I don't want to learn Na'vi but I'm writing a Fanfiction...

[Catherss]

Hello.
Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I hope someone'll tell me

I looked trough the Learn Na'vi database but I decided quickly that I'm too stupid to learn Na'vi. I'm bad at languages at school, so it wasn't a big leap, since languages aren't really my strong point.

Right, I'm writing a Fanfiction and I'd like a prayer that Mo'at would say while Neytiri is give birth and the chant/reply of the people with her (women of the tribe). It needs to be like what Mo'at said while they where trying to put Graces spirit into the Avatar body. They are at the Tree of Souls.

Thanks for helping, I'm open to suggestions and once it's done I'll post a link to it on Fanfiction

--Catherss

[Eana Unil]

Kaltxì

I don't know which part of Mo'ats words you exactly mean, but I guess that the part of her speach, which was focused on Grace(s soul to return to her Avatar body), would not be adequate for a possible birth ceremony.

Nonetheless, the other part she said was "Oe 'ia eo Eywa" - I lose myself before Eywa.

Hope this helps a bit, maybe other people could help more, if this was not the answer you were looking for.

_{BTW... I only can recommend to give it a try. I mean to learn the language. First I thought the same way as you, but then I decided to give it a try - and now I'm glad that I decided to learn it. Currently I'm working on a fan-comic nìNa'vi and it's really awesome to write the dialogues on your own nìNa'vi.}

[Catherss]

_{BTW... I only can recommend to give it a try. I mean to learn the language. First I thought the same way as you, but then I decided to give it a try - and now I'm glad that I decided to learn it. Currently I'm working on a fan-comic nìNa'vi and it's really awesome to write the dialogues on your own nìNa'vi.}

Yeah, I was considering it after I posted this but I'm wondering about it's practical uses, because I haven't met anyone at all who loves Avatar as much as I do, so the conversations would only be online and limited to the words that have been created.

Anyway, that was off-topic

Thanks for your help. I've figured part of the prayer I want : Ewya, help the child and her mother, help them be strong

But I don't know if that's really bad or not >.< Suggestions?

[Blue Elf]

you probably mean this part from the movie.
But read beginning of that document - there's no guarantee that those lines are correct.

Regarding learning.... Na'vi is quite simple language, although on first look it seems to be difficult. Well, it contains many "strange" features (to name the most difficult one - infixes), but once you get it, everything is clear.
Try it - it is amusing.

[Blue Elf]

Thanks for your help. I've figured part of the prayer I want : Eywa, help the child and her mother, help them be strong

Ma Eywa, srung si 'evengur sì peyä sa'nokur, srung si mefor fte livu txur

[Niri Te]

 Ma Catherss.
  Due to serious head wounds that I suffered while in the Army during Vietnam, I have something called "Aphasia". While I can write, it is all that I can do to speak English. It is VERY difficult for me to learn a foreign language, BUT I am learning to speak Na'vi in spite of part of my brain looking like jello in an MRI. Give it a shot, you should be able to learn enough to use the online dictionaries, both English>Na'vi, and Na'vi>English to help you out. I have loaded both of them into the C drive on my notebook.
  It is going to be really tough to write a story about the Na'vi, and NOT use some Na'vi in the story.
Ta Niri Te

[Yawne Zize’ite]

you probably mean this part from the movie.
But read beginning of that document - there's no guarantee that those lines are correct.

Regarding learning.... Na'vi is quite simple language, although on first look it seems to be difficult. Well, it contains many "strange" features (to name the most difficult one - infixes), but once you get it, everything is clear.
Try it - it is amusing.

This is true. Grammatically correct Naʼvi is not that difficult, although smooth, idiomatic Naʼvi usually eludes me. Compared to Klingon or any form of Elvish, Naʼvi rules are few, simple, and intuitive. Infixes are definitely the most difficult since they make it hard to identify the root, but once you learn the list you'll be able to pull the infixes out and look up the verb. The only distinctly non-English parts you have to use are the cases, the dual and trial (which are fancy words for having to always say "two" and "three"), initial lenition, and the subjunctive (and tense infixes if you find those difficult). You'll miss out on some of the expressive power of Naʼvi, but you won't be wrong either.

Now, Naʼvi pronunciation is rather difficult since it uses an entire class of consonants that aren't used in widely-spoken languages of Eurasia ('ejectives'), but if all you do is write fanfiction you don't have to worry too much about the fine details of pronunciation, right?

[Catherss]

Thanks for all your replies

Hmm, it seems you have persuaded me. Darn you all. I'll give it a go and impress my friends with my nerdy-ness.

