Peyralä soaia lu apxa
Peyral’s family is big.
Poru lu pxesmuk. Pxefeyä pxestxo lu Tsireya sì Rayluk sì Maranu.
She has three siblings. Their names are Tsireya, Rayluk, and Maranu.
Tsireya sì Maranu lu ‘eveng. Peyral pxìm uvan si hu mefo.
Tsireya and Maranu are children. Peyral plays often with the two of them.
Peyralä tsmuk alu Rayluk lu karyu ulte kelku si hu Rilari.
Peyral’s brother Rayluk is a teacher and lives with Rilari.
Peyralä sa’nokä tstxo lu Newey. Newey rol pxìm.
Peyral’s mother’s name is Newey. Newey often sings.
Peyralä sempul lu Serawn. Serawnur lu mesmuke alu Takuk sì Tsenu.
Peyral’s father is Serawn. Serawn has two siblings called Takuk and Tsenu.
Grammar
Plural and lenition
In contrast to English, there is more than one form of plural in Na’vi. It determines whether it deals with two, three or more than three things. This can be seen in examples from the text above:
tsmuk
sibling (singular, brother or sister)
mesmuk (me + tsmuk)
two siblings
pxesmuk (pxe + tsmuk)
three siblings
aysìrol (ay + tìrol)
songs
The three plural forms are formed with prefixes:
Singular
Dual (2)
Trial (3)
Plural (4+)
A couple of examples:
mokri
memokri
pxemokri
aymokri
(voice)
(2 voices)
(3 voices)
(4+ voices)
soaia
mesoaia
pxesoaia
aysoaia
(family)
(2 families)
(3 families)
(4+ families)
sa'nok
mesa'nok
pxesa'nok
aysa'nok
(mother)
(2 mothers)
(3 mothers)
(4+ mothers)
But what does this + mean, which I inserted in the table before »me«, »pxe« and »ay«?
Perhaps you have already noticed that: In the examples from the text, the first letter of the root word has changed. This process is called lenition. Under certain conditions (certain prefixes and adpositions), the first letter of a word changes in the following way:
Letter
Lenited Form
Example
tx
->
t
txopu (fear)
->
metopu (2 fears)
kx
->
k
kxeyey (mistake)
->
mekeyey (2 mistakes)
ts
->
s
tstxo (name)
->
pxestxo (3 names)
t
->
s
taronyu (hunter)
->
pxesaronyu (3 hunters)
k
->
h
karyu (teacher)
->
pxeharyu (3 teachers)
p
->
f
pam (sound)
->
ayfam (4+ sounds)
'
->
disappears
'eylan
->
ayeylan (4+ friends)
Prefixes and adpositions that cause lenition are usually marked with a +. Tip for those who cannot remember which letter changes and how: Search an example of a word for each letter and study it together with its lenited form. If you are not sure, you only have to remember your word.
The lenition has an exception: If rr or ll follows ‘ , the ‘ doesn’t vanish:
'rrta
me'rrta
pxe'rrta
ay'rrta
(Planet Earth)
(2 Earths)
(3 Earths)
(4+ Earths)
However, that is unfortunately not all for the exceptions.There are also a couple of things to pay attention to with the plural forms. First, there are a few words that always stay singular, the plural forms cannot be formed with these words. "Waters" would not make sense anyway, right?
Moreover, identical vowels merge. This doesn’t however apply to consonants, so not to ay + y!
'eylan (friend)
me + 'eylan
pxe + 'eylan
ay + 'eylan
-> meylan
-> pxeylan
-> ayeylan
'eveng (child)
-> meveng
-> pxeveng
-> ayeveng
yerik (Pandoran animal)
-> meyerik
-> pxeyerik
-> ayyerik
Finally, it is possible to drop the ay+ when the word is lenited. In other words: If the first letter of a word changed with the plural prefix, this prefix can be omitted. This doesn’t apply however to the dual and the trial - after all, you still have to be able to distinguish what it exactly means when a word has been lenited:
taronyu (hunter)
mesaronyu
pxesaronyu
aysaronyu or saronyu
pam (sound)
mefam
pxefam
ayfam or fam
By the way, the plural is not used in Na’vi when the number has already been clarified before:
Tsireya sì Maranu lu ‘eveng.
Tsireya and Maranu are children.
The noun »'eveng« (child) here is in the singular, but in the plural when translated into English. The Na’vi like to go without saying things twice, which is why using the dual prefix in this case is not necessary. Otherwise, it behaves like in the following case:
Pxefeyä pxestxo lu Tsireya sì Rayluk sì Maranu.
Their names are Tsireya, Rayluk, and Maranu.
