Research Project Fictional Language Discussion

Started by Paperwings, April 30, 2020, 03:15:20 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Paperwings

Hello, everyone! I am currently working on a research project involving fictional/constructed languages, and I'm interested in hearing from people that are involved in learning Na'vi. Any help is greatly appreciated!
The purpose of the study is to explore the connection between fictional languages and cultural expression. Here are my questions. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfl0t-OPcT7aEMGyLWeO3keW132bGm9kCz7BKtRgeleoM8fkQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Feel free to skip some questions or go off topic. I just want to hear what you have to say. If you have any questions or if the link doesn't work, please reply to this post. Or if everyone would prefer me to post the questions here directly, I can do that as well.

Everyone stay safe! Irayo!


Mech

What first drew you to Avatar? What captured your interest?
I admired it epic proportions, rich background and worldbuilding.

If you are learning Na'vi, why did you choose to learn it?
Simply its exoticism and beauty

Is there any part of the Na'vi culture you identify with? Think about your own, real-life culture or society; how does it compare to Na'vi culture? Are there parts of Na'vi culture that you feel more connected to than your own culture?
No. Na'vi culture is interesting to me as it is a pastiche of some real-life aboriginal populations, projected to an alien planet. I would say that I am an "exoticist". What attracts me is its remoteness and exoticity.

There are a lot of themes explored Avatar (such as imperialism, the concept of religion, the concept of civilization, environmentalism, etc). For those that are learning Na'vi, do you feel like speaking the language helps you connect to these themes? Why or why not?
It is my understanding that many Avatar fans identify with some New Age, neopagan, neo-hippie, green/vegan ideals. However I don't think it is supported by the Na'vi vocabulary. There are words describing nature and culture but (in my limited knowledge) I haven't noticed anything like the "eskimo has 80 words for snow" phenomenon

Are there any Na'vi words or phrases that you find difficult to explain/translate to your own language?
Yes. A simple example is the ubiquitous kame that means "see in spiritual sense"

How do you think Avatar fans interact with the movie's themes?
I guess communicating their views with other fans, and with fan fiction

Toliman

Kaltxì ma Paperwings :) Welcome here!

I just answered on your questions. Good luck with your research project!

Paperwings


Toliman


Tirea Aean

#5
Quote from: Paperwings on May 12, 2020, 03:29:36 PM
Thank you to everyone who replied!

I see that it looks like this Form is still accepting responses. We could get you a bunch more if this was posted on our Discord chat. Sorry I saw this so late! I'll go ahead and post that there, for anyone else who is interested in contributing to the study but is not generally on this forum site.