Out of interest, how many words are there and how many are modern-like? Such as house or school? So if I wanted to say, 'Can I get into the car?' would that be possible or would I have to replace it with a similar word/form of transportation, like Ikran? (Perhaps that would be better for a plane)...

[Irtaviš Ačankif]

There are no words for car. However, there is a word for school (numtseng, literally learnplace) and house (kelku).

If you want, you can circumlocute, like saying "pa'li lefngap" (metal direhorse) for car.

There are around 1,500 words, not counting the inflected forms. There are also no synonyms. Basically, you can say pretty much anything, but some subjects would require tons of circumlocution (like "metal animal which uses created energy" for "electrical appliance").

[Catherss]

Haha, 'Metal Dyrehorse' reminds me of K9 from Doctor Who XD

Anyway, where should I start in learning? Greetings? Grammar?

[Niri Te]

 I fly a Lefngap Ikran, metal ikran, or airplane. I wonder if you could use  Lefngap 'emyu (Metal cooker) for an oven, or cook stove.
Niri Te

[Catherss]

I fly a Lefngap Ikran, metal ikran, or airplane. I wonder if you could use  Lefngap 'emyu (Metal cooker) for an oven, or cook stove.
Niri Te

I think in the Metal Cooker I think you could probably just have cooker...

I looked at the Learn Na'vi Activity Book and I has question:

fo - they
ayfo - they

Why? Why are there two?

[Niri Te]

I fly a Lefngap Ikran, metal ikran, or airplane. I wonder if you could use  Lefngap 'emyu (Metal cooker) for an oven, or cook stove.
Niri Te

I think in the Metal Cooker I think you could probably just have cooker...

I looked at the Learn Na'vi Activity Book and I has question:

fo - they
ayfo - they

Why? Why are there two?

Me-2, Pxe-3, Ay-all

[Catherss]

Ahh, okay. So ayfo means 'All of them'?

[Plumps]

Ahh, okay. So ayfo means 'All of them'?

Yes ... but fo means the same.
Again, something of a speaker preference Whether you use fo or ayfo is up to you ... fo is the 'short plural form' of ayfo.
fo saves a syllable

Great to read that we got you to try to learn it after all

[Catherss]

Yeah, you persuasive people, you...!

Okay, I think I understand. I'm gonna go thorough the Activity book (I think that will be the best way for me), maybe print it (It's 100 pages!) and try learn.

[Blue Elf]

There are also no synonyms.

I wouldn't say this - IMHO we'd find some, like pxel/na (like, as) or polpxay/holpxaype (how many). Basically, all -pe+ words can be considered as synonyms, as -pe+ can be attached from both sides. Also words like lor/sevin/sayrìp could be considered as synonyms, although they have specific usage (aren't interchangeable).

As for learning - I can describe what I did. First, try to learn a few base words. In beginner section there's sticky thread with list of commonly used words - it is good to know them. Then learn grammar, without it you get stuck. Na'vi in a nutshell is good for this (although a little outdated these days). This should allow you create some simple sentences.
To get more, use Le'eylan's  prezi lessons (sticky thread under learning resources). On download page you can get KP's Learn Na'vi easy way workbook. Get it and practise, it helps a lot.
If you do not understand something, try to find answer in beginner subforum or ask.
As for speaking, well, it is harder, but you can try to connect to team speak server (ts.learnnavi.org), there you sometimes can find someone who is good at speaking.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Perhaps the toughest thing of all, though, is attribution, when you get into more complex sentences. This is places where you use a as a standalone word. This occurs because Na'vi allows (mostly) free word order. As a result, you can have things at the beginning of a sentence that might logically seem better at the end of a sentence (especially for English speakers). However, once you understand how to properly use this, it opens up a whole new world of creative writing. Before letting this discourage you, work through the simpler examples in KP's book. You can do a lot without having to get involved in some of the less common forms of attribution. But there are users here who freely use these forms (Tirea Aean, for one), so some of his sentences may not make sense when you first read them.

There are many people here that will be more than willing to help you over rough spots. Don't be afraid to ask questions, even if you have to ask a lot of them.

Another advantage of learning Na'vi, especially in the manner you will learn it here, is that it will make almost any other language easier to learn.

[Irtaviš Ačankif]

Surely I agree with that last comment! Many languages, if literally translated into Na'vi, still make grammatical sense.

For example, in Japanese (a topic-prominent language) "象は鼻が長い" translates into English as "Elephant (is) nose long" which doesn't make sense since English is not topic-prominent. Neither is Na'vi, but Na'vi can model topic-prominent languages with the topical case: "Elefantìri ontu ngim (lu)".

[Catherss]

Thanks for replies

I might not get round to learing Na'vi 'till the summer holidays where I'll proably have too much time  >.<