A suggestion....

[jackRH07]

I wasn't sure where to post this, so if needs to by moved, by all means.


I was browsing the dictionary, and got to thinking: "Is there an eaiser way to pronounce this?" Basically, I was thinking something like:

OL-NA-G-TI-KA-MAIE for "I See You".
TSS-MU-KANN for "tsmukan"

That way, it might not be accurate, but hey, at least the Jakes of the community will have at least a grasping of Na'vi.

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Wait, what? Are you saying not use IPA and just use fonetik-like sounds?  And really, I would say the best way to learn the pronunciation is to hear it spoken by a pro.

http://tov.cpfx.ca/

And I was under the impression that oel was pronounced "we'll" because it is monosyllabic.

[eejmensenikbenhet]

if you want to do it that way, you even made some mistakes:

wel ngaa-ti ka-mei-e
ts-mu-kaan

However, i don't think it's going to work...

[Plumps]

I think you will mostly hear "No" to this suggestion because Na'vi is as much pronounced as it is written for my taste. As soon as you know which letter (letter combination) stands for which sound you would only use IPA to know where the stress is, IMO.

Ma Tanhì, let's see what 'Oma Tirea has to say about the pronunciation

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Ma Tanhì, let's see what 'Oma Tirea has to say about the pronunciation [/font][/size]

Even better. :3

But I won't be completely heartless about it.  For the tough sounds at the beginning of words, try this:

ng
Try saying "singati" as many times as is comfortable, and then take off the "si."

ts
Try saying "catsmukan" as often as is comfortable, and then take off the "ca."

kx, tx, px
Whenever you come across this, take a moment and just "awKX!"  Make it audible until you feel comfortable saying it quickly.  "kalTXì" "haPXì" :3

' (at the beginning)
Try saying "uh-oh" a few times, then "uh-awkx" until you get comfy with that, and then "'awkx"

' (in the middle)
Like with kx, tx, and px, make the sound audible until you are comfortable saying it quickly. "txe'lan"

And don't worry about feeling stupid.  Find a quiet room and do it to yourself, compare your progress to the audio, and remember that no one here can hear you. (Unless you Skype)

[Nyx]

I wasn't sure where to post this, so if needs to by moved, by all means.


I was browsing the dictionary, and got to thinking: "Is there an eaiser way to pronounce this?" Basically, I was thinking something like:

OL-NA-G-TI-KA-MAIE for "I See You".
TSS-MU-KANN for "tsmukan"

That way, it might not be accurate, but hey, at least the Jakes of the community will have at least a grasping of Na'vi.

I think that a big problem with this is that you'd always have to explain which accent one should use when reading that (think about how for example "samle" is pronounced differently in the US and in the UK). And it gets even more complicated since there are so many people here with a first language that isn't English.

It seems easier to just learn the Na'vi sounds, because when you know them, everything is really spelled the way it sounds.

[Kamean]

It seems easier to just learn the Na'vi sounds, because when you know them, everything is really spelled the way it sounds.

It's the best way.
In downloads section you should found Crash Course of Linguistic Terminology. There you find materials about IPA. With tongue positions for tricky sounds.

[Tswusayona Tsamsiyu]

I think that as long as you can pronounce correctly the words, it's fine. but you still need to learn how to pronounce the tougher sounds.
by the way ma Tanhì, I have noticed that the speaker in that link you gave also has a few pronunciation mistakes so don't always count on that.

[Stranger Come Knocking]

by the way ma Tanhì, I have noticed that the speaker in that link you gave also has a few pronunciation mistakes so don't always count on that.

Thanks for the heads up.  Doesn't have to be taken as gospel end-all of pronunciation, though, just a guide.

['Oma Tirea]

I think you will mostly hear "No" to this suggestion because Na'vi is as much pronounced as it is written for my taste. As soon as you know which letter (letter combination) stands for which sound you would only use IPA to know where the stress is, IMO.

Ma Tanhì, let's see what 'Oma Tirea has to say about the pronunciation

Mllte ngahu, ma Plumps.

Na'vi is written as it is sounded, however, because the alphabet is the same for both languages (Latin/Romic), but used differently for English and Na'vi, the correspondence tends to seem a tad unclear.  Take for example words like irayo and srane....

I would prefer to think of using the alphabet more like in other European languages, such as Finnish (e.g. ä), Polish (e, i), Spanish (a, o, u, r, l), Sicilian (ì) for the consonants and vowels.  When it comes together, the phonology-orthography correspondence should be quite easy and intuitive to figure out