Kaltxì ma smukan!
I just found out that the new version of Taronyu's dictionary has a word for head and other body parts. This will have me rework my psalms once more all over again... But especially head was a word I've been missing, as you can use it to construct many other new words.
Ma Alìm Tsamslyu:
I don't dislike KJV, but I fear that using it will lead to a propagation of literally translated idioms that then make no sense in Na'vi.
I think that problem you would have with either bible when not looking left nor right. And as this is an international project, I think there'll be many influences from many different denominations and cultures going to the text and the reviews.
I'll be there to help grammar and vocab issues
Like the Col said: Great you wanna support us. Irayo. Though I feel among the more secure in the language here in this project, I am still only a noobish beginner, but it serves me that I had to learn some languages in school and Uni, so I know most grammar terms and what they do mean more or less. But it's great to have someone with us who was here since the beginning.
a la "Yawe/Yawey"
Problem is: How did the Hebrews pronounce the names?
Even today in Israel you can hear clearly who is an immigrant from the USA and who not. I was able to tell this apart before I knew only one word in Hebrew.
This is how most other language translations of the Bible do it from what I understand
... and they still end up with names as different as: Matteo, Mattisyahu, Matthäus, Mathew, Mathieu... they still look similar when written, but once you pronounce them...
But I agree. Sooner or later we have to see how to get this done. The question is: Do we start from English, from Hebrew, from Greek, from Kiswahili...? If we start from Hebrew, Jeremiah would end up with something like Yirmeyahu. Do we want this? Will people understand it?
Some names do also have a meaning and it's often a playing with words, like Benjamin who was first to be named Ben Oni (Son of bad luck or likely) but was then named Benjamin (son of the right hand, of Righteousness), or theink about Immanuel being the synonym for Jesus, meaning God with us... but you'd still understand the main message without those translated names, otherwise the Bible in our own national languages would not work either. The question is what we want. Yet I think the idea to keep the English names is a good approximation, and when we put them in braces, we can have them replaced quickly later by a script or something...
The only thing I see is in verse 4, "saw" - not sure if you intended this to be plural (you didn't mark it if you did)
If not, it'd just be "taw."
I meant it to be singular, but I thought the "mì" before it causes lention...?
If we're going to translate the most important book ever written, it's going to take some serious proofreading to ensure we've done it justice by getting it correct.
This is why we post our work here to crossreview. As already said: Most of us are beginners, we just don't know better but are eager to learn. For some this might even be their first foreign language they learn.
First of all, it's painful to me to see the spread of "Yawä" as a word intended to be pronounced similar to "Yahweh."
It works well if you pronounce Jahwe like the Germans do
That's where I came from in the beginning, I had the first text with JHWH in it, so I had to come to a decision. People here agreed with me on it, that's how it went. Now, a couple of days later, I'd rather go by Yawì, which seems to me to be closest to what I think the Hebrews would have pronounced it. But still, this might be as German-centered as your Yawey is (US)English-centered...
More accurate to Hebrew - English translation [and easier to translate
There was no Hebrew gospel of John that we would know of
Original is Greek. But still, it's great you help us on our translations. We can really need your help.
Another thing in the final part, "believes concerning Him" might be somewhat different from "Believes in Him" in exact meaning. We don't really have a good word for that kind of idiom, I'm afraid, that was the closest I could get.
I was already thinking about using "kame" for believe in the biblical sense, because it is somehow seeing something you cannot see with your eyes, but rather your heart or as said spiritually...
I just like this "kame" word.
"God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him will not die but will live for eternity."
Frapo fìtxan yawne lamu Yawer atalun Poanìl 'awa 'Itan poyä tolìng fte ke tayerkup slä rey frakrr tuteo a speraw teri Foan
(Whew that was a tough one!)
Literally:
Everyone was so beloved to Yahweh, for this reason He gave His one Son so that anyone who believes (is believing) concerning Him will not die but will live always.
