Aysänumvi leNa'vi (Na'vi Lessons)

[Txonä Rolyu]

Verb transitivity:

A transitive verb is a verb with an action that can be directly applied to an object. I.E. you can think something, you can know something, you can hunt something.

In Na'vi when using transitive verbs (fpìl, omum, taron, etc) we have suffixes called "case endings" which are the agentive to mark the subject (doer) of the action, and the patientive to mark the object (receiver of the action).The agentive suffix looks like -l (or -ìl if the word ends in a consonant) and the patientive suffix looks like -t(i) (or -it if the word ends in a consonant).

An INtransitive verb's action can NOT be directly applied to an object. I.E. you cannot sleep something, you cannot laugh something, you cannot die something.



Lenition and Plurals:

Lenition is the changing of the first letter of a word for ease of pronunciation when a lenition causing prefix is added. The letters that lenit are:

Kx-->K

Tx-->T

Px-->P

K-->H

T/Ts-->S

P-->F

'-->nothing, it vanishes (except in the word 'u [must always be ayu, u cannot stand alone] and in front of pseudo-vowels ll and rr.)

The plural prefixes are as follows:

Me+ dual (2)

Pxe+ trial (3)

Ay+ 4+ and general plurals

All plural prefixes are lenition-causing, indicated by the +

Note: when using the ay+ prefix on a word that lenits (i.e. tute) you have the option of leaving off the ay+ and just using the lenited word (sute). This only works with ay+ and on words that start with a letter that lenits though.



Adpositions: (adp.)

Since we just talked about lenition, I want to quickly list off the adps that lenit. They are:

sre+ before

pxisre+ right before

ro+ at (locative)

wä+ against

fpi+ for the sake/benefit of

mì+ in/on

ìlä+ via

Adps can either come separated before a word or be attached to the end of a word. They can only go with nouns and pronouns. We have confirmation from Frommer that it is ok if an adp forms a double consonant cluster when attached to the end of a word.



Infixes (Part 1):

To start with, I want to introduce you all to the basic tense infixes of Na'vi. They are:

<ay> future

<ìm> immediate future

<asy> future, determined

<ìsy> immediate future, determined

<am> past

<ìy> immediate past

These are all position 1 (P1) infixes. Another P1 infix you may have seen used a lot is the <iv> infix, called the 'subjunctive mood.' This is an interesting little guy because it doesn't change the meaning of the verb at all. It is required after modal verbs (fmi, tsun, new, zene/zenke and kan) to mark the verb that is being 'controlled' by the modal. More on modal verbs in a later lesson. <iv> is also required after conjunctions (i.e. fte and tsnì) and other words like sngä'i. More can be found in the dictionary. <iv> is also used for wishes and hopes i.e. " 'ivong Na'vi" (may Na'vi blossom) and optionally with commands i.e. "kivä!" (go!) but remember, it doesn't change the meaning. Your command is just as commanding without <iv>.



Infixes (part 2):

In this lesson I want to show you the aspect infixes, their combined forms, a couple other P1 infixes and the 2 P0 infixes.

Aspects:
er indicates an ongoing action. Turns the verb into an -ing form and means 'I am [verb]-ing.' Note: er and "lu" are never used together!

ol indicates a completed action


Note that these are not called tenses...because they're not. The actions aren't necessarily ongoing in the present or completed in the past. These infixes can be combined with the tense infixes. The combined forms are as follows (these are all P1):

ary (ay+er): future ongoing. 'I will be [verb]-ing'

ìry (ìy+er): immediate future ongoing. 'I will be [verb]-ing soon'

arm (am+er): past ongoing. 'I was/have been [verb]-ing'

ìrm (ìm+er): immediate past ongoing. 'I was just/have just been [verb]-ing'

aly (ay+ol): future finished. 'I will have [verb]-ed'

ìly (ìy+ol): immediate future finished. 'I will have [verb]-ed soon.' Note: this one is not used frequently at all. In fact, I don't think I've used it once in the almost year that I've been speaking/studying Na'vi.

alm (am+ol): past finished. 'I had [verb]-ed'

ìlm (ìm+ol): immediate past finished. 'I have just [verb]-ed.'


Next I want to move on to the "participle infixes." These infixes turn the verb into an adjective and are also P1.

<us> turns the verb into an -ing adjective form and describes some that is doing that action in the present. I.E. Maweyatan's favorite: nantang atswusayon= flying viperwolf. Note that because the verb has become an adjective, we need the -a- of attribution to link the adjective to the noun it's describing. More on adjectives in a later lesson.

<awn> turns the verb into a past tense adjective form and describes something that gone through the verb's action. I.E. syuve ayawnom= eaten food. Same thing here with the -a- of attribution.

Note: The adjectives formed by these infixes can not be used with "lu" or "slu."


For the last part of this lesson I want to show you the pre-first (P0) infixes. They are:

<äp> reflexive, doing the verb to yourself. 'Oe täpakuk' (I hit myself)

<eyk> causative, something is making this verb happen. 'Ngal oeti heykangham' (You make me laugh). Note that this infix changes the transitivity of a verb. That is, an intransitive verb (hangham) becomes transitive. You can refer back to the first lesson about transitivity if you need to


(Continued in the next post)