’A’awa aylì’u amip A few new words

[Toliman]

'A'awa aylì'u amip      A few new words
http://naviteri.org/2021/09/aawa-ayliu-amip-a-few-new-words/
Posted on September 30, 2021 by Pawl

Kaltxì, ma frapo!

Sìlpey oe, ayngaru livu fpom nìwotx.

It's been a while since we've had any new vocabulary, slä nì'i'a, here are some new words I hope you'll find useful.

First, one that's long been missing but which you may have guessed at:

lìngtskxe (n., LÌNG.tskxe) 'unobtanium'

This clearly comes from lìng 'float' + tskxe 'rock.'

säfmong (n. sä.FMONG) 'theft (particular instance)'

We've already seen tìfmong, the abstract concept of theft. Säfmong is a particular instance of stealing.

   Poeri säfmong lora tsafkxileyä lolu na ayskxe mì te'lan.
   'For her, the theft of that beautiful necklace was like stones in her heart.'

   Srake lu ngay fwa tìfmong ke tìfkeytok kip Na'vi?
   'Is it true that theft does not exist among the Na'vi?'

kakan (adj., KA.kan) 'rough'

Don't confuse kakan with ekxtxu. Ekxtxu is rough in the physical sense, as in a rough surface as opposed to a smooth (faoi) one. Kakan is the opposite of flrr 'gentle' and refers to behavior. It's used for both people and things.

   Kakana aylì'uri a poltxe oel nìsti, tsap'alute.
   'I apologize for the rough words that I spoke in anger.'

nìkakan (adv., nì.KA.kan) 'roughly'

txaw (vtr.) 'punish'

   Sempulìl asìltsan sney evengit ke txaw nìkakan.
   'A good father doesn't punish his children roughly.'

tìtxaw (n., tì.TXAW) 'punishment'

ra'un (vtr., RA.'un, inf. 1,2) 'surrender, relinquish, give up'

It may seem we already have a word for 'surrender, give up'—namely, velek. But the two words are different. Velek is vin.—intransitive, i.e., not taking an object. So to say, "I give up. I surrender. You win," you use velek. On the other hand, ra'un is vtr. and takes an object: it refers to giving up or surrendering something:

   Fìatxkxeti ke raya'un ayoel kawkrr!
   'We will never give up this land!'

tìra'un (n., tì.RA.'un) 'surrender, relinquishment'

   Peyä tìra'un tìeyktanä leyewla lu nìtxan.
   'His surrender of leadership is very disappointing.'

'älek (adj, 'Ä.lek) 'determined'

This refers to someone who has made a firm decision that is not subject to change.

   Tìfläri lolu po 'älek.
   'She was determined to succeed.'

tì'älek (n., tì.'Ä.lek) 'determination'

   Peyä tì'älek oeru rolo'a nìtxan.
   'His determination impressed me greatly.'

nì'älek (adv., nì.'Ä.lek) 'determinedly, with determination'

pung (vtr.) 'hurt, injure'

This verb means the same as tìsraw seyki but has a simpler syntax.

   Ngal perung oet fìfya pelun?
   'Why are you hurting me like this?'

   Teya si oer fwa ngal pawnunga ayioangit zong.
   'It moves me that you save injured animals.'

lewng (n.) 'shame'

Lewng is the opposite of nrra 'pride.'

   Munge fnawe'tul lewngit soaiaru sneyä.
   'A coward brings shame to his/her family.'

There are two different adjectival forms for 'shameful'—one for people, one for things.

lelewng (adj., ofp, le.LEWNG) 'shameful'

lewnga' (adj., nfp, LEW.nga') 'shameful'

(Here, lewng + nga' has coalesced to lewnga'.)

So: tute lelewng 'a shameful person' but voìk alewnga', 'shameful behavior.'

swapxì (n., swa.PXÌ) 'family member'

This is a contraction of soaia + hapxì. The steps in the derivation are:

soaia + hapxì > soapxì > swapxì.

   Ayswapxìl oeyä tok fìtsenget nìwotx.
   'All the members of my family are here.'

sweyn (vtr.) 'keep, preserve'

   Ayngal syuvet sweyn peseng fteke ayioang tsivun tsat kivanom?
   'Where do you keep the food so that animals can't get it?'

Sweyn can also be used in the sense of 'leave alone' or 'not disturb':

   Tsayayotsrulit sweyn, ma 'itan.
   Don't disturb that bird's nest, son.

   Oey fpomit sweyn!
   'Leave me alone! (I.e., 'Do not disturb my peace!')

(Recall that an equivalent version of the last example, using the verb txung 'destroy, disrupt, bother,' is:

   Oey fpomit txung rä'ä!
   'Leave me alone!' OR 'Don't bother me!')

Finally, when you want to attract someone's attention, how do you say 'excuse me' or 'hey' in Na'vi? There are three levels of politeness:

Addressing a stranger using honorific language:

manawmtu (intj., ma.NAWM.tu) 'excuse me sir, excuse me madam'

   Manawmtu, srake luyu ngenga eyktan fìolo'ä?
   'Excuse me, sir, are you the leader of this clan?

2. Addressing a stranger using neutral language, neither overly polite nor overly familiar:

matu (intj., ma.TU) 'excuse me, hey'

   Matu, ngal hawntsyokxit tìmungzup.
   'Excuse me, you just dropped your glove.'

3. Addressing someone you're close to or superior to. Be careful with this, since in the wrong situation it can be impolite and rude (unless that's your intention!).

manga (intj., ma.NGA) 'hey, hey you'

   Manga! Kempe si?
   'Hey! What are you doing?'

That's it for now. I have some great material from members of the lì'fyaolo' that I hope to publish soon. Tsakrrvay, makto zong, ma eylan.