Phrase: this is welcome news

[Lisa]

So, I was using a little Na'vi in an email reply, and the phrase I was wanting to convey was "this is welcome news".

This is what I wrote, and now I am wondering how many mistakes I made:

zola'u nìprrte lu fìfmawnit
z<ol>a'u nìprrte lu  fì-fmawn-it
welcome    is     this news
 
OK, confession time....actually I wrote it with "livu" but now I'm totally second guessing myself and if I had to write it again I'd leave the <iv> out.  Which I've done here, because now I think it's not needed.  When I wrote it I got za'u and zene mixed up in that I thought that za'u was a modal verb.

I'm thinking that "zola'u nìprrte" is an idiom (it was in the "useful phrases" section of Taronyu's dictionary), but could it be used like I've done here? 

Sometimes it takes me so long to put together phases because I'm just not sure, and because I'm a total grammar skxawng, and I'm trying to avoid taking hours to compose a simple email reply so I just sort of threw it together, hoped for the best and sent it.    And then kicked myself and came here, where I spent at least an hour composing a simple post.  *sigh* 

Wiya!  Oeyä eltu akoak! 

[wm.annis]

In the phrase zola'u nìprrte' we already have a verb — zola'u.  So, there's really no place for lu to fit very well.

When it's used by itself, zola'u nìprrte' conceals a subject, namely nga — "pleasantly, you have come" or the like is the literal sense.  If we can really extend the idiom to messages and not just people, zola'u nìprrte' fìfmawn is probably the simplest phrasing of that.

I'm not sure why you added -it.  You should never see the patientive ending in a sentence with lu or any intransitive verb (such as za'u is).  If you haven't already, take a look at Na'vi Linguistics: Case.

[Lisa]

When it's used by itself, zola'u nìprrte' conceals a subject, namely nga — "pleasantly, you have come" or the like is the literal sense. 

Ah, yes, I see that now.  I keep falling in the literal meaning trap.   It's not the first time, you'd think I would learn.

I'm not sure why you added -it.  You should never see the patientive ending in a sentence with lu or any intransitive verb (such as za'u is). 

I added -it thinking that since fmawn was the object of the sentence, it should be there.   Completely forgetting all the transitive/intransitive verb rules, which I obviously do not fully understand.   Probably not even partially understand.

If you haven't already, take a look at Na'vi Linguistics: Case.

Yes, I have read it and as I recall it was very useful but 'tis obvious that I need to look at it again.  And again.  And again. Which I will do.   


Irayo for your help.  I really do appreciate it. 

[wm.annis]

If you haven't already, take a look at Na'vi Linguistics: Case.

Yes, I have read it and as I recall it was very useful but 'tis obvious that I need to look at it again.  And again.  And again. Which I will do.   

That's the spirit!  Na'vi is different enough from the languages most of us have access to in school, that it takes a bit longer to get into the right frame of mind.  Slow and steady wins the game.