Chapter 1 - Kaltxì!
Topics: The word »ma«, the verb »lu«, the free word order
Verb - “Doing word”, words which describe an action, examples: to eat, to sit, to sleep
Noun - “Name word”, words which describe things, creatures, places etc., examples: bird, house, luck
Adjective - Words which describe attributes of a noun, examples: big, blue, funny
Dative - Grammatical case, indirect object - to whom?
Text
Peyral:
Kaltxì ma Ninat! Ngaru lu fpom srak?
Hello Ninat! How are you?
Ninat:
Kaltxì! Srane, ngaru tut?
Hello! I’m fine, and you?
Peyral:
Srane, oeru lu fpom. Oe lu taronyu set!
I’m fine. I am a hunter now!
Ninat:
Tsa'u lu sìltsan! Kìyevame, ma Peyral.
That is good! Goodbye Peyral.
Peyral:
Kìyevame, Eywa ngahu.
See you, Eywa be with you.
Grammar
The Word »ma«
If you look at the first sentence of the text, there is one thing which might seem strange at first glance: »Kaltxì ma Ninat!« is translated as »Hello Ninat!«. Kaltxì means Hello - But what is this ma?
The English language doesn’t have a literal translation for this word. Ma shows that you are addressing someone directly, it is comparable with the @ sign in a chat. So you could translate the sentence also as »@Ninat: Hello!«
Unlike @ in a chat, ma is not optional when you are addressing someone. So while in English you can always just write »Hello Ninat!« instead of »@ Ninat: Hello!«, you cannot leave out the ma while writing or speaking in Na’vi.
The Verb »lu«
Lu is translated in the dictionary as to be. That verb can be used in various different ways and changes its meaning slightly depending on how you use it.
1. Equality
Like the English to be, the Na’vi lu can work like a equality sign. A noun can be equated with another noun or with an adjective. Let’s take a look at two sentences from the dialog:
Oe lu taronyu.
I am a hunter. (I = hunter)
Tsa'u lu sìltsan.
That is good. (This = good)
2. To have
Na’vi doesn’t have a verb to express possession. Instead, the Verb to have is translated with lu and the dative case -r(u)/ur:
Oeru lu fpom.
To me there is wellbeing. -> I have wellbeing (Idiomatic phrase for I’m fine)
Ngaru lu puk.
To you there is a book. -> You have a book.
So instead of I have something, the Na’vi say something is to me.
How the dative case looks depends on the letter with which the word it is attached to ends:
After consonant:
-ur (after ‘, -ru is also possible)
The dative can be used for many more things, which is topic of chapter 6. There are also some special cases on how it behaves after a diphthong (ay, ey, aw & ew), but these will also be discussed there.
3. Existence
Lastly, lu can also be used to express the existence of something. In such cases it can be translated as There are/there is:
Lu ikran.
There is an ikran.
The free Word Order
Till now, most sentences you saw in this document had a normal looking word order from an English point of view. But in Na’vi, you don’t have to stick to this order! There are a few rules, but outside that set of rules, words can go in any order:
Oe lu taronyu.
Oe taronyu lu.
I am a hunter.
Lu oe taronyu.
Lu taronyu oe.
Taronyu oe lu.
Taronyu lu oe.
All six versions of the sentence mean the same. Which word order you use is completely up to you! But if you want to emphasize a word you can put it at the end of the sentence:
Oe lu taronyu.
I am a hunter.
Oe taronyu lu.
I am a hunter.
Taronyu lu oe.
I am a hunter.
Important: This change in stress is very slight, especially in written Na’vi where it can’t be supported by the tone of the voice. I highly recommend using a wide variety of word orders when practicing Na’vi since that will make you familiar with the concept of free word order!
Also keep in mind that you can only move around words freely within the grammar rules you learned. For example the word »ma« you learned about at the beginning of the chapter always has to preceed the person it belongs to. During this Na'vi course you will learn all important rules you have to keep in mind, but as long as you make sure that you follow these rules you can play around with the word order as much as you like.
Summary
ma
Kaltxì ma Ninat!
Hello, @Ninat!
usage of lu
Lu ioang.
