Navi in a Nutshell

2.8 Version 2.8

by NeotrekkerZ

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The Alphabet
1.1 1.2 Vowels Consonants 1.2.1 Lenition

Chapter 2 Nouns
2.1 2.2 Plurals Noun Formation 2.2.1 Nouning 2.2.2 The suffixes -yu and -tu

Chapter 3 Pronouns
3.1 3.2 3.3 The Basics Excluding and Including Possession

Chapter 4 Cases
4.1 4.2 4.3 The Agentive and Patientive The Dative The Suffixes -ri and -ri

Chapter 5 Verbs
5.1 Tenses 5.1.1 Special Contractions 5.1.2 Compound Infixes 5.2 5.3 5.4 Moods Modal Verbs The <iv> Infix 5.4.1 Compound <iv> Infixes

5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10

Should Creating Verbs The self Infix <p> The Causative Infix <eyk> Commands 5.9.1 Negative Commands .9.1 Tense vs. Aspect (Optional)

Chapter 6 Adjectives and Adverbs

6.1 6.2 Adjectives 6..1.1 Colors Creating Adjectives 6.2.1 The Active Participle Infix <us> .2. 6.2.2 The Passive Participle Infix <awn> .2. 6.3 Adverbs 6.3.1 6.3.1 Mind Your Manners

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Chapter 7 Adpositions and Prefixes

7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Adpositions Other Prefixes Questions The Suffixes -tsyp and -vi The Suffix -o

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Chapter 8 Sentences
8.1 Complex Sentences 8.1.1 The Pronoun a 8.1.2 When 8.1.3 The Many Faces of fu 8.1.4 Tsn, The Other That 8.1.5 Where 8.1.6 How and Why 8.2 Streamlining Sentences

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Chapter 9 Special Constructions

9.1 Whats Your Name? 9.1.1 Ma 9.1.2 The Other Ma 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.16 There is I Love You How Do You Say x In Navi? To Have Lets Ko! Filled With Joy Comparisons Good Luck/Well Wishing Whether Negatives Alu Need To If, Then Feelings As adj/adv as noun/pronoun

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Chapter 10 Numbers
10.1 10.1 10.2 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.4 10.5 The Base Numbers Larger Numbers Fractions Ordinal Numbers Pure Octal 10.5.1 10.5.1 Adding in Octal (Optional)

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Epilogue Appendix A Stock Phrases

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Chapter Chapter 1: The Alphabet

1.1 Vowels
Vowels in Na'vi are everything. They indicate a new syllable, and can in fact be syllables all by themselves. Na'vi has the following vowels: a, , e, i, , o, u; aw, ay, ew, ey; ll, rr. They are pronounced the way an American would pronounce the following: Vowel a e i o u aw ay ew ey ll rr Sounds Like a in father, o in dog a in cat, tan, bad e in when, send tree, sea, me i in chin, wind, sip o in wrote, so, toe boot, lute, moon ow in tower, ou in sound eye, bye, why oa in oasis, reversed; eyo in Navi say, make, raisin ll in allow; a soft l a rolled r in Spanish, but stronger

Tip: Tip: Think of ay, ew, ey, ll, and rr as single entities even though they are composed with two letters.

1.2 Consonants
There are 20 consonants in Navi: f, h, k, kx, l, m, n, ng, p, px, r, s, t, ts, tx, v, w, y, z, and . The consonants b, c, d, j, and q do not exist and the consonants g and x cannot exist by themselves. They are pronounced as you would expect in English with the following exceptions: Consonant kx, px, tx ng r ts (glottal stop) Sounds Like k, p, t but with a pop (hold your breath when pronouncing) ng in sing tt in little, t in water, dd in cuddle ts in tsunami, zz in pizza the pause in uh-oh

Tip: Tip: As with the vowels, think of kx, ng, px, ts, and tx as single entities. #1. 1.1 Language Note #1.1: f, h, ts, s, v, z can only be at the beginning of a syllable. So a word like yuf is not possible. #1. 1.2 Language Note #1.2: Only f, ts, and s can appear with other consonants. So words like fmetok to test and sngel garbage are allowed, whereas a word starting with pr or ending with mp would be forbidden. #1.3 1.3: Language Note #1.3: Only the following consonants may end a syllable: px, tx, kx, p, t, k, , m, n, ng, r, and l.

1.2.1 Lenition
Lenition is the changing of one consonant into another for the ease of pronunciation. In Na'vi lenition occurs when you make the plural form of a noun or when you add certain adpositions to words(see section 7). The following consonants undergo lenition under these circumstances: px, tx, kx p, t, k respectively pf t, ts s kh ' (vanishes)

Chapter 2: Nouns
Nouns have two genders: masculine and feminine. They can be distinguished by the use of the suffix -an and -e respectively. For example, tsmuk sibling becomes tsmukan brother or tsmuke sister. #2.1: Language Note #2.1: Word stress can also indicate different meanings in words (though it is rare). Consider the word tute. If the stress is on the first syllable (tute), it means person, but if the stress in on the second syllable( tute), it means female. And if you were curious, male is tutan, not tutean. Language Note #2.2: The stress remains on the same syllable regardless of the addition of prefixes, suffixes or infixes. On monosyllabic words it is obvious. For words with more than one syllable, the stressed syllable will be underlined, when known. There is no "a" or "the" in Na'vi, so a noun like atxkxe land could translate as land, a land, or the land.

2.1 Plurals
Na'vi has, in addition to a general plural, special plural forms for two and three of a thing. To form a plural, simply attach the corresponding prefix to the noun. Consider: Prefix me+ pxe+ ay+ Plural menari (two) eyes pxehelku (three) homes aysokx bodies

nari eye kelku home tokx body

Tip: Tip: All plural prefixes cause lenition, hence they are written with a "+" sign following them. Any prefix that does not cause lenition will be written with a "-" sign after it. When a noun is pluralized with ay+ and lenition occurs, you have the option to drop the prefix. This is known as the short form of the plural: ancestor pizayu ayfizayu fizayu cliff awkx ayawkx awkx both mean ancestors both mean cliffs

Language Note #2.3: Some plurals have a form of vowel contraction: eylan friend meylan two friends ekong beat pxekong three beats not meeylan not pxeekong

Language Note #2.4: There is no short plural form for u thing. It is always ayu (never u). And for words beginning with rr or ll, no short plurals and no lenition ever: meRrta m Rrta two Earths in/on Earth not meRrta not m Rrta

Formation 2.2 Noun Formation

Nouns can be created from other words with the use of the prefix t-. As examples, we have the noun tkawng evil coming from the adjective kawng meaning bad, evil; we also have trey life from the verb rey to live. It is important to note, however, that this method cannot be used productively. New words are subject to the Navi Language Committees approval.

2.2.1 Nouning
When you want to use the -ing form of a verb as a noun add the prefix t- and the infix <us> (see section 6.2.1): to sing rol trusol Her singing is beautiful. singing Pe-y trusol lu lor.

With si verbs (section 5.5) simply drop the si to create this form.

2.2.2 The suffixes -yu and -tu

The suffix -yu is attached to a verb in order to form a noun representing the person who performs the verb: to hunt to weave taron taronyu tftxu tftxuyu hunter (literally, one who hunts) weaver (one who weaves)

The suffix -tu attaches to a noun to mean the person who does/makes the noun, similar to the way -yu works on verbs: visual art part reltseo reltseotu hapx hapxtu artist (one who makes visual art) member

Chapter 3: Pronouns
3.1 The Basics
The standard singular pronouns I, you, he/she are oe, nga, po respectively. They behave exactly like nouns in respect to plurality. So, you is menga referring to two people; they is pxefo referring to three people; and ayoe would mean we in a general sense or when the number of people being referred to is not specifically two or three. #3.1: Language Note #3.1: Po can mean he or she WITHOUT the gender suffixes. ONLY include them when what you are saying is ambiguous without them.

