Difference between revisions of "Corpus"

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(Audio Corpus: Added transcriptions where available, links to sources, and links to isolated clips)
(Added links to isolated NPR clips)
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[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121350582 National Public Radio interview]
 
[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121350582 National Public Radio interview]
 
* 0:29 Clip from the movie - Moat speaks to the Na'vi?
 
* 0:29 Clip from the movie - Moat speaks to the Na'vi?
* 1:09 "Hello, Renee. I See you. Are you well? It's a pleasure to be able to chat with you."
+
* 1:09 "Hello, Renee. I See you. Are you well? It's a pleasure to be able to chat with you." ([http://www.archive.org/download/FrommerSpokenNavi/KaltxMaRenee...mp3 clip])
* 1:24 "I See you." (short form)
+
* 1:24 "I See you." (short form) ([http://www.archive.org/download/FrommerSpokenNavi/KameNgat.mp3 clip])
 
* 2:16 "My big blue butt."
 
* 2:16 "My big blue butt."
  

Revision as of 05:06, 19 January 2010

This is the canon of known good sentences in Na'vi with glosses, given out in interviews with Dr. Frommer.

Text Corpus

Activist Survival Guide

Longer passages of continuous Na'vi text can be found in the book released for the film, James Cameron's Avatar: a Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora, an Activist Survival Guide HarperCollins Books, 2009.

  • Weaving Song, page 41
  • Hunting Song, page 99

Science Magazine

From Science Magazine (subscription, I'm afraid; retrieved Dec 21 2009). They asked for the word for "science." Frommer replied:

tìftia kifkeyä
NMLZ-study world-GEN
the study of the physical world.

Language Log Blog Post

From his Language Log guest blog post (Dec 19 2009).

Oeri ta peyä fahew akewong ontu teya längu.
1-TOP from 3.POSS smell ATTR-alien nose full be-PEJ
My nose is full of his alien smell.

In the comments:

Tewti, ma Prrton! Plltxe nga nìltsan!
wow VOC Prrton speak you well
Wow, Prrton! You speak well!

Vanity Fair

Brushing up on the Language of Avatar (Dec 1 2009)

Kaltxì. Ngaru lu fpom srak?
Hello you-DAT be well-being Q
Hello, how are you?

Times Online

interview (December 12 2009)

Tsun oe ngahu nìNa'vi pivängkxo a fì'u oeru prrte' lu
able to 1 2-with ADV-Na'vi (?) that this.thing 1-DAT (?) be
It's a pleasure to be able to chat with you in Na'vi.
Fìskxawngìri tsap'alute sengi oe
this-idiot-TOP apology do<?> 1
I apologise for this moron.
Fayvrrtep fìtsenge lu kxanì
this-PL-demon this-place be forbidden
These demons are forbidden here

UGO Movie Blog

interview (Dec 14 2009)

Oel ngati kameie
1-A 2-P see-LAUD
I see you.

Form Letter

(Added Dec 22 2009)

Sent out by Dr. Frommer to his many correspondents interested in the language. He signed off with:

Kìyevame ulte Eywa ngahu.
goodbye and Eywa 2-with
See you again, and may Eywa be with you.

UGO Movie Blog (Twitter Questions)

(Added Dec 23 2009)

The interviewer at UGO asked for submissions from readers for Dr. Frommer to translate, We Translate your Phrases into Na'vi.

Txo new nga rivey, oehu!
if want 2 live<?> 1-with
Come with me if you want to live.
Tawsìp ngeyä lu sngeltseng.
sky-ship 2-GEN be garbage-dump
Your ship is a garbage scow. (lit "garbage dump")
Ayftxozä [sic!] Lefpom ta UGO!
PL-holiday ADJ-well.being from UGO
Happy Holidays from UGO!

Out of Office AutoReply

(Added Dec 27 2009)

The sign-off to an Out of Office AutoReply used by Frommer during semester break.

Ayftozä lefpom ayngaru nìwotx!
PL-holiday ADJ-well.being PL-2-DAT ADV-all/complete
Happy Holidays to You All!

MSNBC

(Added Dec 31 2009)

MSNBC Cosmic Log interview.

Neytiri herahaw.
Neytiri is sleeping.
Neytiril yerikit tolaron.
Neytiri hunted a hexapede.

Behind the Scenes

(Added Jan 17 2010)

From a Fox-authorized video on YouTube, Avatar The Movie James Cameron Avatar The Movie Behind The Scenes Making The Movie 2. There's a brief video close-up of some of Jake's Na'vi dialog, "Na'vi Dialog for Jake - 3-13-2007." The stress accent is marked with the underline. See also [1]. Since the dialog is Jake's, there is some concern the sentences may not be perfectly grammatical.