If you cannot add only to son, then you also cannot add
fìtxan to
yawne, right? And I am not sure if I would say that what you say is theologically the same as the original, as you speak of everyone, more or less taking each individual on his or her own, while the text says "the world", so this is more of a community (and some might even argue, that animals are included in world as well).
I just learn that there is no word for "to love" in Na'vi. This might end up in a big problem for a bible translation as there are three Greek words for it...
tìawn si looks strange in a way, doesn't it? Any way, I have a strong feeling the verse should start with God loving the world in an active way. The adjective yawne leaves us no chance as to have a passive construct. Or would it be passible to guess yawne as y<awn>e? Does this leave us with ye=to love?
Ye Yawäl fratutet (fraswirä)...
I am not sure how to go on, as I am still a bit insecure about subclauses. All those
fwas and
furias confuse me. I thought of something like as much as...
na would be like, as, but this needn't mean that you can use it like in English comparatives...
his only son: lu poru nìaw fì 'itan (a'aw) = for him was only this (one) son
But this sentence is really a hard nut especially if you don't know about subclauses like me...
So I think the Colonel did a real good job on this. Another approach would be to split it up in small sentences:
The Lord loved the world very much. Because of this, he gave His only Son. This way, everybody that believes in Him will have life forever and will not be lost (or lose himself spiritually ? -> 'ia)
Ma Colonel:
As to the translation of Yawä it was a descion at the time but as of late we have had the talk of reverting back to just names as they appear and bracket them until a suitable Na'vi version is available
I am a bit unsure now. Would I write {YHWH} or {YHVH} for Yawä? Just to get my texts up to date. I think {יהוה} will not really help
Hey thought I would let everyone know I will be making a website soon that will be showing other our progress here, sharing about Jesus and listing any new words we might come up with in Na'vi for the Bible.
Marvellous. Maybe it's worth thinking about joining efforts, as riftmaster said he'd be working on a layout for the bible text and 'Eylan Ayfalulukanä was also doing some work in the direction of how to keep the results together...
Ma 'Eylan Ayfalulukanä:
We do have a term for 'demon' vrrtep (That and its plural fayvrrtep
I like these words, too. Also krr and trr. Just anythink with double r. And similarly the double l. Just one thing: fayvrrtep is not the plural of vrrtep, but the plural plus
fì (=this). So
fayvrrtep would be "these demons" and the plural of
vrrtep is just
ayvrrtep without "f".
One name for Jesus I like is 'Lion of the Tribe of Judah' or possibly Palulukanru olo'ri a{Judah}
I think it would rather be something like Palulukan olo'yä le{Judah}. "a" goes only with Adjectives. In order to make a noun (like a name) into an Adjective, you put "le" in front of it. Then, if it follows the described noun (olo'yä here) you don't have to use another "a", because the "le" makes clear it's an Adjective. Only if you say Palulukan le{Judah}a olo'yä you have to append the "a", as it is on the opposite side of "le" and the marker has to be on the same side with the noun. I know the term as Lion of Judah, so that would leave the olo' out (and I'm never sure if there is a difference between clan and tribe): Palulukan {Judah}yä or {Judah}yä Palulukan.
Btw, I like the idea of using animal names of Na'vi fauna, as it would be closer to the Pandore feeling and there will never be a word for a real lion I guess... Would Toruk be something like Leviathan? But Toruk is positive in Na'vi culture I think, so it would not be wise to connect it with negative Leviathan I think.
Ma Letxepa tirea
Solomon-yä ay-lì’u a-txantslusam. Solomon-yä sempul lamu David ulte David l<am>u Israel-yä eyktan.
Nice. I always thought the king of Israel means here Solomon, but yes, both were Israel's kings. But this is really nice language: Easy, short sentences that show one does not always need complicated sentence structures to express things. I like that style. Like the rest of your work. I really like it.
Okay, I'm getting tired now and I think I have already written enough for today
I'll finish psalm 2 the next days and then review my psalms so far again, as I think there need to be some updates again...
Kìyevame!