3.2 Excluding and Including

In addition to the normal pronouns, Navi has different forms for excluding and including the person with whom you are speaking. All the forms you have seen thus far exclude the person. For example ayoe means we(but not you). The inclusive forms are easy, just tack on an ng to the exclusive forms. Therefore, we(the two of us) is oeng; we(the three of us) is pxoeng; and we(group) is ayoeng. Armed with all this information we can construct the complete pronoun table: Singular oe nga po Dual moe oeng menga mefo Trial pxoe pxoeng pxenga pxefo Plural ayoe ayoeng aynga ayfo/fo

1 Exclusive 1st Inclusive 2nd Person 3rd Person

st

#3.2: Language Note #3.2: There is also the pronoun sno meaning his/her/their own, but for the time being only one specific form (see LN#3.11) is known to be valid. #3.3: Language Note #3.3: Awnga is an alternative form of ayoeng that is more colloquial, but means the exact same thing. #3.4: Language Note #3.4: There is also the pronoun fko meaning one or they in the general sense (such as one must be strong if one wants to survive on Pandora). #3.5: Language Note #3.5: To create indefinite pronouns add the suffix -o to a noun: thing u uo something 5

person tute tuteo place tseng tsengo

somebody, someone somewhere, someplace

#3.6: Language Note #3.6: There are two remaining pronouns tsau and tsaw in Navi. They both can mean that thing or it, and both can be used interchangeably, though with differences in endings. Tsau behaves normally (see chapter 4), but tsaw drops its w when any suffix is placed on it (example in 3.3).

3.3 3.3 Possession

In English, possession is formed primarily through the use of the apostrophe: Jakes avatar, the trees branches. With pronouns me becomes my, we becomes our, etc. The possession is formed with the suffix -y if the noun ends in a vowel (but not o, or u), and - otherwise. Palulukan- kllpxltu ite-y tsko Omatikaya- kelku soai utral Kxu- fyao Thanators territory daughters bow The Omatikayas home familys tree Harms way

only known exception irregular (not soaiay) not kxu-y the light of the fire (or fires light)

The possession can also mean of the: txep- atan

Word order does not matter, so atan txep- would mean the same thing. #3.7: Language Note #3.7: For pronouns ending in ng, an extra e is added before the suffix: ayoeng ayoeng-ey our

#3.8: Language Note #3.8: For pronouns ending in a vowel, this e replaces the vowel: nga ng-ey fo f-ey tsaw ts-ey your their its

#3.9: Language Note #3.9: You can drop the on the pronouns for colloquial/informal speech if you so desire. #3.10: Language Note #3.10: To say mine, yours, theirs, etc, use the corresponding possessive pronoun with the dummy word pum: pum oey, pum ngey, pum fey respectively. Language Note #3.11: The possessive pronoun sney is used only (for now at least) with the third person singular and plural to mean his/her/their own.

Chapter 4: Cases
4.1 The Agentive and Patientive
When the subject (nouns/pronouns) of a sentence performs some action (verb) that affects another thing (direct object), special endings must be placed on the subject (called the agentive) and the direct object (called the patientive) to indicate role. The endings are as follows: Ends in Vowel -l -t(i) Ends in Consonant -l -it

Agentive Patientive

As an example, consider the verb ym to bind in the following sentences: I bind. I bind her. We(you and I) bind her. You bind the banshee. Oe ym. Oe-l ym po-ti. Oeng-al ym po-t. Nga-l ym ikran-it. No direct object, so no agentive. Direct object, so use the age/pat.

#4.1 4.1: Language Note #4.1: Looking at the 2nd and 3rd sentences, you will see that the i on the patientive ending is optional, hence why it is written in parentheses above. Choose whichever sounds better to you in your particular sentences. #4.2: Language Note #4.2: Remember this is only true when the direct object ends in a vowel. You could not remove the i in ikranit in the 4th sentence as that would result in ikrant, and nt is not a possible consonant cluster to end a syllable (LN#1.3). And for those of you thinking this could work if the direct object somehow ended in f, ts, or s, see LN#1.2. #4.3: Language Note #4.3: Regarding the inclusive pronoun forms: the ng that we tacked onto the exclusive forms comes from nga (oeng essentially means Im including you in we for example). When one of these pronouns takes an ending (agentive, patientive, or dative), the a reappears in place of what you would expect (See the 3rd sentence above: oeng-al, not oeng-l). #4.4: Language Note #4.4: Even though they are considered vowels, rr and ll take the same endings as any consonant: krr, krrit, etc not krry, krrt(i), etc.

4.2 The Dative

The dative is employed when a 3rd party (indirect object) is affected by the subject performing an action on a direct object. Here are the endings: Ends in Vowel -r(u) Ends in Consonant -ur

Dative

Now for some examples with ym to bind and tng to give: I bind her to him. You bind the banshee to the tree. We give the land to them. Oe-l ym poe-ti po-r. Nga-l ym ikran-it utral-ur. Ayoe-l tng atxkxe-t fo-ru.

The dative also makes appearances in special verb constructions (see below). Pronunciation Note: When oe is by itself or at the end of a word (e.g. moe), each vowel is pronounced individually; when it has an ending (oey, oel, oeti, oeru) or occurs in the middle of a word the vowels are pronounced as we in wept, went, or wed. Finally, in the dual and trial forms, regardless of whether theres an ending, the vowels are pronounced individually. So, oe has two syllables, oel has one syllable, pxoe has two syllables and pxoel also has two syllables. If you hear someone pronounce oeru as ohehroo instead of wehru, they are speaking formally.

4.3 The Suffixes -ri and -ri

These suffixes are used to form the topical. Because the topical causes so much confusion, and since anything phrased with the topical can be said without it (with notable exceptions, see section 9.9), the best advice I can give is to not learn it at all, at least for now. Ive included it here for completeness only. Focus your efforts elsewhere. #4.5: Language Note #4.5: The vowels aw, ay, ew, and ey, take the consonant ending except in the patientive or dative case where they could take either. For these cases, both letters must be used with the vowel ending, e.g. the patientive could be either -it or -ti, but never just -t. The vowels ll and rr take the consonant endings.

5: Chapter 5: Verbs
Verbs in Navi are not conjugated for person. So I am, you are, he is, are oe lu, nga lu, and po lu, respectively. Tip: Tip: When using the verb lu to be, the subject never takes an ending. Note #5.1 .1: Language Note #5.1: Use lu in all instances of to be except for when you are talking about being at a specific location. In that case use the verb tok: I am at home. Oe-l kelku-ti tok. Verbs are modified for different tenses, however, through the use of infixes. There are two infix positions: the first for tense <1>, the second for mood <2>. They are placed before the vowels of the second to last and final syllables, respectively. This is why vowels in Navi are so important. When the verb has only one syllable, the two infixes are placed next to one another in their respective order: Archetype emzau to pass (a test) awn to stay, remain omum to know hum to leave, depart Number of Syllables 3 2 2 1 Infix positions emz<1>a<2>u <1><2>awn <1>om<2>um h<1><2>um

Pronunciation Note: When by itself its pronounced omum, but when part of another Note: word or when paired with an infix (see below) the stress shifts to the o: ivomum.