Oel ngati kameie, ma Tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi ireiyo. Ngari hu Eywa saleu tirea, tokx'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì.
I See you Brother, and thank you. Your spirit goes with Eywa, your body stays behind to become part of the People.
Sìfmetokit emzola'u ohel. Ätxäle si tsnì livu oheru Uniltaron.
I have passed the tests. I respectfully request the Dream Hunt.
Ma Eytukan, lu oeru aylì'u frapor. Aylì'u na ayskxe mì te'lan.
Eytukan, I have something to say, to everyone. The words are like stones in my heart.
Eo ayoeng lu txana tìkawng. Sawtute zera'u fte fol Kelutralti skiva'a. Pìhem fìtseng ye'rìn.
A great evil is upon us. The Sky People are coming to destroy Hometree. They will be here soon.
Ayngari zene hivum, txo....
You have to leave, or you will die.


Audio Corpus

Audio and video recordings (interviews, sound clips, etc) of Dr. Frommer speaking Na'vi can be considered canonical, although in most cases we do not have canonical transcriptions, and in some cases we can't even be sure we know what he's saying. Any analysis of the Na'vi language based on non-transcripted audio is even more speculative than usual. On the other hand, Frommer's recordings are the best canonical examples of correct pronunciation we have and may provide clues about stress patterns, intonation, and other phonetic nuances above and beyond the IPA given in his Language Log post.

In some cases, clips containing just Frommer's spoken Na'vi are available (including both normal speed and slowed-down versions), either as a zipfile of the entire collection or via a webpage listing the individual clips. See this forum thread for more information.

Note the following:

  • The sound quality of some clips is rather poor, making them unreliable for pronunciation guidance.
  • In some clips, people such as James Cameron and Zoe Saldana speak some Na'vi. Their pronunciations may not be as reliable as Frommer's.
  • In some cases, we have canonical transcriptions of the spoken phrases available from other sources.

Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair interview - audio clip is partway down the page. Note that the Na'vi transcription appears to be accurate, hence was probably supplied by Frommer, and hence is canonical.

  • Kaltxì. Ngaru lu fpom srak? "Hello. How are you?" (literally: "Are you well?") (clip)

New York Times

New York Times article audio clip

  • "Yesterday I was with Txewì in the forest and we saw the biggest Trapper [type of carnivorous plant] I've ever seen."
  • "Those things are dangerous. They can kill a person, you know."
  • "I know. We were careful not to get too close."

BBC Radio

BBC Radio interview - note: poor audio quality

  • 2:30 Oel ngati kameie. "I See you."
  • 3:15 From the Activist Survival Guide, a portion of The Hunt Song: "You are fast and strong; you are wise. I must be fast and strong, so only if I'm worthy of you will you feed the people. Let my arrow strike true, let my spear strike the heart, let the truth strike my heart, let my heart be true."
  • 4:02 "Your alien smell fills my nose."

NPR

National Public Radio interview

  • 0:29 Clip from the movie - Moat speaks to the Na'vi?
  • 1:09 "Hello, Renee. I See you. Are you well? It's a pleasure to be able to chat with you." (clip)
  • 1:24 "I See you." (short form) (clip)
  • 2:16 "My big blue butt."

ABC News Nightline

ABC News Nightline segment on YouTube

  • 1:02 James Cameron: "I was going to kill him, but there was a sign from Eywa." (clip)
  • Paul Frommer:
    • 2:44 Fayvrrtep fìtsenge lu kxanì. "These demons are forbidden here." (clip)
    • 3:55 Tsun oe ngahu pivängkxo a fì’u oeru prrte’ lu. "It's a pleasure to be able to chat with you." (clip)
  • 4:08 Zoe Saldana: "Please forgive me brother, may you go to the grandmother, may the grandmother take you."
  • 4:23 Sigourney Weaver: Skxawng "Moron"

PBS Radio

PBS Newshour interview - note: poor audio quality

  • 1:13 "Metal"
  • 2:16 "Hello Annie, I See you."

Southern California Public Radio

Southern California Public Radio interview

  • 1:18 Kaltxì. "Hello." (clip)
  • 10:45 and 11:02 meoauniaea (one of Frommer's favorite Na'vi words - English meaning not yet defined) (transcription source: Language Log post) (clip)
  • 13:10 Kìyevame "See you again" (clip)
  • 13:33 Eywa ngahu. "Eywa be with you." (clip)