Sì'eyng a ftu Na'rìng #3: Proverbs, what we asked for, and some vocabulary

Started by wm.annis, October 08, 2010, 08:07:46 PM

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wm.annis

This post finishes out the Saturday morning session, though I've thrown in a few other details that don't go anywhere else.  This one is more chatty, less about the details of grammar.


Proverbs

We had an extended chat about proverbs.  Nothing was really firmly decided, but a number of points did come up.

1. They should reflect the culture.
2. They should be useful in everyday situations.
3. The form matters, too.  He gave the example of a Persian proverb, "everything that's round is not a walnut," which sounds better in Persian because the words for "round" and "walnut" sound similar.  "All that glitters is not gold" is similar.
4. It's possible some proverbs will not be obviously interpretable just based on the words.  For an English example, think of "Speak of the Devil."  It's not even the complete phrase.  We can expect cultural background to shorten proverbs over time to their essence, which may not be clear if you don't know the back story.


What We Want

Before lunch we went quickly around the room and people said what they most wanted from Paul.  Many people said one thing: words.  And not just new words, but help us understand existing words better (we don't have example of usage for plenty of them, still).  But a few other things did come up, both in this session and in later discussions.  Many people wanted more beginning material, as well as more audio material suited to beginners.

Later in the day, he asked us if we wanted more but smaller blog posts or big, juicy blog posts.  Everyone wanted more short ones, which was news to him.  I suspect most of us would rather get one new nugget every few days.  These would probably be easier for him to write, and it gives the rest of us more manageable chunks to learn.


A few Words

Some vocabulary matters that came up over the weekend —

sa'sem means parents, never one parent
Eo Eywa oe 'ia "I lose myself before Eywa," a chant in the film  (Fixed)
nìhay "next" (adverb, as in, "next we will talk about verbs")
nìnäk "by/through drinking" — any liquid, not just booze
tìlen (n) "event, happening" whether planned or accidental

There are a few others, but we're waiting on confirmation of some details.


I should mention, we currently have the weekend divided into nine sections.  So, six more posts to go.  They'll have more grammatical detail than this post has had.

Kemaweyan

Nìrangal frapo tsirvun pivlltxe nìNa'vi :D

Prrton


wm.annis

Oy.  Fixed.  I hope this isn't a pattern now, messing up one thing a post.

'Oma Tirea

Quote from: wm.annis on October 08, 2010, 08:18:07 PM
Oy.  Fixed.  I hope this isn't a pattern now, messing up one thing a post.

« Last Edit: Today at 06:19:41 pm by wm.annis » 


HRRH ::)

Interesting find with sa'sem....

[img]http://swokaikran.skxawng.lu/sigbar/nwotd.php?p=2b[/img]

ÌTXTSTXRR!!

Srake serar le'Ìnglìsìa lì'fyayä aylì'ut?  Nari si älofoniru rutxe!!

Ekirä

Quote from: Sxkxawng alu 'Oma Tirea on October 08, 2010, 11:39:57 PM
Interesting find with sa'sem....

Agreed, I find that a little peculiar....but good to know. Sort of like an invisible plural, but I guess it makes sense when you think of it as a Na'vi word, not an English word translated into Na'vi.

Plumps

Well, if you think about it as a shortened form of sa'nok sempulsì > sa'sem then it makes sense... Why would it ever be a singular word if it always contains both parties? ;)

Thanks again, ma wm. ;)

nìsung: I wouldn't mind if my proverb got out now ... I don't thing that the meaning was that undecided about, kefyak?

Le'eylan

Quote from: Plumps on October 09, 2010, 01:15:51 AM
Well, if you think about it as a shortened form of sa'nok sempulsì > sa'sem then it makes sense... Why would it ever be a singular word if it always contains both parties? ;)


ohh irayo ma Plumps, I didn't see that first. Now that word will stick in my eltu forever  :D
Krro krro pamrel seri fìtsengmì, alu oey pìlok leNa'vi
Sometimes writing here, on my Na'vi blog
=^● ⋏ ●^=

Kì'eyawn

Quote from: Ekirä on October 09, 2010, 12:24:42 AM
Quote from: Sxkxawng alu 'Oma Tirea on October 08, 2010, 11:39:57 PM
Interesting find with sa'sem....

Agreed, I find that a little peculiar....but good to know. Sort of like an invisible plural, but I guess it makes sense when you think of it as a Na'vi word, not an English word translated into Na'vi.

When i talked to Karyu Pawl about this, i compared it to the Tibetan Yab-Yum, which as i understand it literally means "mother-father."  So instead of thinking of the word sa'sem as meaning "parents," it might be better to think of it as meaning "mother-and-father".
eo Eywa oe 'ia

Fra'uri tìyawnur oe täpivìng nìwotx...

'Oma Tirea

Quote from: Kì'eyawn on October 09, 2010, 12:04:00 PM
Quote from: Ekirä on October 09, 2010, 12:24:42 AM
Quote from: Sxkxawng alu 'Oma Tirea on October 08, 2010, 11:39:57 PM
Interesting find with sa'sem....

Agreed, I find that a little peculiar....but good to know. Sort of like an invisible plural, but I guess it makes sense when you think of it as a Na'vi word, not an English word translated into Na'vi.

When i talked to Karyu Pawl about this, i compared it to the Tibetan Yab-Yum, which as i understand it literally means "mother-father."  So instead of thinking of the word sa'sem as meaning "parents," it might be better to think of it as meaning "mother-and-father".

Ahh, that makes sense :)

[img]http://swokaikran.skxawng.lu/sigbar/nwotd.php?p=2b[/img]

ÌTXTSTXRR!!

Srake serar le'Ìnglìsìa lì'fyayä aylì'ut?  Nari si älofoniru rutxe!!