5.1 Tenses
In an effort to keep linguistic terminology to a minimum, I will just start doing examples with the verb taron to hunt: Infix <ay> <y> <er> <m> <am> <ol> Meaning will verb will verb soon about to verb be verbing just verbed verbed have verbed Form tayaron tyaron teraron tmaron tamaron tolaron Translation will hunt will soon hunt about to hunt is/am/are hunting just hunted hunted have hunted

#5.2 Language Note #5.2: There are alternate forms of the two future tenses which are <sy> and <asy>. They are used (optionally) to indicate unambiguous determination to bring about something: Oe tsw<sy>ayon. I will fly soon. Language Note #5.3: Navi can form combination verbs with the forms nounverb or #5.3: .3 verbverb. When this occurs the infix rules apply to the primary verb only. As examples: ral meaning + peng to tell ralpeng to interpret yom to eat + tng to give yomtng to feed ralp<1><2>eng yomt<1><2>ng tell meaning give eat

5.1.1 Special Contractions

Some verbs start to look funny when combined with <ol> or <er>. When this happens, contractions are used to make the pronunciations better and clean up their appearances. Consider the following two circumstances with plltxe to speak and frrfen to visit: I have spoken You are visiting Oe p<ol>txe Nga frrfen Not p<ol>lltxe Not f<er>rrfen or f<er>fen

The difference in the forms is due to where the stress is in the word. Infixes never affect the stress of a verb, so in the case of plltxe, you have a contraction of the ls; but in frrfen, the r contraction would affect the stress, so its prohibited and you default back to the original word.

5.1.2 Compound Infixes

To form compound tenses you need compound infixes. Here they are: Infix Combo Meaning Example Oe y<aly>om srekrr nga phem trray. <aly> ay + ol will have verbed I will have eaten before you arrive tomorrow. Po s<ary>op trray. <ary> ay + er will be verbing She will be traveling tomorrow. Oe tsaheyl s<ly>i ikran-ur. <ly> y + ol will soon have verbed I will soon have bonded with an ikran. Nga tsw<ry>ayon m saw. <ry> y + er will soon be verbing You will soon be flying in the sky. Oe p<rm>lltxe nga-ru tsa-teri. <rm> m + er was just verbing I was just speaking to you about it. Po-l ultxar<lm>un tawtute-ti. <lm> m + ol have just verbed She has just encountered a skyperson. Oe-l v<arm>ir upxaret. <arm> am + er was verbing I was spreading the message. Fo fp<alm>l teri fmawn. <alm> am + ol had verbed Theyd thought about the news. 10

These still occupy <1>, so you can combine them with moods, if you so desire.

5.2 Moods
Conveying mood is really straightforward. If you are happy about doing the verb use the infix <ei> and if you are unhappy about doing the verb use the infix <ng>. Remember that these occur in the <2> spot: I am flying (yay!) I will stop (ugh!) Oe tsw<er>ay<ei>on Oe ft<ay><ng>ang

Tip: Tip: The letter combination ng does not always indicate mood. For example, there is the verb pngkxo to chat, converse. Looking at it you will see that ng is not in the correct infix position. Furthermore you could never have the word pkxo (LN #1.3). In addition to these two, there is also the evidential infix <ats> that is used to convey uncertainty or indirect knowledge: You might want to tell her. They must have gone to the river. Nga n<ats>ew p<iv>eng po-ru. Fo-l ke tok ftseng-it. Fo-l k<ol><ats> ne kilvan.

You also use it when commenting on another persons state of being (since you cant know for certain how they are): Oe sti Im angry BUT Po st<ats>i He is (seems to be) angry. Mood infixes do not compound like tenses, so you can only use one at a time.

5.3 Modal Verbs

There are eight modal verbs in Navi: zene must, to have to, zenke must not (see section 5.8.1), tsun can, to be able to, new to want, kan to aim. fmi to try, attempt, sngi to begin, start, and var to persist/continue in state/action. The modal verb must always immediately precede the dependent verb. You cannot have a direct object with must or can, so when using these verbs the subject never takes an agentive ending: Never oe-l zene kiv I must go. Oe zene k<iv>. You can go. Nga tsun k<iv>. Never nga-l tsun kiv New has the exact same form, but it can also take a direct object (you can want something). This leads to a less common, but equally valid form: I want to go Oe-l new futa k<iv>. I want you to go away Oe-l new futa nga k<iv> neto. Futa has no literal translation, its just there as a place holder: In the first sentence above, you want something and that something is to go. If this seems to violate the modal verb rule, its because the subject has been omitted in the dependent clause. This can be

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done when the subject in both clauses does not change. More about futa in chapter eight. For the reason why the <iv> infix is used, see section 5.4 below. Kan normally means to aim, but when used as a modal verb, it behaves exactly like new and expresses intention: Oel k<ol>an futa ngal <iv>em wutsoti. Oe k<ol>an tsp<iv>ang po-t. I intended (for/that) you to cook dinner. I intended to kill him.

Compare this with the infixes in LN# 5.2. In the above example you may not have actually succeeded, but if you use either <sy> or <asy> you will do it. Var used modally means to keep doing something: Var k<iv> ko! Oe var t<iv>ok ftseng-it. Lets keep going! Im still here.

#5.4: Language Note #5.4: When a modal is used with another verb and there is a patientive object, you have the option of adding the agentive ending to the subject if you so desire: Oe-l k<ol>an tsp<iv>ang po-t. I intended to kill him. (Compare above)

<iv> 5.4 The <iv> infix

The <iv> infix is applied to all modal verb combinations and placed inside the non-modal verb, hence its appearance in every k to go above. You put it in the first <1> infix position always. It is also used to express a wish or hope in the future: <Iv>ong Navi! Let Navi bloom! #5.5 .5: Language Note #5.5: When a sentence with want verb has a direct object, the direct object takes the patientive suffix even though the subject does not take the agentive: Oe I new want <iv>eyng to answer ng-ey your tpawm-it. question. tpawmit, not tpawm

Compare this sentence with the last example of section 5.3. If the subject of both clauses is the same, you can omit it, but now since theres no explicit direct object as there is in 5.3, you dont have the agentive ending on oe. . This infix also means would: I would return if I could stay longer Would you tell me the truth? Oe t<iv>txaw txo oe tsivun <iv>awn nulkrr P<iv>eng nga-l oe-ru tngay-it srak?

The infix is used with verb(s) in clauses following fte so that and fteke lest:

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Im coming (in order) to help you Oe z<er>au fte oe srung s<iv>i ngaru. Finally, it is used with tsn clauses (see section 8.1.4). See section 5.5 for my use of ngaru.

infixes 5.4.1 Compound <iv> infixes

Welcome to perhaps the most difficult section in the guide. The hardest part will not be writing the Navi, but accurately interpreting it into English. For these combinations the <iv> part of the infix represents a possibility, while the other infix takes care of the tense: Infix Combo <yev> iv + <iyev> ay/y <ilv> <irv> <imv> iv + ol iv + er iv + am iv + m Meaning Future Possibility Past Possibility Present Possibility Past Possibility Example k<yev>ame (goodbye) May (we) see (each other again) in the future. Nrangal oe k<ilv> fo-hu. If only I had gone with them. Txo oe k<irv> po-hu, nga l<iv>u nitram. If I were going with her, you would be happy. Txo ayoe t<imv>aron nga-hu, ke fl<iv> nga. If we hunted with you, you wouldnt succeed.

