi (at least where I would start), that probably would be much more useful.

Tìng Eywatikìte'e

I've gotten a few positive reactions from my friends, though most just give me an affectionate laugh and a shake of the head. Everyone in my group of friends is a bit geeky but I'm the dedicated one :D
Oeri lu Eywayä 'eveng


Mako


Tengfya swizaw

Quote from: Tìng Eywatikìte'e on January 04, 2010, 03:13:14 PM
I've gotten a few positive reactions from my friends, though most just give me an affectionate laugh and a shake of the head. Everyone in my group of friends is a bit geeky but I'm the dedicated one :D
Yeah, same here. I tell them that I can speak some Na'vi and they laugh and call me an obsessed nerd, go on to say how they'd never have the patience for that sort of thing, and change the subject. Ususally around then is when I tell them (in Na'vi) that they're idiots for not being more open-minded. Which is why I value these forums so much, because here people don't say "what? You're weird" to every statement I make. Except for my German teacher, who helps me out with some stuff.


Here's to not knowing exactly what you're saying and having fun with it.

Proud founder of the DeviantART Learn Na'vi group!
http://learnnavi.deviantart.com/

Jaysc

Living in england around my area, i'm surrounded by chavs. Not a good idea for me to speak up and tell everyone about it.

Tìng Eywatikìte'e

Well my friends love me for my insanity. Nothing is ever boring when I'm around ouO
Oeri lu Eywayä 'eveng


Ftiafpi

Most people who've I've told have either thought it was neat but a little bit obsessive but it's usually just friendly teasing, I'm sure many of them would love to learn if they could do it in like an hour or something, they (understandably) don't want to commit the time to something that essentially has no practical real world value (though, I must say, I'm learning a lot about linguistics from all this, and it's good mental exercise).

kxanì tsamsiyu

Quote from: Jaysc on January 04, 2010, 03:25:19 PM
Living in england around my area, i'm surrounded by chavs. Not a good idea for me to speak up and tell everyone about it.

Pretty much the same with me, but with not so many chavs. and most of my mates just laugh when i ask them to learn it.
To bad for them when i have learnt it i can call them all kinds of things and they wont have a clue what im saying. :D

Quote from: Ftiafpi on January 04, 2010, 03:49:46 PM
(though, I must say, I'm learning a lot about linguistics from all this, and it's good mental exercise).
I must say myself, i find my english and my linguistics skills are getting a lot better.

Doolio

i know maybe one person that is willing to learn, but she is not so good at comprehending the concept behind learning a language from scratch. i would have to mentor her, that presents a whole new challenge:)

as for teasing and laughing at, hm, maybe a few friendly teases but that's it. as a matter of fact, i've often being praised for capability to do such a serious task in my leisure time and for natural inclination to comprehending new linguistic mumbo jumbo :D  i am guessing that the majority of users here are younger than me (27), and that they still go to highschool, hence such a treatment from friends:)

but, something must be said - learning a whole new language from scratch is not an easy thing to do, especially when you don't have to, or even don't have the adequate learning books. for me, this is not a chore at all, and it is not hard, it just flows and i know more with every passing day without a hickup. maybe that's the reason i am learning it.
i am trying to say that it is natural people are put off by this, it is something we all do in our leisure time, and if it is hard or burdening for someone to do it, he probably has to be a 'supergeek'
:) to continue learning. frankly, i did not expect this kind of interest at all, all this is already huge if you ask me.
...taj rad...

Kaltxì Palulukan!

#15
I think that one major advantage that Na'vi has over Klingon is that the race of Na'vi are seen as wise people who are in tune with their world. They ARE, not just "exist in" their world. They do not rape the land for resources and poop where they eat (see: "Capitalism). In as much as Klingon has several television shows and movies, and novel, and toys, and comic books (and, and, and . . .) to lend cultural support that creates more of a "clique," Na'vi hold the promise of a better future in a time when subjects like environmentalism, spirituality, and space travel (including the eventual "alien races" we hope to meet--er . . . peacefully) are in vogue.

It will be a time before any language you cannot order a cheeseburger, or yell at the TV (football, in America) in is seen as anything but a waste of time, mostly by "the unwashed masses." However, this does not preclude an avalanche of new speakers over time. A steady growth would be infinitely preferable to a sudden "coolness" which would inevitably be followed by a mass exodus and the language thought of as a fad of "the '10's (like the fads of the 70's, 80's, or 90's). I like this entire thread and the original post. Irayao aysmuktu! My hear sings in joy in harmony with the benevolent voices here.

Just don't give up, or quit. You will probably run into people who speak smatterings of Na'vi (and you may never know they do), but unless we start tagging (not a good idea) Na'vi messages in public places, it may be that we only find our voices herd online, or at gatherings for now. As an author I will do what I can to help spread the language to others who might be interested.

Eywa fyawìntxu ngaru.
2022 update: Working on the new astrology book. "How to read tarot" books are on Amazon, if you are into that sort of thing.
Okay, so the old podcast is here: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/radioavatar It was goofy fun that ended too soon, but we had creative people. I hope we can get a new gang together (interested? PM me, let's make some magic!)
(Very old, outdated) Na'vi FUN activity book is here: But what are you doing? Let me know! :)

Mako

+1 flippin' million! I use it in public, but I'm alone for now.

Ftiafpi

Well said dusty, that's one of the main reasons I've never bothered to learn Klingon is it not really a beautiful language and doesn't hold a personal meaning for me (aside from being from a decent movie/tv show) but Na'vi on the other hand is completely different.

Toruk Makto

Jesus, Dustywhite!  Stop reading my mind and putting it into such precise and well thought-out messages!  ;)

Lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpongu
Na'vi Dictionary: http://files.learnnavi.org/dicts/NaviDictionary.pdf

Mako

Hahahahaha! Yeah, Na'vi is much more musical than other languages.