It looks at first sight as if one could just write »tstxo« instead of »pxestxo« - after all, it’s certainly clear beforehand with »pxefeyä« that we must deal with three names, right? But a tiny detail comes up here: Do all three of them have a unique, common group name, or is each person assigned an individual name? Here is a comparison of both versions:
Pxefeyä pxestxo lu Farin sì Bela sì Rodrigo.
Their names are Farin, Bela, and Rodrigo.
Pxefeyä tstxo lu ‘die Ärzte’.
Their name (the group name) is ‘die Ärzte’. (a German band)
In the second sentence, name is in the singular both in English and Na’vi.
sì vs. ulte
Look at the following sentences:
Pxefeyä pxestxo lu Tsireya sì Rayluk sì Maranu.
Their names are Tsireya, Rayluk, and Maranu.
Peyralä tsmuk alu Rayluk lu karyu ulte kelku si hu Rilari.
Peyral’s brother Rayluk is a teacher and lives with Rilari.
In both sentences, the word »and« occurs in English, but in Na’vi, two different words are used. Depending on the context in which and is used, there are two different words in Na’vi.
If someone wants to make an enumeration and connect the elements with »and«, they use »sì« in Na’vi. This word can connect names, adjectives as well as verbs. Sentences are however never connected with »sì«! »Sì« can, as you can see in the following sentences, either stand in front of a word separated by a space, or be attached to a word similarly to a case ending, where it comes after any case ending:
Oe pey sì nìn.
I wait and observe.
Oel tse’a yerikit sì ikranit.
I see a yerik and an ikran.
Ngal stawm pamit mokritsì.
You hear a sound and a voice.
Oeyä soaia lu apxa: Sa’nok sì sempul sì pxesmuk.
My family is big: a mother, a father, and three siblings.
»Ulte«, on the other hand, serves to connect multiple sentences with »and«:
Oel taron ayioangit ulte ngal tok tsrayti.
I’m hunting animals and you are in the village.
Pol fwew meyerikit ulte taron mefot.
S/he looks for two yeriks and hunts both of them.
As you can see in the second sentence, the subject, when it is identical in both parts of the sentence, can also be omitted in the second part.
The big difference with »ulte« is that the individual elements, connected with each other, make sense individually, while this doesn’t apply to words connected with »sì«.
Genitive
By looking at the example, it becomes quickly evident that the possession is shown with a case ending:
Peyralä soaia lu apxa.
Peyral’s family is large.
Pxefeyä pxestxo lu Tsireya sì Rayluk sì Maranu.
Their names are Tsireya, Rayluk, and Maranu.
Similarly to -l, -t and -ru, there are also here different forms depending on how the word to which the ending will be attached ends:
After consonant, o & u:
-ä
Moreover, there are a few exceptions. Among them are first the personal pronouns, which will be treated in the next chapter, a few unique words which are so seldom used that they will not be discussed in detail here, as well as nouns which end with -ia:
soaia (family)
'eylan soaiä/soaiä 'eylan (friend of the family)
Several genitives chained together are no problem:
Peyralä sa'nokä tstxo lu Newey. (family)
The name of Peyral's mother is Newey.
No rules exist (yet) as to which order the nouns in such a construction must follow. At best one chooses the order so that the sense of the sentence is the easiest possible to understand for the interlocutor.
Summary
Plural and lenition
Singular (hunter)
Dual
Trial
Plural
yayo
meyayo
pxeyayo
ayyayo
'eylan
meylan
pxeylan
ayeylan
taronyu
mesaronyu
pxesaronyu
aysaronyu or saronyu
px -> p | kx -> k | tx -> t | ts -> s | t -> s | k -> h | p -> f | ‘ -> disappears
sì vs. ulte
Oel tse’a yerikit sì ikranit.
I see the yerik and the ikran.
Oel tse’a ikranit ulte taron yerikit.
I see the ikran and hunt the yerik.
-> Connection of sentences
Genitive
Peyralä sempul
Peyral’s father
Peyralä sempulä tstxo
The name of Peyral’s father
Soaiä ‘eylan
The friend of the family
Exercises
1. Reading
Read the text aloud. Focus on the exact pronunciation, even if it makes you speak more slowly. If you have the possibility, look for someone on Discord who can read with you.
2. Get creative!
Draw a family tree that represents Peyral’s family. Try to look at the english translation as rarely as possible.
Parents: Serawn (mother), Newey (mother)
Siblings: Tsireya, Rayluk, Tsenu
Aunts/Uncles: Takuk, Tsenu
Other: Rilari (Rayluk's mate)
Only the gender of Peyral's parents is known, all the other could be both, male or female.