Tip: Nrangal is used to express unattainable wishes, or at least wishes that the speaker considers unattainable (If only; oh that; etc) and only takes <ilv> or <irv>. One of the biggest problems in translating these types of statements into Navi is that most English speakers dont get it right in English to begin with. To demonstrate, consider the sentence If he was here, he would tell you the truth: Take a second to read it again, does it sound right to you? Almost anyone you ask would say this is correct. Its not. By saying if, you have created a counterfactual statement (a possibility) which requires the subjunctive tense. The correct version of the statement above would be If he were here, he would tell you the truth. Why does this matter you ask? Imagine youre translating the incorrect statement without really thinking about it. You would get Txo pol t<am>ok ftseng-it, po p<iv>eng ngaru tngay-it. In the correct version tamok would be tivok. This becomes even more difficult when you start compounding tenses. Compare: Oh that I was going with you Oh that I were going with you Nrangal oe k<arm> nga-hu Nrangal oe k<irv> nga-hu WRONG RIGHT

Now for the really hard example (try to translate it before reading on): If you hadnt been eating when we arrived, we could have cooked something. The first step is to notice where the focus is in the sentence. Here its on the arrival (<ol>). Thats the concrete event. Everything else is a possibility related to it. Now lets look at 13

you. When the arrival occurs you are eating. The act coincides with the arrival. So despite the fact that it sounds like its a past possibility (<ilv>) its actually a present possibility (<irv>; remember the focus is on the arrival). Another way of saying this part of the sentence would be if you werent eating. Finally the last part of the statement: could have is also would have been able to which is a past possibility (<ilv>), and since cook follows this modal verb, it takes the usual <iv>. Putting it all together we get: Txo nga ke y<irv>om krr a ayoe p<ol>hem, ayoeng-l ts<ilv>un <iv>em uo-t. For krr a, see section 8.1.2.

5.5 Should
The verb sweylu is used for should (literally its best), but there are two ways of using it depending on whether you are using it to express something that has happened or has yet to happen. If its a future possibility use the verb along with txo and the <iv>. If it has already occurred, use it with fwa and <ol>. Compare Txo oe k<iv> Sweylu txo oe k<iv> Sweylu fwa oe k<ol> If I were to go I should go I should have gone

In the third sentence above, the implication is that going was the right thing to do, not that you are lamenting the fact that you didnt go. Never use sweylu for counterfactual statements such as this.

5.6 Creating Verbs

The auxiliary verb si can be paired with nouns to form verbs in Navi: nari eye nari si to watch out, be careful eltu brain eltu si to pay attention uvan game uvan si to play (a game) All infixes go inside si, and when a sentence has an si verb, the object takes the dative ending: Oe pamrel si ay+lu-ru. Eltu si karyu-ru! I write words. Pay attention to the teacher!

Tip: Tip: If the dative bothers you here, think of X si Y as engage in the X-activity to/for Y. #5.6 .6: Language Note #5.6: When two is or an i and an wind up together due to infixes, no contraction occurs. Instead, y is inserted between them. Consider irayo si to thank. You thank someone because you are happy with whatever it is they did. So you would employ the <ei> infix: Oe irayo seiyi nga-ru I thank you. 14

Tip: Tip: You give thanks to someone, so that someone is the indirect object. Think of the subject here, and indeed with all si verbs, like you do with zene and tsun. If you dont like this, then just say irayo thanks. #5.7 .7: Language Note #5.7: In many cases si sounds like it could mean to do/make but it cannot be used as such by itself. The closest verbs we have for to make is txula to build and ngop to create.

self elf 5.7 The self Infix <p>

There are no words for myself, yourself, etc in Navi. They are achieved through the infix <p> that is always put in a special position <0> which immediately preceeds <1>. Consider yur to wash and tsea to see: I wash myself You will wash yourself They saw themselves(ugh!) Oe y<p>ur Nga y<p><ay>ur Ay+fo ts<p><am>e<ng>a

#5.8 .8: Language Note #5.8: Tsea is to see in a physical sense. Kame is to see into (beyond the physical sense).

<eyk> 5.8 The Causative Infix <eyk>

This infix, which also occurs in the <0> position, is used in the construction to force/make verb. In this construction, the one who is forced/made is put in the dative: It makes you think. He made me build it. Tsa-l fp<eyk>l nga-ru. Po-l oe-ru tx<eyk><ol>ula tsa-t. Not nga-ti Not oe-ti

It can also be used to allow verbs that normally dont have direct objects in Navi to take direct objects. Compare: I begin You start the game Nothing will change Evil changes you Oe sngi Nga-l sng<eyk>i uvan-it No direct object direct object

Keu ke l<ay>atem No direct object T-kawng-l l<eyk>atem nga-t direct object

#5.9 .9: Language Note #5.9: Verbs that do not take direct objects are known as intransitive. Some are strictly transitive (take a direct object) and some can be both, depending on context. Heres the list of verbs that we know to be strictly intransitive: hahaw to sleep latem 15 to change

sngi ttxaw tsun zene

to begin, start to return to be able to, can to have to, must

syaw tem yomtng

to call to shoot to feed

#5.10 .10: Language Note #5.10: Its useful to think of si verbs as intransitive, but remember that when it comes to direct objects, they have their own constructions (section 5.5). Only use <eyk> with them if you specifically want the force/make meaning. Also, since their direct objects take the dative, the person being forced takes the patientive instead: I make you write a book. Oe-l pamrel s<eyk>i nga-ti puk-ur.

Tip: The order when combining <p> and <eyk> is always <p><eyk>. #5.11 Language Note #5.11: Verbs that normally take direct objects can be used without direct objects (compare the first two sentences below). When these verbs are used with the causative they are still transitive, so they take the agentive case (see the last two sentences): He hunts. He hunts a hexapede. He makes you hunt. He makes you hunt a hexapede. Po taron. Po-l taron yerik-it. Po-l t<eyk>aron ngaru. Po-l t<eyk>aron ngaru yerik-it.

5.9 Commands
To command someone to do something you can either use the standard form of the verb, or more politely use an <iv> infix with the verb: Go away! Protect The People. K neto! K<iv> neto! Hawnu Omatikaya-ti. Omatikaya-ru t-hawnu s<iv>i.

The first sentence is the straightforward construction. The second is an si verb construction with the noun form thawnu. It is also what Eytukan says to Neytiri in the movie.

5.9.1 Negative Commands .9.1

There are a few ways to negate a command. The first, most commanding, and most useful is with r: Dont be afraid! Dont be a moron! Txopu r si! Skxawng r lu!

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Tip: Never put the noun between r and si. For a softer tone, use zenke. This carries the implication of obligation: Youre leaving! You mustnt go. Nga h<er>um! Nga zenke k<iv>.

Note the difference between this and Nga ke zene k<iv> You dont have to go/you need not go.

5.10 Tense vs. Aspect (Optional)

I will not be marking the stress of the words in this section and before beginning I want to reemphasize the fact that this section is completely optional. Even if you want to learn it, I STRONGLY suggest not even looking at it until you have read through chapter eight. This section will have some linguistic terminology; there is no way around it. Looking back at sections 5.1 and 5.1.2, I grouped basically every infix together and called them tenses. This is not actually true, though the examples given are reasonable approximations for most situations. The infixes <ol>, <er>, and <arm> are not actually tenses, theyre aspects. The first thing to note is that the purpose of a tense is to relate one time period to another. In the sentence Oe y<am>om trram krr a nga p<am>hem I ate yesterday when you arrived, youre relating the two events that happened the day before to the present. Furthermore you are also relating the two events temporally to one another as viewed from your present (they both happened at the same time in your past). Youre viewing the events from an external perspective. Aspect is concerned with, well, the aspects of an event itself from an internal viewpoint. Taking the above example again, if we were to say Oe y<ol>om trram krr a nga p<ol>hem, we are now physically at that moment instead of the present. The aspect <ol> is known as perfective, meaning it puts you in the moment, but still views an action as complete from within that moment. To go inside that action further, we have the past imperfective aspect <arm>. This zooms in on the action. Consider the differences in the following short story: Trram oe t<ol>aron. Tengkrr oe t<arm>aron, oel ts<ol>ea palulukanit. Oe txopu s<ol>i ha oe t<ol>ul neto. Tengkrr oe t<arm>ul, oel ts<ol>ea futa Neytiri tsw<arm>ayon ulte oe poru sy<ol>aw. Po k<ol>k ulte awsiteng moe t<ol>txaw ne Kelutral Yesterday I hunted. As I was hunting, I saw a thanator. I was afraid, so I ran away. While I was running, I saw Neytiri flying and I called to her. She descended and together we returned to Hometree Tolaron establishes the setting and the main event as a whole. Tarmaron puts us inside the main event itself and allows us to explore what happens. tsolea, txopu soli, tolul, and kolk are what happen within the main event. Tarmul puts us inside a secondary event within the main event. 17

