San Hayku sìk

[wm.annis]

Since I was once crazy enough to turn my hand to merging ancient Greek verse with the Haiku form, I suppose it was inevitable that I try one in Na'vi.

Normally we're told the Haiku form is syllable-counting, 5-7-5.  This is actually a little misleading.  In Japanese it's 5-7-5 mora, which is a measure of time, not syllables per se.  An open syllable is one mora, a long vowel makes it two mora, and a closed syllable adds another mora, leaving it possible for a single syllable to take up three of your 5-7-5 pattern.

Haiku in English these days tend to use even fewer syllables.  English syllable structure is insanely complex, especially compared to Japanese, so you can cram a lot more into the same number of syllables.  To catch the brevity of the Japanese originals, you have to pare down the English.  Na'vi's syllable structure is a bit more dense than Japanese, but not as much as English.  Fortunately, based on the work for my tongue-in-cheek analysis of Na'vi verse, I think it's safe to say that syllable-counting is a legitimate Na'vi verse technique.

More than the business of syllables, the haiku form interests me for some of the other formal elements, like kigo, a word that refers to the season that must be in the poem, and kireji, special grammar words that mark off the caesura.  Unfortunately, neither kigo nor kireji seem to have a good match in Na'vi.  But that didn't stop me from banging out a haiku today:

  Na'ringit terok,
  ta'em zerup 'awa rìk;
  yerik ke rolikx.

I utilized the aspect markers to the full to emphasize the movement (or not) of the presentation.

(I was sad to discover I cannot claim to have produced the first Na'vi haiku — omängum fra'uti got there first.)

[omängum fra'uti]

Well you can still claim to have the first good and/or correct Na'vi haiku

['Oma Tirea]

Normally we're told the Haiku form is syllable-counting, 5-7-5.  This is actually a little misleading.  In Japanese it's 5-7-5 mora, which is a measure of time, not syllables per se.  An open syllable is one mora, a long vowel makes it two mora, and a closed syllable adds another mora, leaving it possible for a single syllable to take up three of your 5-7-5 pattern.

Doesn't a diphthong also count as 2 morae?

Also, since Japanese vowels are pure, wouldn't the Na'vi word be "haiku" instead of "hayku" or are we assuming it came as an English loanword, where the "ai" got diphthongized?

[wm.annis]

Doesn't a diphthong also count as 2 morae?

To the best of my knowledge Japanese is not usually thought to have diphthongs.

Also, since Japanese vowels are pure, wouldn't the Na'vi word be "haiku" instead of "hayku" or are we assuming it came as an English loanword, where the "ai" got diphthongized?

As with its other loanwords, yes.

[Kayrìlien]

That's really cool, dude! I never really thought about trying to write haiku in Na'vi before, but when you think about it, there are a good number of ways to add or subtract single syllables from a Na'vi idea and make it work. Yours is especially poetic, ma tsmukan. Especially when compared to the more humorous one that I'm about to post.

Fì'u lu hayku
Slä krro krro ke tslam
Rifrìtsrreytrr



Kayrìlien

[Maweyatan]

Kxawm oe hahaw
Slä oe ke omum set
oe pxäpeykor

ngati yolom oel
oe tsun tswivayon nang
Nantang lu oe.

Nantang lu kawng nang
pol 'oleko ngey kelkut
po kop frìp sutet

srane, lu oe.
zola'u set fte yivom
oel ngeyä keyit

syuve atxantsan
ftxìlor lu oeru nìtxan
ngey key lu syuve

I want this thread to LIVE.

[Sireayä mokri]

I have created one long ago, but reading yours here I see that you are way better sulfätu the me

[Maweyatan]

'Eoio:
Kaltxì frapoya
ohel ngengat kameie
srake fpom lu ngar

kaltxì frapoya
ohel ngengat kameie
srake fpom lu ngar

[Maweyatan]

ftxì lu yawne oer
ngaru tut srak ma eylan
NgEY KEYIT YOM OEL

[Ataeghane]

Fìtseng Na'vi kä -
fo saronyu new slivu,
Sawtute mäkxu.