There is an animal.
Ioang lu taronyu.
The animal is a hunter.
Ngaru lu ioang.
You have an animal.
free word order
Oe lu taronyu. = Oe taronyu lu. = Taronyu lu oe. = Taronyu oe lu. = Lu oe taronyu. = Lu taronyu oe.
Exercises
1. Reading
Read out aloud the dialog. Concentrate on pronouncing every word precisely, it is ok to be slow! If possible, search for someone to read together with you, for example in the Kelutral Discord server.
2. Translate the sentences to English
- a) Ikran lu taronyu. The ikran is a hunter.
- b) Ikran lu. There is an ikran.
- c) Poru lu ikran. He/She has an ikran.
- d) Po lu ikranur. The ikran has him/her.
- e) Ma Peyral, lu ioang! Peyral, there is an animal!
- f) Taronyu lu sìltsan. The hunter is good.
- g) 'eylan lu taronyu. The friend is a hunter.
3. Translate the sentences to Na'vi
- a) You have a book. Ngaru lu puk.
- b) He is a hunter. Po taronyu lu.
- c) There is a book. Lu puk.
- d) The animal is fine. Ioangur lu fpom.
4. Practice!
Go to the Kelutral Discord Server or the Learn Na'vi Discord server and practice a bit of smalltalk :D
Vocab
‘eylan (n.) [ˈʔɛj.lan] - friend | Ngaru lu ‘eylan. - You have a friend.
Eywa (n.) [ˈɛj.wa] - Eywa, world spirit, the Great Mother who protects the balance of life | Kìyevame, Eywa ngahu! - See you, Eywa be with you!
fpom (n.) [fpom] - wellbeing, peace, happiness | Oeru lu fpom. - I’m fine.
hu (adp.) [hu] - with | Kìyevame, Eywa ngahu! - See you, Eywa be with you!
ikran (n.) [ˈik.ɾan] - ikran, banshee | Lu ngar ikran. - You have an ikran.
ioang (n.) [i.ˈo.aŋ] - animal | Lu ioang. - There is an animal.
kaltxì (intj.) [kal.ˈtʼɪ] - hello | Kaltxì ma Peyral! - Hello, Peyral!
kìyevame (intj.) [kɪ.jɛ.ˈva.mɛ] - see you | Kìyevame, Eywa ngahu! - See you, Eywa be with you!
lu (vin.) [lu] - to be | Oe lu taronyu. - I am a hunter. | Ngaru lu ikran. - You have an ikran. | Lu ioang. - There is an animal.
ma (part.) [ma] - vocative marker, for addressing something directly | Kaltxì ma Peyral! - Hello, Peyral!
nga (pn.) [ŋa] - you | Ngaru lu ikran. - You have an ikran.
oe (pn.) [ˈo.ɛ] - I | Oe lu taronyu. - I am a hunter. | Oeru lu ikran. - I have an ikran.
po (pn.) [po] - he, she | Poru lu puk. - He/She has a book.
puk (n.) [puk] - book | Poru lu puk. - He/She has a book.
set (adv.) [sɛt] - now | Nga set lu taronyu. - You are a hunter now.
sìltsan (adj.) [sɪl.ˈ͡tsan] - good | Tsa'u lu sìltsan. - That is good.
srak (part.) [sɾak] - marker for yes/no questions | Ngaru lu fpom srak? - Are you fine?
srane (intj.) [ˈsɾa.nɛ] - Yes | Srane, oeru lu fpom. - Yes, I am fine.
taronyu (n.) [ˈta.ɾon.ju] - hunter | Nga set lu taronyu. - You are a hunter now. | Oe lu taronyu. - I am a hunter.
tsa'u (n.) [ˈt͡sɑ.ʔu] - that, that thing, it | tsa'u lu sìltsan. - That is good.
Phrases
- Ngaru lu fpom srak? - How are you? literally: Is wellbeing to you? Do you have wellbeing?
- Oeru lu fpom. - I’m fine. literally: To me there is wellbeing. I have wellbeing.
- Eywa ngahu. - Eywa be with you. Phrase for farewell. literally: Eywa with you.