Tsolea, is what happens in the secondary event. Tswarmayon puts us inside what happens in the secondary event. Syolaw takes us out of the secondary event, putting us back in the main event. Toltxaw completes the main event.
Tolaron

Tarmaron

tsolea

txopu soli

tolul

syolaw

kolk

toltxaw

tarmul

tsolea

tswarmayon

Now compare this story to something similar with tense: Trram oe t<am>aron, oel ts<am>ea palulukanit ulte t<am>txaw ne Kelutral. Yesterday I hunted, I saw a thanator and returned to Hometree. In the first story it seems like youre right there on the ground with the narrator, you experience things as he does. The second story feels detached and clinical, like someone is reading a fact sheet to you: movie versus picture. You also dont know in the second story how the events relate to each other. Did you see the thanator during the hunt? Is it the reason you returned to Hometree? Or are they all just separate events that happened yesterday? You dont know without more information. Finally, until we know more, these guidelines are useful for stories and the like; but if you were just saying one sentence that was in the past tense you could use either <am> or <ol>. They are not exclusive, the meanings are clear either way and it really is a preference at this point. This is further exemplified by the infix <alm> (see 5.1.2), used to indicate that something happened before something else in the past.

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6: Chapter 6: Adjectives and Adverbs

6.1 Adjectives
When you describe something with the verb to be, its really straightforward: The sun is yellow The skies are blue The girl is pretty Tsawke lu rim Saw lu ean Tute lu sevin

When you dont use lu, you must attach an -a- to the side of the adjective closest to the noun it modifies: yellow sun blue skies beautiful night tsawke a-rim ean-a saw lor-a txon

Tip: Tip: Lor is used to describe a thing, sevin is used to describe a female (see above), sayrp is used to describe a male. #6.1: Language Note #6.1: When the adjective begins or ends with a, vowel contraction occurs: large branch apxa vul not apxa-a vul

6.1.1 Colors
The basic colors in Navi are as follows: Color Range red to orange yellow green to blue violet to purple brown black Navi tun rim ean om kllvawm layon Color white gray deep/dark light bright/vivid Navi teyr ngul vawm neyn txanatan

I now like to think of ROYGBIV in English as TREO. To specify the colors further, use the adposition (see 7.1) na- keeping the hyphen(s): menari aean-na-taw 19

menari atawna-ean

both mean sky-blue eyes

To use the colors as nouns, add the suffix -pin: I like (the color) purple. Sunu oeru ompin.

Language Language Note #6.2: When adding this suffix to colors ending in -n, the n changes to m: so tun becomes tumpin, etc.

6.2 Creating Adjectives

The prefix le- is used to create adjectives: trr day letrr daily fpom peace, well-being lefpom happy, peaceful, joyous #6.3: Language Note #6.3: Use lefpom to describe things. For people use nitram. And to describe your internal state use efu to feel: Oe efu som Im hot. #6.4: Language Note #6.4: When an adjective with le- is before the noun it modifies, put an a on it as expected. But when the adjective appears after the noun it modifies you dont need the a as the le- already indicates its role: dangerous animal lehrrap-a ioang or ioang lehrrap

6.2.1 The Active Participle Infix <us> .2.1

This infix, which is placed in the <1> location, turns the -ing form of the verb into an adjective: tswayon to fly tsw<us>ayon flying fyawntxu to guide fyaw<us>ntxu guiding tswusayon-a ikran the flying ikran atan a-fyawusntxu guiding light

The <awn> 6.2.2 The Passive Participle Infix <awn>

This infix, which is placed in the <1> location, turns the past tense form of the verb into an adjective: tawnungzup-a txewk dropped club tungzup to drop t<awn>ungzup dropped sop to travel s<awn>op traveled tute a-sawnop ntxan well-traveled person Tip: Remember, these are adjectives, so the -a- is needed.

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#6.5 6.5: Language Note #6.5: When using <us> and <awn> with si verbs, the infix goes inside the si and the verb gets hyphenated when written to avoid confusion: helping person tute asrung-s<us>i.

6.3 Adverbs
Theres really not much to say about adverbs other than how to create them. Use the prefix n- to do so: the noun tngay truth nngay truly the adjective ftue easy nftue easily Tip: Tip: Dont automatically think adverb when you see n. Theres nn to look (at).

6.3.1 Mind Your Manners .3.1

To describe the manner in which you do something combine n- with fyao and the appropriate adjective. As an example, consider Po poltxe nlaw. This could be translated as She spoke clearly or Clearly, she spoke. Its ambiguous what youre saying. However, with our formulation it becomes unambiguous: Po poltxe nfyao a-law. She spoke clearly (she spoke in a clear manner). More examples: letrrtrr hiyk ordinary nfyao letrrtrr funny/strange nfyao a-hiyk in an ordinary manner in a strange (or funny) manner

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7: Chapter 7: Adpositions and Other Prefixes

7.1 Adpositions
Adposition is just a fancy term for a thing that can appear before or after a word. It is the speakers choice. They can represent many different types of words. In Navi, adpositions that come before the word they complement are separate, distinct entities. If they follow the word they complement, they are attached to the word as a suffix. For example, the word for and, s can be used as follows: Ontu s kinam nose and leg ay+lu horens words and rules #7.1 .1: Language Note #7.1: s is used to connect two things. To connect two sentences use ulte. Here is the list of known adpositions, marked for lenition: Adposition oeofafewfkipfpi+ ftuhul+ iokakipkxamlloklukemawm+ mkammungwrrMeaning under before, in front of with (by means of) across (opposite side of) up among for (the benefit/sake of) from (direction) with (accompaniment) by, via, following above across (covering thoroughly) among through close without after (time) in between except Adposition nanenemfapxawpxelpximawpxisre+ ro+ rofasnsre+ tatakiptafkipteriuovayw+ Meaning like, as to (direction) inside around like, as right after right before at (location) beside, alongside on, onto before (time) from from among from up among about, concerning behind up to against (opposition)

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#7.2 .2: Language Note #7.2: Lenition only occurs if the adposition precedes the word. The adposition l may have the stress on either syllable. #7.3: Language Note #7.3: With verbs of motion, ne- can be omitted if you place the destination after the verb.

Other 7.2 Other Prefixes

These prefixes attach to the front of a word they modify normally. You have already seen a few (section 2.1). The list is below marked for lenition, when known: Prefix ay+ ffay+ frame+ pxe+ tsatsay+ Meaning (general) plural this these every 2 of a thing 3 of a thing that those

7.3 Questions
Question words are formed with the special particle -pe+. As indicated it may be placed as a prefix or a suffix, but when used as a prefix it causes lenition: Navi peu, upe pesu, tupe pefnel, fnepe pefya, fyape pehem, kempe pehrr, krrpe pelun, lumpe peseng, tsengpe polpxay, holpxaype pmtxan, hmtxampe English what? (thing) who? Which kind? how? what? (action) when? why? where? How many?/What number? How much?/What amount?

#7.4 7.4: Language Note #7.4: This particle can combine with the plural ay+ to form pay+: payutral? Which trees?

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#7 Language Note #7.5: When the question can be answered with a yes/no, the sentence that asks the question must have srak(e); and for isnt it? or right? use kefyak: How do you know this? Did you build this? Thats the truth, isnt it? Fyape nga-l omum fu-ti? Tx<ol>ula nga-l fu-t srak? Tsaw lu tngay kefyak?