3. Form all three plural forms of the following words:
tsray mesray, pxesray, (ay)sray
sempul mesempul, pxesempul, aysempul
puk mefuk, pxefuk, (ay)fuk
taronyu mesaronyu, pxesaronyu, (ay)saronyu
yerik meyerik, pxeyerik, ayyerik
tìrol mesìrol, pxesìrol, (ay)sìrol
txopu metopu, pxetopu, (ay)topu
'eylan meylan, pxeylan, (ay)eylan
4. Fill in the following blanks with -ä, sì, and ulte:
- a) ‘eylan// oeyä sì Peyral// taron. My friend and Peyral hunt. Alternative solution: 'eylan oeyä Peyralsì taron.
- b) Pol nìn sì taron ioangit. He/She watches and hunts the animal.
- c) Fwew ngal oeyä tsmuk// // sa’noksì. You search my sibling and mother. Alternative solution: Fwew ngal oeyä tsmuk sì sa'nok.
- d) Ninatä sempul// lu taronyu// sì ‘eylan// oeyä. Ninat's father is a hunter and my friend.
- e) Ma Tsireya// sì Rayluk//, oel fwew oeyä sempulit. Tsireya and Rayluk, I search my father. Alternative: Ma Tsireya Rayluksì, oel fwew oeyä sempulit.
- f) Oeyä tsmuk// lu karyu ulte poru lu ayfuk. My sibling is a teacher and has books. Alternative: Oe tsmuksì lu karyu ulte poru lu ayfuk. - I and the sibling are teachers and he/she has books.
- g) Yerikìl nìn oeti ulte tul. The yerik sees me and runs.
5. Writing
1. Rewrite the first part of the text from chapter two so that Peyral hunts two yeriks, hears multiple voices, and three hunters appear.
2. Make a short description of your own family. Use the text at the beginning of this chapter as orientation.
Vocab
‘eveng (n.) [ˈʔɛ.vɛŋ] - Child | Mefo lu ‘eveng. - Both are children. | ‘evengä tstxo lu Maranu. - The child’s name is Maranu.
‘rrta (n.) [ˈʔrˌ.ta] - Earth (the planet) | Oeyä soaial ‘rrtati tok. - My family is on Earth.
alu (conj.) [ˈa.lu] - that is, in other words | Ngaru lu mesmuk alu Lea sì Felix. - You have two siblings called Lea and Felix
apxa (adj.) [a.ˈpʼa] - large, big | Oeyä soaia lu apxa. - My family is big.
karyu (n.) [ˈkaɾ.ju] - teacher | Po lu karyu. - S/he is a teacher.
kelku si (vin.) [ˈkɛl.ku si] - to live, to dwell | Peyralä tsmuk kelku si hu Rilari. - Peyral’s brother lives with Rilari.
kxeyey (n.) [ˈkʼɛ.jɛj] - mistake | Kxeyeyti oel tse’a. - I see a mistake.
mefo (pn.) [mɛ.ˈfo] - they (both) | Mefo lu ‘eveng. - Both of them are children. | Fwew mefol Ninatit. - Both are looking for Ninat. | Peyral pxìm uvan si hu mefo. - Peyral plays often with both of them.
pxefo (pn.) [pʼɛ.ˈfo] - they (the three of them) | Pxefo uvan si sì rol. - The three of them play and sing.
pxìm (adv.) [pʼɪm] - often | Peyral pxìm uvan si hu mefo. - Peyral plays often with both of them.
rol (vin.) [ɾol] - to sing | Newey rol pxìm. - Newey often sings.
sa'nok (n.) [ˈsaʔ.nok] - mother | Peyralä sa’nokä tstxo lu Newey. - The name of Peyral’s mother is Newey.
sempul (n.) [ˈsɛm.pul] - father | Sempul oeyä taron. | My father hunts.
sì (conj.) [sɪ] - and (for enumerations) | Pxefo uvan si sì rol. - The three of them play and sing.
soaia (n.) [so.ˈa.i.a] - family | Oeyä soaial ‘rrtati tok. - My family is on Earth.
tìrol (n.) [tɪ.ˈɾol] - song | Tìrol sìltsan lu. - The song is good.
tsmuk (n.) [͡tsmuk] - sibling (singular, gender neutral) | Peyralä tsmuk kelku si hu Rilari. - Peyral’s brother lives with Rilari.
tstxo (n.) [͡tstʼo] - name | Peyralä sa’nokä tstxo lu Newey. - The name of Peyral’s mother is Newey. | ‘evengä tstxo lu Maranu. - The child’s name is Maranu.
txopu (n.) [ˈtʼo.pu] - fear | Oel txoputi ngeyä tse’a. - I see your fear.
ulte (conj.) [ˈul.tɛ] - and (for connecting sentences) | Oel taron ayioangit ulte ngal tok tsrayti. - I hunt animals and you are in the village.