Help! I'm new to this...

Started by Txanatantu, October 24, 2011, 03:15:27 PM

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Txanatantu

Hello, everyone. I'm new to this, but I cannot wait to begin learning Na'vi. Does anybody have tips or tricks, or want to help me with this process? It's quite daunting!   :D
Oel ngati kameie.

Kamean

Kaltxì ma tsmuke ulte zola'eiu nìprrte'! :)

Welcome on the most friendly forum in the world.

At first I advise you come to this stuff and read this language studying tips. If you want pick language easier, it's only one way - try to speak. And don't be afraid of errors and ask all that you don't understand. Everyone here will be glad to help you.

Eywa ngahu. :D
Tse'a ngal ke'ut a krr fra'uti kame.


Txanatantu

Thank you! Or, "irayo"? Is that correct? Like I said, I know very little. In fact, I have no idea how some of you have become so skilled at speaking/writing Na'vi! How??
Oel ngati kameie.

Kamean

Yes, irayo is correct. :)
QuoteIn fact, I have no idea how some of you have become so skilled at speaking/writing Na'vi! How??
Only one way - practice. But at first - go to Na'vi in a Nutshel and dictionary. And read studying tips. ;)
And listen this Karyu Pawl speech (with English translation), it helps you pronounce difficult Na'vi sounds. :)
and this one as well by him:

http://masempul.org/2010/04/trr-%E2%80%99rrtaya-2/

Аnd also this one by him found on his blog, Na'viteri:

http://naviteri.org/2010/07/ting-mikyun-fte-tslivam-listening-comprehension-1-3/

Have you Na'vi layout?
This is for Windows, I have for Linux.
Tse'a ngal ke'ut a krr fra'uti kame.


Ningey

#4
Quote from: Txanatantu on October 24, 2011, 05:06:38 PM
Thank you! Or, "irayo"? Is that correct? Like I said, I know very little. In fact, I have no idea how some of you have become so skilled at speaking/writing Na'vi! How??

Kaltxì, ma 'eylan ulte oel ngati kameie.

Srane. Irayo does indeed mean thank you.

To quote Jake from the movie (the scene in which he is practicing with Neytiri): "If there's one thing to learning a new language it's repetition, repetition, repetition!"
You should keep one thing in mind, though: Despite your zeal to learn the language, just don't overdo it, but keep a steady pace that you are comfortable with. This will give you the best results.
As Kamean has already stated, when you don't know anything, you should know where to get the information.
Na'vi In A Nutshell is a good place to get you started, as is this one.
Furthermore, you could also have a look at this one, but don't get downhearted by the sheer amount of knowledge amassed therein. You don't have to grasp it all at once, just take your time.

You also have the opportunity to dig through this site and so possibly find out even more.

And should you be in need of someone to talk to, there are many friendly people present in Skype, TS or the likes who are more than willing to help you out.

Hayalovay ulte Eywa ngahu.


"Sawtute ke tsun nivume - fo ke kerame!"
-- Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite

"There are two things that are infinite: Human stupidity and the universe. However, I'm not yet sure about the universe."
-- Albert Einstein

"He who gives up freedom for security deserves neither and loses both."
-- Benjamin Franklin

Blue Elf

Quote from: Txanatantu on October 24, 2011, 05:06:38 PM
Thank you! Or, "irayo"? Is that correct? Like I said, I know very little. In fact, I have no idea how some of you have become so skilled at speaking/writing Na'vi! How??
As others already said - the only way is training :) Read something about grammar, learn some basic words and try to create sentences, then publish them here and other correct you, if there are mistakes. I've learnt much this way.
Also give a look at Prezi lessons. They're also very useful to get grammar base and some vocabulary (pity that Ngaynume project is dead now, it was very useful for me....)
Oe lu skxawng skxakep. Slä oe nerume mi.
"Oe tasyätxaw ulte koren za'u oehu" (Limonádový Joe)


Tirea Aean

Join me on teamspeak on Tuesdays if you'd like. There, we can chat via voice or by text chat. Teamspeak is free to download and use, and LearnNavi.org has its own server.

http://www.teamspeak.com

Download the correct CLIENT for your system, and join me on

the ts.learnnavi.org server :D

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Since you are an english speaker, there are a few things here that tend to trip up English speakers starting to learn Na'vi:

Free word order Perhaps the strangest thing a new Na'vi learner has to get used to is sentences with words in the 'wrong order'. English has a very strict word order. In Na'vi, there are just a few places where word order is strict. So, you are free to use word order to better communicate meaning.