#7 Language Note #7.6: These words can only be used for questions. If you want to use what, who, where, etc in the middle of a sentence as an adverb, you must use other words (See chapter 8).

7.4 The Suffixes -tsyp and -vi

-tsyp is known as the diminutive marker and is applied to either nouns, pronouns, or proper names. It can be used to express affection (much like a grandparent might call a grandchild little boy/girl) or to insult someone (what can you do about it, little (worthless) warrior?) or ironically, as self-deprecation (youre much stronger than little ole me). -vi is a suffix meaning a part of a whole, or little bit of something. It cannot be used as freely as -tsyp. Compare the two in the following examples: utraltsyp txepvi tsmuketsyp atanvi bush spark little sister ray (of light)

7.5 The Suffix -o

Weve already seen how this suffix can create indefinite pronouns (LN 3.5), but it can also be used to express duration if attached to a time word: for many days srr-o I have been studying for almost three years. Oe ft<ol>ia pxey-a zst-o stum.

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8: Chapter 8: Sentences
Up to this point, I have written the words in every sentence in the same order as English for the sake of clarity. Because of the different types of case endings, word order in Navi is relatively free. For example the sentence The creature with the mighty heart is good could be written as follows: Swir creature txelanhu heart with a-fkew mighty sltsan good lu. be

#8.1: Language Note #8.1: When you say in Navi what would be a prepositional phrase in English, the noun in the prepositional phrase never takes an ending: Im speaking with the warrior. Oe p<er>lltxe hu tsamsiyu.

There are some restrictions on word order though: 1. Possession words should appear directly on either side of what they possess: Lor mokri beautiful voice Her voice is beautiful. pe-y lu. her be

2. Adjectives and adverbs should appear next to the nouns and verbs they modify: omum kanu-a Frau-ti everything know smart The smart daughter knows everything. ite-l. daughter

3. If you say not verb, the ke goes before the verb: Ke new oe-l not want I I dont want you to go. futa that nga you k<iv>. to go

4. The part of the sentence you want to carry the most meaning/emphasis goes at the beginning, with the end representing a little more emphasis than the rest of the sentence. The particles nang, used to express surprise and pak, used to express disparagement always goes at the end.

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8.1 Complex Sentences

When two sentences are combined together, keep the words from each sentence on their respective side of the conjunction joining the two sentences: F<ay>rrfen oe-l nga-t ulte oeng awsiteng will visit I you and we together I will visit you and we will ride out together. km<ay>akto. will ride out

8.1.1 The Pronoun a

This pronoun can be translated as that, which, or who. It is used to modify a noun much like the adjective a, except that the adjective now is a phrase and the pronoun is a separate entity: Oe-r sm<am>on oloeyktan I knew clan leader I knew the clan leader who just died. a who t<m>erkup. just died

#8.2: Language Note #8.2: In English, that is not always written, but in Navi it must be. Fp<ol>e' ay+nga-l oe-r ftxan nftxavang a 'upxare-t st<ol>awm oe-l. sent you to me so passionately that message heard I I have heard the message [that] you have sent me so passionately. You can also use this pronoun in conjunction with the <er> infix as an equally valid alternative for <us>. Compare: Toruk a-h<us>ahaw lu mi lehrrap. Toruk a h<er>ahaw lu mi lehrrap.

Both can be translated as A sleeping Toruk is still dangerous.

8.1.2 When .1.2

When in non-question sentences is a krr or krr a depending on the clause it modifies: Nga p<am>hem a krr, ftseng-it you arrived when here When you arrived, I was not here. H<am>um oe left I I left when you came. krr a when nga you oe-l I ke no t<am>ok. was

z<am>au. came

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Tip: Tip: You can also use a krr/krr a for its literal translation (at) the time that.

8.1.3 The Many Faces of fu

By itself, fu means this (thing): This thing is hot. He has eaten this thing. Fu lu som. Po-l y<ol>om fu-t.

But when fu is used in conjunction with a, we have these special forms: fu a fwa fula fu-l a fu-t a futa fu-ru a These forms have no literal translation necessarily. They serve more as place holders for phrases that are being used as agents, patients, direct objects, etc. Consider the following: Law lu oe-ru fwa nga new clear be to me this you want It is clear to me that you want to come with us. z<iv>au to come ayoehu. us with

What you are literally saying is This you-want-to-come-with-us-thing is clear to me. This can also apply to prepositional phrases when the thing following the preposition is more than just a noun: without beginning to cry except I cant come luke fwa sngi tsng<iv>awvk mungwrr fwa oe ke tsun z<iv>au

Note in the first example above that sngi is being used as a modal verb, hence the infix in tsngawvk. Fwa is used with intransitive verbs. When the phrase functions as the subject (agentive) of the sentence use fula: oeti Fula nga z<ol>a'u this you have come me That you have come makes me smile. lrrtok smile s<eyk>i. makes

You have already seen how futa can work with the modal verb new, but it applies when the phrase is the patientive part of the sentence (i.e. with transitive verbs): Omum oe-l futa t-fyawntxu-ri oe-y p<er>ey ay+nga know I this guidance my be waiting you I know you are all waiting for my guidance. nwotx. all

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Here, you are literally saying I know something and that something is you are waiting for my guidance. Note Language Note #8.3: There are alternate forms of fwa and futa that may be used once the topic they allude to have been established. These forms are tsawa and tsata. Its similar to the distinction between it and that, but this is not always clear, and the choice to use these alternate forms are at the speakers discretion.

8.1.4 Tsn, The Other That

With verbs like txle si to request and slpey to hope you cannot use fwa or futa constructions: I hope you will stay with us. I request that he give it to her. Oe slpey tsn nga <iv>awn ayoehu. Oe txle si tsn po-l t<iv>ng tsa-t poer.

Note the subjunctive here because they are possibilities. Also important is that the things being hoped for or requested can function as sentences on their own. If the direct objects were simple things, you just use the normal construction: I requested it. Oe txle s<am>i tsa-ru.

8.1.5 Where
Where constructions are made with the noun tseng(e) place. There are different ways of saying it, depending on your meaning. If you are saying where then it's relatively straight forward, just say the place that. If you want to say where to, then you need a place holder (like futa or fwa) to stand in for the to, achieved with the inanimate it tsaw. Consider the following two examples: omum Oe-l ke I not know I don't know where she is. tsenge-t a where po she tok. be (at) nga-l k<er>. you be going

tsun z<iv>a'u Oe tsa-ne ke I it to not can come You are going (to) where I cannot come.

a tseng-it where

In the 1st example you are basically saying I don't know the place that she is. It's exactly what you would write if you saying "I don't know the she's-at place" using a. In the 2nd example you are saying "I cannot come to it" where it is the place [that] you are going.

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Tip: Remember that tsenget and tsengit above should be on the same side of a as the agentive, as they are part of those clauses. Here's one more example: Fo-l ts<am>e'a tseng-it a they saw where They saw where I went (to). k<am> went tsa-ne oe. to it I.

8.1.6 How and Why

We dont have official formulations for these words when they are not being used for questions, but most use fyao a the way that for how, and oeyk a the reason that for why: nga-l fyao-t a Omum know you the way that Do you know how to cook this? fko-l one <iv>em would cook ftia study ntxan much fu-t this thing fratrr. everyday srak? yes/no?

Fo-l omum oeyk-it a nga they know the reason that you They know why you study so much everyday.

8.2 Streamlining Sentences

When two adjacent clauses have the same subject, you can drop the subject from the second clause: Zene nga k<iv> tseng a must you go the place to Youve gotta go where you wanna go. tsa-ne (nga) new that to it k<iv>. want go.

The same deletion rule applies to direct objects, when it can be understood from context: I saw something [that] I want. Oe-l ts<ol>ea uo-t a (oe-l tsat) new.

