The Quoteworthy Na'vi Thread

Started by Mako, January 28, 2010, 08:48:55 AM

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Lance R. Casey

Quote from: suomichris on January 28, 2010, 03:58:37 PM
Quote from: Lance R. Casey on January 28, 2010, 03:56:58 PM
Quote from: suomichris on January 28, 2010, 03:39:42 PM
san "Aynga ke tok Kansas set. Aynga tok Pandora, ma smuk" sìk.

I moved the s to the end, since it should cause lenition, but we dunno how that works with borrowed words.

But we do have the actual Na'vi word for Pandora -- Eywa'eveng -- and the known loans are all molded to Na'vi phonotactics, so "Kansas" should become Kansasì (as per ìnglìsì and Markusì), and if you really want to bring "Pandora" over as well, that could be Pantora.
Right, but what I meant was, does "in Kansas" appear as "mì Kansasì" or "mì Hansasì."  Thus, shoved it to the end :)

Yeah, the shove-it-to-the-end trick is a blessing, seeing as how we don't (yet) know just which adpositions trigger lenition and which don't. :)

Also, my guess is that it would indeed be mì Hansasì.

// Lance R. Casey

Mako

So do we have a consensus so I can change it?

Alìm Tsamsiyu

#42
Quote from: omängum fra'uti on January 28, 2010, 02:50:39 PM
Ngal tse'a fìayut ulte pawm san pelun sìk.  Slä oeru unil si fì'u a kawkrr lu ulte pawm san pekelun sìk.

Fa tìnume tìomum zera'eiu.  Fa tìomum mì ayoeng skxawng tolerkup.

I have yet to understand why you put the <ol> infix in terkup if it is supposed to mean "dies."

Also, another beef with the 2nd quote, it seems to be ambiguous in its translation.  It could also mean:


Granted the Na'vi word order can't help remedy this problem... but I wonder if it couldn't be worded differently to convey the meaning better?  I can't really think of a good way off-hand...
Oeyä ayswizawri tswayon alìm ulte takuk nìngay.
My arrows fly far and strike true.

suomichris

Quote from: Alìm Tsamsiyu on January 28, 2010, 04:57:27 PM
Quote from: omängum fra'uti on January 28, 2010, 02:50:39 PM
Ngal tse'a fìayut ulte pawm san pelun sìk.  Slä oeru unil si fì'u a kawkrr lu ulte pawm san pekelun sìk.

Fa tìnume tìomum zera'eiu.  Fa tìomum mì ayoeng skxawng tolerkup.

I have yet to understand why you put the <ol> infix in terkup if it is supposed to mean "dies."
Yeah, I wondered about this.  It seems to me that it is probably okay, but I think it would translated more like "With knowledge in us, the moron will have already died."  Terkup would also likely work, too...

QuoteAlso, another beef with the 2nd quote, it seems to be ambiguous in its translation.  It could also mean:

Granted the Na'vi word order can't help remedy this problem... but I wonder if it couldn't be worded differently to convey the meaning better?  I can't really think of a good way off-hand...
Here again, I think need two clauses, as there are really two propositions.  I'd have probably said something like:

Tìomum tok mì ayoeng a krr, tok mì ayoeng a skxawng terkup.
Lit., "When knowledge is with us, the fool with us dies."

Plumps

Quote from: Alìm Tsamsiyu on January 28, 2010, 04:57:27 PM
I have yet to understand why you put the <ol> infix in terkup if it is supposed to mean "dies."

The perfective aspect <ol> is not restricted to the past. It just means that the action is finished - in this case I would think it implies that there is no 'moron' in us anymore as soon as we gain knowledge.
Don't know whether I explained it the right way...

omängum fra'uti

Keep in mind I translated those both nearly a month ago and did not spend a whole lot of time rewording them for this post.  (I did make a couple change - they are both in my sig in my older translation which is even worse.)  I'd think perfective more conveys my idea that when we have knowledge, it is already gone.  If I was expressing the act of getting knowledge rather than the presence of knowledge, perfective would certainly have been wrong.

But the two clauses is certainly a good point, and certainly not something I knew how to do right when I first wrote that.  I wanted to keep it short and sweet so I'm not sure I'd want to extend it too much.  I'll think on it.

That does bring up another point though.  The English translation is rife with metaphor.  While that's not QUITE the same as idioms, I'd imagine there is some overlap.  So, what is an acceptable metaphor and what would be verging on too much of an idiom?  Somehow I picture the Na'vi language as rife with metaphor...  We already see some of the idomic expressions based on metaphor...  (Give eye, do mind, give eat, give ear, etc...  Not to mention that "kame" could be seen as itself a metaphore, though that is likely just the English translation of a concept English lacks.)

If I had said "Oeyä hapxì terkup" that would be setting off my idiom sirens pretty loudly for certain.
Ftxey lu nga tokx ftxey lu nga tirea? Lu oe tìkeftxo.
Listen to my Na'vi Lessons podcast!