Cased nouns Because Na'vi does have free word order, it is often hard to distinguish the subjects and objects of sentences. To this end, there are suffixes on many nouns that indicate their function in the sentence, these are called case marker. There are five of these, four of which are very commonly used. It is beyond the scope of this brief list to discuss them, and they are discussed in detail in the references you are given.

infixed verbs The modifiers for verbs are generally in the middle of the verb, in certain predefined places. These infixes do a great number of things in the verb, like control tense, mood, etc. There are twenty or so of these infixes, of which about half are commonly used. One infix in particular that gets beginners confused is the <iv> infix, which is for a function rarely encountered in English, namely the subjunctive mood. It is used in a lot of places, such as in verbs following other verbs. Do some extra research on this infix so you understand where to use it. Do not feel bad if you don't initally get it right; it takes some practice using the language to know how to best use the <iv> infix.

lenition Lenition is a process where the letter(s) or word preceeding a current word causes the first letter of the next word to change. This is a bit odd to grasp at first, but the rules for it are fairly straightforward. They need to be memorized, but they follow a easy-to-recognize pattern, and you may 'get it' in about 5 minutes.

unusual sounds Na'vi has a few unusual letter sounds that take some getting used to. The most well known are the ejective consonants, marked kx, px and tx in written Na'vi. Note that the x simply marks the letter before as an ejective, and serves no other purpose in written or spoken Na'vi. The ejectives are pronounced with a distinct pop on the consonant, and are most often followed by a vowel sound. The r is 'flipped' and the rr is 'strongly trilled'. These are two that most English speakers have to work at a bit to get to do them well. Lastly is the glottal stop ' , which is essentially a slight pause in a word, like in the English word 'uh-oh'.

attribution This is the partitioning of complex sentences into clauses using a. This is a bit more advanced than other things mentioned here, but it is used a lot. Also used frequently to break up sentences is a clause marker like futa. Once you see how they work (like a dunny word), they are reasonably straightforward.

If you can learn this list of things well, the rest of learning Na'vi is reasonably straightforward.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Ningey

You should also have a lookout for any words written in maroon that are underlined. Those words are hints, and hovering your mouse over such a word will give you an explanation.

Furthermore, if you get stuck, go ahead and ask someone and do so until you got the picture. There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers.


"Sawtute ke tsun nivume - fo ke kerame!"
-- Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite

"There are two things that are infinite: Human stupidity and the universe. However, I'm not yet sure about the universe."
-- Albert Einstein

"He who gives up freedom for security deserves neither and loses both."
-- Benjamin Franklin

Tirea Aean

#9
Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on October 25, 2011, 03:34:06 PM
Since you are an english speaker, there are a few things here that tend to trip up English speakers starting to learn Na'vi:

Free word order Perhaps the strangest thing a new Na'vi learner has to get used to is sentences with words in the 'wrong order'. English has a very strict word order. In Na'vi, there are just a few places where word order is strict. So, you are free to use word order to better communicate meaning.

Cased nouns Because Na'vi does have free word order, it is often hard to distinguish the subjects and objects of sentences. To this end, there are suffixes on many nouns that indicate their function in the sentence, these are called case marker. There are five of these, four of which are very commonly used. It is beyond the scope of this brief list to discuss them, and they are discussed in detail in the references you are given.

infixed verbs The modifiers for verbs are generally in the middle of the verb, in certain predefined places. These infixes do a great number of things in the verb, like control tense, mood, etc. There are twenty or so of these infixes, of which about half are commonly used. One infix in particular that gets beginners confused is the <iv> infix, which is for a function rarely encountered in English, namely the subjunctive mood. It is used in a lot of places, such as in verbs following other verbs. Do some extra research on this infix so you understand where to use it. Do not feel bad if you don't initally get it right; it takes some practice using the language to know how to best use the <iv> infix.

lenition Lenition is a process where the letter(s) or word preceeding a current word causes the first letter of the next word to change. This is a bit odd to grasp at first, but the rules for it are fairly straightforward. They need to be memorized, but they follow a easy-to-recognize pattern, and you may 'get it' in about 5 minutes.

unusual sounds Na'vi has a few unusual letter sounds that take some getting used to. The most well known are the ejective consonants, marked kx, px and tx in written Na'vi. Note that the x simply marks the letter before as an ejective, and serves no other purpose in written or spoken Na'vi. The ejectives are pronounced with a distinct pop on the consonant, and are most often followed by a vowel sound. The r is 'flipped' and the rr is 'strongly trilled'. These are two that most English speakers have to work at a bit to get to do them well. Lastly is the glottal stop ' , which is essentially a slight pause in a word, like in the English word 'uh-oh'.

attribution This is the partitioning of complex sentences into clauses using a. This is a bit more advanced than other things mentioned here, but it is used a lot. Also used frequently to break up sentences is a clause marker like futa. Once you see how they work (like a dunny word), they are reasonably straightforward.

If you can learn this list of things well, the rest of learning Na'vi is reasonably straightforward.

I'd say that besides <iv> that the difference between <ol> and <am> is a very common subject concerning infixes. [there are several threads on this, look around ;) ]

Great list!

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

#10
Tìpse'e asiltsan, ma Tirea. I might just keep this post (with the <am>/<ol> addition) and use it for future newcomers.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Txanatantu

Wow, this is all so interesting! You guys all know quite a ton, so I've got a lot of learning ahead of me. This should be fun to work on, though, because it's so interesting to me how developed the language created for the film actually is.  :D
Oel ngati kameie.