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9: Special Chapter 9: Special Constructions

9.1 Names
In Navi, you dont ask someone what their name is literally. Instead, you use the general pronoun fko one, they: Fyape fko syaw nga-r How does one call you? You answer the question with: Oeru syaw fko _______. They call me _______. #9.1: Language Note #9.1: You call to someone, hence the use of the dative. Tip: Use Nga-ru tut? to say And you?/How about you?

9.1.1 Ma
Ma is used to address someone specifically. It carries no literal translation, it's just used to single someone out: Jake ma Jake It is placed before the noun and any words that modify the noun: my friends ma oey eylan. If you have multiple people you wish to address, you still use it only once: brothers and sisters ma smukan s smuke. Tip: If it helps, think of (but do not necessarily translate) ma as O. O my friends above.

9.1.2 The Other Ma

With words that represent groups of people, e.g. olo clan, frapo everyone, etc. you can address them with ma or with -ya used as a suffix: Trr lefpom ma Amerika Kaltx frapo-ya Good morning/day America Hello everyone

It does not apply to plurals (e.g. never ay+sute-ya), and if you dont want to use it, ma works with everything.

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9.2 There is
There is is achieved by using lu at the start of a sentence: There are trees in a forest There hasnt been a visitor There will soon be a new day Lu ay+utral m+ narng Ke l<ol>u kea frrtu L<y>u mip-a trr

You dont always need to explicitly translate it and that if they are implied from context. As examples, tsat in sections 9.6 and 9.11 below are not required.

9.3 I Love You

The word for love, tyawn comes from the adjective yawn(e) beloved. But you cannot make an si verb construction for to love. Instead, to say I love you its Nga yawne lu oe-r which translates literally as You are beloved to me.

9.4 How Do You Say x in Navi?

Translated literally as in-Navi x becomes what? this phrase is X nNavi (slu) pelu? The slu is frequently omitted in conversation.

9.5 To Have
There is no direct word for to have in Navi. Instead, we use a special construction involving lu at the start of the sentence: Lu oe-ru txle I have a request. It behaves much like there is above: There is a request to me.

Ko! 9.6 Let's Ko!

Ko is a particle used to solicit agreement: eh? dont you think? wouldnt you agree? (compare with kefyak in LN#7.5) To say let's verb, put it after the verb: Let's ride! Ok, let's use it. Makto ko! Tam, tsa-t sar ko.

9.7 Filled With Joy

This is more of an idiom than a special construction, but its cool so Im including it here. Its basically an si verb construction with the adjective teya full, with the implied meaning with satisfaction/joy:

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lfya leNavi Fwa sute a-txan ftxan ft<er>ia That people many so be studying language Navi (The fact) That so many people are studying the Navi language fills me with joy.

oe-ru teya si. fills me

9.8 Comparisons
Navi does not have the traditional English forms to compare two things. There is no way to express the -er in larger, for example. Instead, we use A to B lu adj: A toruk is larger than an ikran. Toruk to ikran lu apxa.

#9.2 .2: Language Note #9.2: In this formulation, to behaves like an adposition and can be used in the same way. So, Toruk ikranto lu apxa would mean the same thing as the sentence above. Just try not to create word orders which make the meaning unclear when spoken. Superlatives (largest in the above example) are formed with frato: This tree is the tallest. F-utral frato tsawl lu.

We also have words for best swey and worst eal.

Luck/Well 9.9 Good Luck/Well Wishing

This is not so much a special construction, as it is an idiomatic use of a word. We begin with: Good Luck! Etrpa syayvi ngaru! or

If you want to wish someone good luck with something, then you use the topical suffix (section 4.3): Good luck with it. Good luck with your friend. Literally, As for X smile to you. And if you want to get really fancy: X-ri/ri nga-ru lrrtok s<iv>i Nawma Sa'nok! Literally, As for X, the Great Mother smiles to you! Finally, for celebrations and the like (Happy Birthday!): Smiles to you on your celebration! Ftxoz-ri aylrrtok nga-ru! Tsa-ri nga-ru etrpa syayvi. Ng-ey eylan-ri etrpa syayvi nga-r.

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9.10 Whether
In Navi you cannot say whether by itself, you must say whether or not. This is achieved with ftxeyfuke: Ayoe-ru mi yawne l<ay>u nga to us still beloved will be you We will still love you whether you succeed or not. Will you help us? Will you help us or not? ftxey nga whether you fl succeed fuke. or not

Srake ngal ayoer srung s<ay>i? Ftxey ayoeru srung s<ay>i ngal fuke?

We dont yet know if fuke can replace the function of srak, though in our only example it isnt there. Be careful not to confuse these statements with txo if. For example, if you were to say I dont know if he is coming what youre really saying is I dont know whether or not he is coming, so you would not use txo.

9.11 Negatives
All negatives (except commands, see 5.8.1) are formed with some version of the ke particle: Particle ke Example Notes Oe ke lu eveng! Placed before the verb it modifies I am not a child! adverb Oe pamrel ke si. Placed before the si with si verbs. I do not write. Kehe! R ampi tsat! interjection No! Dont touch it! Usage

kehe

But when using negative words in Navi you must also place a ke before the corresponding verb:

Example Fayutral ke lu tsawl kawit. kawit notat all Those trees arent big at all. Oe ke k<am> nga-hu kawkrr. kawkrr never I never went with you. Ke lu kawtu a oe krrn<iv>ekx pohu. kawtu no-one Theres no-one Id rather spend time with. Ke frapo ke tsl<ol>am. ke not X Not everyone understood. Oel ke new kea tompati trray. kea no X I want no rain tomorrow/I dont want rain tomorrow.

Navi

English

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Oeru ke tsranten keu set. Nothing matters to me now. Oe ke lu evan ki fyeyntu. ki but rather I am not a boy but (rather) a man. Oe-l vay set ke t<ol>el kea teyng-it. vay set still/not yet I still havent received an answer. keu nothing If you know French, these constructions should be familiar: nepersonne, nerien, etc.

9.12 Alu
Alu is used to explain things further. It can mean in other words, that is to say, or to associate a person with another noun: Oey tsmuke alu Neytiri lu kanu. My sister (who is) Neytiri is smart.

When two nouns are used with alu, only the noun preceding it takes a case ending: Ngey eylanl alu Jake kolar oeti. Your friend Jake taught me. Note that its Jake, not Jake-l.

9.13 Need To
To say X needs to Y the form is X-ru lu tkin a Y. This concerns actions. If you need to say you need something then use the verb kin. Omitting X above makes the sentence impersonal: Plants need light in order to live. I need to leave. There needs to be peace. Ewll-l kin atan-it fte r<iv>ey. Oe-ru lu tkin a hum. Lu tkin a lu fpom.

9.14 If, Then

To form this type of statement use txotsakrr. The verb associated with the if part of the sentence takes the <iv> infix, the verb associated with the then part takes either <ay> or <y>: Txo nga k<iv> Zahatxum, tsakrr nga t<ay>erkup. If you go to Zhadum, you will die.

9.15 Feelings
Use the expression X-()l oeti sl<eyk>u feeling to describe how something (X) makes you feel: My friend makes me happy. 34 Oey eylan-l oeti sl<eyk>u nitram.

9.16 9.16 As adj/adv as noun/pronoun

Use nftxanna to create this comparison: You are as smart as a rock! I eat as quickly as you. Nga lu nftxan kanu na tskxe! Oe yom nfxan nwin na nga.

