Tskxekengtsyìp a Mikyunfpi–A Little Listening Exercise

Blue Elf · July 30, 2012, 02:57:45 AM

new post on Naviteri: http://naviteri.org/2012/07/tskxekengtsyip-a-mikyunfpi-a-little-listening-exercise/
didn't read/listen it completely, but it is related to Na'vi class on meetup

Plumps · July 30, 2012, 05:09:54 AM

Wonderful! I was waiting for new audio material so much!

This one intrigues me

Txampxìri suteyä, ke tsun fko nivume fte nìlì'fya amip pivlltxe nìltsan fa fwa tìng mikyun horenur nì'aw.

First, I thought it was an error of transcription but I hear him say it as well... $:-\$

Blue Elf · July 30, 2012, 04:07:02 PM

It's time to ask author

Can be adverb modified by adjective? IMHO not, so probably "fìlì'fya" can work. But I can hear "nìlìfy'a" too.... Hm.

Toruk Makto · July 30, 2012, 05:25:07 PM

"win nì'ul, kxayl nì'ul, txur nì'ul" was blessed for use by LEI on the Avatar Facebook page... Same thing?

Blue Elf · July 31, 2012, 12:53:26 AM

Quote from: Toruk Makto on July 30, 2012, 05:25:07 PM
"win nì'ul, kxayl nì'ul, txur nì'ul" was blessed for use by LEI on the Avatar Facebook page... Same thing?

Oh yes, but IMHO these examples are something different - these are comparison of adjectives (fast -> faster, high ->higher, strong -> stronger), no adjective marker is used (-a-).
But in Paul's introduction there IS -a- marker: ...fte nìlì'fya amip pivlltxe.... So it is not the same, "nìlì'fya" works as a noun.

Plumps · August 03, 2012, 09:18:15 AM

Quote from: Blue Elf on July 31, 2012, 12:53:26 AM
Quote from: Toruk Makto on July 30, 2012, 05:25:07 PM
"win nì'ul, kxayl nì'ul, txur nì'ul" was blessed for use by LEI on the Avatar Facebook page... Same thing?
Oh yes, but IMHO these examples are something different - these are comparison of adjectives (fast -> faster, high ->higher, strong -> stronger), no adjective marker is used (-a-).
But in Paul's introduction there IS -a- marker: ...fte nìlì'fya amip pivlltxe.... So it is not the same, "nìlì'fya" works as a noun.

Well, we have the nìfya'o construction to which an attributive adjective can be attached. But ... hm, I don't know how to translate nìlì'fya ... tì'efumì oeyä, fìlì'fya or lì'fyao would have been enough

Of course, I forgot to ask him about that during the Skype conference we had during our Berlin Meet Up

Blue Elf · August 03, 2012, 02:11:02 PM

then you should try again

Plumps · August 04, 2012, 05:45:08 PM

Well, since it didn't let me sleep ... I asked. And I wanted to share this information with you before I call it a night.

Quote from: K. Pawl, 4 August, 2012About nìlì'fya amip . . .

That's an interesting question that I hadn't thought about before. You're right--it's an unusual locution. But it seemed perfectly natural to me, so much so that I didn't question it.

As you know, the idiomatic way to say "He can speak Na'vi" is "Po tsun nìNa'vi pivlltxe"--that is, "He can speak Na'vi-ly." :-) Or less bizarrely but still very oddly in English, "He can speak in a Na'vi way." That is to say, the language spoken is treated adverbially rather than as the object of a transitive verb that means speak. Extending that, to speak a new language would be plltxe nìlì'fya amip, which is best thought of not as an adjective mip modifying an adverb nì'lìfya--adjectives don't modify adverbs!--but rather like this: nì-[lì'fya amip]. In other words, the whole NP (noun phrase) lì'fya amip is turned into an adverb.

That said, the process is unusual, and as far as I can think ahead, is only applicable to this particular use of nì- with languages.

Hope that makes sense!

Kemaweyan · August 05, 2012, 12:50:38 AM

Interesting. I think the same happens in phrase nìfya'o alahe. Irayo

Blue Elf · August 06, 2012, 01:55:53 AM

Oh, ma Plumps, thanks for sharing! Well, it really gives a sense now. So it seems, that nì- in this case works like nìfya'o (nì- [fya'o adjective]), but we are not free to create new phrases this way (nì- is not productive, while nìfya'o is)