Tsamsteu

..this isn't a quote, but i'm wondering if anyone can correct this:

oe lenewa txe'lan lu, seze taw mì, taronyu na'ringa mì. Tsweron, teraron, rerey, ke tengfay tawtute, slä tengfay Na'vi..ulte fìtrr, oel tsaheylut sayi, hu aytute, atxkxe, sì ronsem. Oel sngä'i Iknimayat sì Eywayä tireafya'ot. Ayunil txe'lanä, fol tìgnayit slayu.

Ke oe omum about hu, or if i should use ru with the aytute, atxkxe, ronsem....Irayo
"You have a strong heart; no fear. But stupid, ignorant like a child." - Neytiri

Neytiri, oeyä tsmuke, oel ngati kameie....

omängum fra'uti

Pelun oel ìyomum futa pol ftxivey oet?

Pol tspìyang ngat.

Txantsan!
Ftxey lu nga tokx ftxey lu nga tirea? Lu oe tìkeftxo.
Listen to my Na'vi Lessons podcast!

Lance R. Casey

Quote from: Sänumeyu on January 28, 2010, 04:12:55 PM
So do we have a consensus so I can change it?

Kìrìsìri molte Länsì a krr, eltu si frapo ;D

I do, however, find it somewhat unlikely that Quaritch would refer to the soldiers under his command as "brothers/sisters". How about ma sutean sutesì, or something like that?


And here is a contribution of my own -- one of the more significant quotes I know, and which I think fits the context of Avatar quite well:

Set oe slolu tìterkup, hifkeyä ska'ayu.

// Lance R. Casey

Mako

"Nìn ne sanhì. Txo ngati ke fpxäkìm, ngal lu alìm to nga lamu." - James Cameron

I know this isn't right, and it needs major help.

Tseyk Tìriuä

#50
Peseng ngeyä tìmuntxa tok?
Ke lu ngaru.

From a (less accurate but smoother) translation of Ignorance by Paramore.


Tengkrr tìsngä'i Yawäl peyä tsenget ulte kifkey Yawä'evangäti ngamop.

Mako

Ok, it would make me very happy if I could get someone better at Na'vi grammar than me to check the grammar of all the quotes in the first post so far. Irayo in advance.

omängum fra'uti

The whole -er vs -ist debate reminded me of this little gem.

Lì'u lekem si a fì'u tìhiyìk si aylì'fyar - Calvin & Hobbes
Ftxey lu nga tokx ftxey lu nga tirea? Lu oe tìkeftxo.
Listen to my Na'vi Lessons podcast!

suomichris

Quote from: omängum fra'uti on February 01, 2010, 02:13:11 PM
The whole -er vs -ist debate reminded me of this little gem.

Lì'u lekem si a fì'u tìhiyìk si aylì'fyar - Calvin & Hobbes
Sadly, such a quote is less awesome in language without zero-derivation :(

Mako

#54
So I tried to translate "When I look at the stars, I see someone else" and "Stuck watching our lives blow up."

Óel krrpe sanhì teng nari, oel tute kame. - Switchfoot: Stars

Ayoeng lu sutx tayeng nari ayoengyä sìrey kä kxangangang. - Relient K: This Week the Trend

Lance R. Casey

Quote from: Sänumeyu on February 04, 2010, 03:22:41 PM
"When I look at the stars, I see someone else"

Óel krrpe sanhì teng nari, oel tute kame. - Switchfoot: Stars

Krrpe is interrogative only and can't be used in the sense of "as soon as". For that, we have a krr:

Oel nìn sanhìt a krr, lapot oel tse'a.
I-ERG look.at [PL]-star-ACC SBRD time, other.person-ACC I-ERG see
When I look at the stars, I see someone else

(I prefer nìn look at and tse'a see (physical) here; and it's tìng nari, with which you need the dative.)

Quote from: Sänumeyu on February 04, 2010, 03:22:41 PM
"Stuck watching our lives blow up."

Ayoeng lu sutx tayeng nari ayoengyä sìrey kä kxangangang. - Relient K: This Week the Trend

Sutx is a verb (or two), and "go boom" seems like quite an anglicism. Perhaps some circumlocution:

Awnga ke tsun rivikx krr a nerìn futa awngeyä sìreyit skera'a awngal
we(incl.) not can move<SBJ> time SBRD look.at<IPFV> this.thing.that we(incl.)-GEN [PL]-life-ACC destroy<IPFV> we(incl.)-ERG
We can't move when we're watching ourselves destroy our lives

// Lance R. Casey

Mako

Well thanks for that. Verbs and subjects are different for me as I'm an English and Spanish speaker, but I definitely like the verbs better in Na'vi than Spanish :P

Tseyk Tìriuä

#57
New oe ngahu tivok, slä ngeyä sa'nu Tawtute lu.


Tengkrr tìsngä'i Yawäl peyä tsenget ulte kifkey Yawä'evangäti ngamop.

Mako


Tseyk Tìriuä

yeah i made it up haha the last part is on a shirt i made haha "Ngeyä sa'nu Tawtute lu."


Tengkrr tìsngä'i Yawäl peyä tsenget ulte kifkey Yawä'evangäti ngamop.