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10: Chapter 10: Numbers

10.1 10.1 The Base Numbers
We begin with the numbers that form the foundation of the Navi numbering system: Number 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Navi kew aw mune pxey tsng mrr pukap kin vol Remainder Form -aw -mun -pey -sng -mrr -fu -hin Base Form

mepxetsmrrpuki-

Once you go higher than eight, youve run out of fingers so you reset your base number to vol and start using the combining forms: nine twelve volaw vosng vol + aw vol + sng one 8 + 1 one 8 + 4

Tip: Drop the l on vol when the remainder begins with a consonant. When you get to numbers bigger than fifteen, just give the number of bases and add the remainder, if there is one: sixteen 47 mevol mrrvohin me + vol mrr + vol + hin two 8s five 8s + 7

10.1 .1: Language Note 10.1: The stress on these words is on the remainder form if there is one and on the base form otherwise. See above. At this point I highly encourage you to write out the first 63 numbers and check them against the number chart in Taronyus dictionary (See Epilogue). 10.2: Language Note 10.2: When using numbers as adjectives, the noun they describe does not get the plural prefix: Mrr-a trr five days, not mrra (ay)srr. 10.3: Language Note 10.3: For purely Terran things like phone numbers, we have eyt eight and nayn nine. Never use these for normal counting. 36

10.2 Larger Numbers 10.2

This process basically repeats. So numbers up to 63 are done. Here are the other base numbers: 64 512 4096 zam vozam zazam

Examples: 77 = 64 + 13 = 64 + 8 + 5 = 1 zam + 1 vol + 5 zamvomrr 777 = 512 + 4*64 + 8 + 1 = 1 vozam + 4 zam + 1 vol + 1 vozamtszamvolaw 10000 = 2 zazam + 3 vozam + 4 zam + 2 vol mezazampxevozamtszamevol Tip: If you get a double m, delete one of them. Going the other way is even easier, just break it up: zamtsvosng = zam + tsvo + sng = 64 + 4*8 + 4 = 100 By the way, if you want to say a number bigger than kizazamkivozamkizamkivohin youre currently out of luck.

10.3 Fractions
The fractions (one) half and (one) third have special words: mawl and pan, respectively. Two thirds can be obtained by combining me+ with pan to form mefan. For other fractions, take the base form and combine it with px (keep the stress on px): one-fourth one-eighth tspx vopx

For numerators that are not one, treat the fraction as a number and make the numerator an adjective: three-fifths pxey-a mrrpx

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10.4 10.4 Ordinal Numbers

In order to rank numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc) we have the ordinal suffix -ve. The forms are somewhat irregular: Navi awve muve pxeyve tsve mrrve puve kive volve volawve Rank first second third fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth Notes on Form long short long base long base base long remainder Navi vomuve vopeyve vosve vomrrve vofuve vohive mevolve mevolawve Rank tenth eleventh twelfth thirteenth fourteenth fifteenth sixteenth seventeenth Notes on Form see 2nd remainder short remainder long remainder short remainder long see 9th

From this we can infer that the ordinal suffix cannot appear next to an n/ng (see short remainders). These are the confirmed ordinals, but the rules should extend to all numbers: 39th 64th 777th tsvohive (form like fifteenth) zamve (form like sixteenth) vozamtszamvolawve

10.4: Language Note 10.4: To describe the number of times you do something, use the discrete time suffix -lo in conjunction with the number. So we have awlo once, melo twice, and pxelo thrice/three times. To go higher, use the number as an adjective with the word alo: alo amrr five times, etc.

10.5 Pure Octal

Normal numbers (i.e. base 10) can be written in the octal system with the added script . For writing purposes, we have the following conventions (compare with above): nine twelve sixteen 27 11 14 20 33 39th 64th 777th day 24 days 47ve 100ve 1411ve-a trr 30-a trr

This can also be used when writing clock times, just make sure when using that the number is always in octal, and that if youre using it as an adjective you still need the -a-.

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10.5.1 10.5.1 Adding in Octal (Optional) .5

For those truly committed to the four-fingered counting system, heres a way to add numbers in octal without converting back and forth to base 10: 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 3 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 4 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 5 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 6 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 7 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

In order to add to numbers, find the first in the appropriate row and the second in the appropriate column (or vice versa as addition is commutative). Where they meet is the sum: 5 + 7 = 14 24 + 25 = 51 37 + 63 = 122 column 5, row 7 (c5, r4) to get 11, carry the 1 over and add to (c2, r2) to get 5 (c7, r2) gives 12, (c6, r3) gives 11 plus carry over becomes 12

If it helps, for the last two examples, write the numbers above each other and go about it like you do with regular addition, just use the table instead.

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Epilogue
Learning a language is a journey, unique to each person. But if you are wondering where to go from here, I would suggest the following: 1. If you havent done so already, become a learnnavi member, introduce yourself, and start exploring the posts in the forums. 2. Ftiafpi has audio clips of him pronouncing Navi words. Ive tried to include as many of those words in this guide as I could. Download them and start listening: http://forum.learnnavi.org/audio/spoken-na%27vi-words/ 3. Kaltx Palulukan has created two fantastic activity books. They are available at http://www.learnnavi.org/docs/Learn-Navi-Activity-Book.pdf http://www.learnnavi.org/docs/Navi%20Book%202--CPDF%20version.pdf 4. Taronyu has created the most definitive dictionary, period. He updates it whenever we get new material, so check back every few days to make sure you have the current version: http://forum.learnnavi.org/intermediate/my-dictionary/. Its also on the main page. 5. Skawng has created several worksheets to practice Navi grammar. Many are in the activity book, but not all. Heres the link: http://forum.learnnavi.org/intermediate/worksheets/ 6. Leeylan has created many great lessons. Check them out at http://forum.learnnavi.org/learning-resources/prezi-lessons/ 7. Dr. Frommer has a blog devoted to the language. Check it out at http://naviteri.org/ 8. Here are the letter and accompanying audio from Dr. Frommer. Listen to the master speak: http://forum.learnnavi.org/news-announcements/a-response-from-paul-frommer!/ 9. This guide may have been written by me, but the material is the result of thousands of posts and countless hours of debate and collaboration. The same goes for every project above and everything else youre likely to encounter that increases your knowledge of the language. We do these things for our love of Navi. So when you have a spare moment, give some karma to all the people who have worked to aid you in your journey. 10. Try to get others interested in the language. We all hope for the day when we can hear it walking down the street. Ivong Navi! Kyevame, ulte Eywa ngahu frakrr.

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Appendix A: Stock Phrases

Navi Ftrr lu trrpeve? Ftxozri aylrrtok ngaru! Fyape fko syaw ngar? Ngaru lu fpom srak? htxoa Hivahaw nmwey hrh Ke zene win spivi. Ngaru tkxey Ngaru tyawr Nga yawne lu oer Ngari solalew polpxaya zst? Solew polpxay? ngaytxoa Ngenga lu tupe? Oeru syaw fko X Smon nprrte tefum oey tiavay krr Tsaluri/tsalfyaviri alu X, ral lu upe? X-()ri peral? X nNavi (slu) pelu? Xri nga-ru lrrtok Kea tkin Nprrte Oeru meuia Hayalo oeta Pum ngey Ke pxan Tstunwi Ngaru tsulf Seykxel s nitram! English What day is it (today)? Happy Birthday! (or any celebration) Whats your name? How are you? pardon/excuse me Pleasant dreams lol Take your time. In conversation, spivi pronounced spivi. Youre wrong Youre right I love you How old are you? Informal version sorry, my apologies Who are you? My name is X Nice to know you. in my opinion forever, until the end of time What does the word/phrase X mean? What does X mean? (Informal) Whats X in Navi? Good luck with X Youre welcome (no need, no problem) Youre welcome (gladly, with pleasure) Youre welcome (it was an honor) Youre welcome (Ill reciprocate next time you help) Youre welcome (I should really be thanking you) I dont deserve it, am not worthy (praise response) Thats kind of you (praise response) When someone better at the activity praises you Congratulations!

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