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Navi English Dictionary
Navi English Dictionary
027
Having been disappointed by the paucity of collated and collected data, I have
worked all of the available sources I could find into one dictionary here. Thanks are
certainly to be given to the following people for their monumental efforts: Dr. From-
mer, Quentin Martinez, Karyu Amawey, Eywa mokriyä, Vicky, Harı̀ghawnu, and ev-
eryone on IRC, Skype, and the Learn Na’vi site.
Where appropriate, extra notes have been included for the entries below. Com-
pound non-inflected words and loan words from English have been noted. I have on
several occasions derived non-attested root forms: these are marked by a *, and should
list sources. The traditional Na’vi transcription in use by Frommer as been maintained
throughout: the IPA transcription is given as well. Some, if not many, parts of speech
may be erroneous - many have been excluded entirely. Where suitable, lenited words
have been included. Some words found elsewhere are not included here, as all affixes
and infixes have been avoided, unless their inclusion is deemed particularly useful.
Forms that are inflected have been included if their uninflected form is not attested.
Bold indicates Na’vi word. Italics indicate English definition. Underlining indicates
where Frommer has given us stress information, which is not otherwise predictable:
I have included this in the IPA transcriptions instead of using normal IPA ", because
syllable boundaries are often hard to place - any fault in underlining, unless a typing
error, can be laid at Frommer’s door. Plain text indicates grammatical categorisation:
parentheses indicate further notes. <x> represents an infix, where t<1><2>ar<3>on
are the positions. Proper nouns have been capitalised. – and + indicates that an affix
or adposition can fall on either side. Knowledge of lenition processes will be assumed.
For more on inflections, see this document.
Abbreviations:
For those of you wishing for an English - Na’vi dictionary, merely use Ctrl (or Apple)
+ F, and search away. An English - Na’vi dictionary is not forthcoming.
• F = Frommer himself.
• FE = Frommer’s personal emails
• S = the list at the end of the Survival Guide
• W = Wikipedia (which has received Frommer’s blessing)
• SG = the Survival Guide main text (flora and songs)
• M = transcriptions or scripts from the Avatar movie
• T = Taronyu
• D = words not derived by Taronyu.
• G = the Avatar game (which has illegal names)
• SG = the Survival Guide main text (everything else)
Frommerian words have the highest worth. The Activists Survival Guide contains
a list at the end of Na’vi words, which is the main source of all present dictionaries.
Words not in this list but still within the Guide often have illegal phonotactic entries.
I have attached the φ character to each such word, and put them in their own sec-
tion in the appendix. There are also spelling mistakes: Omaticaya and skx’awng are
obvious. However, the plant names look distinctly Frommerian: they have the ı̀ in
some names, and exhibit compounding, unlike the rest of the words in the SG text.
Somewhat humorously, I’ve noticed that all but one word from the Guide that doesn’t
concern Pandoran flora have illegal combinations (the word is u’imi streamers) . I have
therefore left this word, and all botanical terms, in the dictionary.
Words from the game are listed here. Some words have been derived from the Movie
alone. Wikipedia, as a general grammatical deriving source, has been used for most
grammatical items included here. I myself have derived several words: I have marked
those here. Trust them at your own risk. Many notes or derivations that I have made
with some guesswork are noted with a T . For more on proper sources, and their his-
tory, go here.
I have edited this dictionary too many times not to assume that it will have errors.
Please, if you note any, let me know here, and I will change them. As for version num-
ber, I’ll change the first digit when there is a big change. I’ll update .0x0 when I make a
significant, but not large change. Finally, I’ll edit the .00x number when I’ve made tiny
edits. Refer to the Change Log for explanation. Version 1 was the original. Version
2 sourced every word. Version 3 involved adding words from the Guide’s main text.
Version 4 took illegal words and put them in a separate appendix, and was completely
cross-checked. Version 5 added an appendix for inflectional endings, with examples,
as well as a change log, and should be the final version until more information is re-
leased.
NB: I hold that Na’vi should be allowed to grow organically by trial and error by
learners themselves and not solely from a Frommerian synthetic system.
2
P
’ampi: [Pampi] S touch ’ı̀heyu: [PIhEju] SG spiral
’angtsı̀kä: [PaNţIkæ] G n. hammerhead ’ı̀nglı̀sı̀: [PINlIsI] S n. English language
(Pandora fauna) (loaned from Eng. English)
’aw: [Paw] S num. one ’it: [Pit] S n. bit, a small amount
’aw–: [Paw] T third person neutral pro- *’it: [Pit] T n. progeny derived from ’itan
noun one son and ’ite daughter
’awkx: [Pawk’] S n. cliff ’itan: [Pitan] S n. son
’awpo: [Pawpo] S pn. one individual T ’ite: [Pite] S n. daughter
’awsiteng: [PawsitEN] S adv. together ’ok: [Pok] S n. remembrance
’awve: [PawvE] S adj. first ’ong: [PoN] S v. unfold, blossom
’e’al: [PEPal] S worst *’u: [Pu] T n. thing derived from fı̀’u this
’eko: [PEko] S attack thing and tsa’u that thing
’ekong: [PEkoN] S beat (rhythmic) ’upe: [PupE] S n. what (thing) (c.w. from
’engeng: [PENEN] S n. level, floor T *’u thing and pe inter. marker)
’eveng: [PEvEN] S n. child ’upxare: [Pup’aRE] S message
’evi: [PEvi] S n. kid (affectionate form of *’Urar: [PuRaR] T,M prop.n. the aerie, ikran
’eveng child) roost
’ı̀’awn: [PIPawn] S v. remain, stay
–e: [E] F feminine suffix for certain nouns <ei>: [Ei] F laudative affect verbal infix in
ean: [Ean] S blue position 3
eltu: [Eltu] S n. brain
3
eltu si: [Eltu si] S v. listen, pay attention eyaye: [Ejaje] SG n. warbonnet (Pandoran
eltungawng: [EltuNawN] S n. brainworm flora)
(Pandoran fauna) (c.w. from eltu brain eyk: [Ejk] S v. lead
and ngawng worm) T eyktan: [Ejktan] S n. leader
*(’)em: [(P)Em] T prep. above derived from Eytukan: [Ejtukan] M prop.n. man’s name
ta’em from above and emza’u pass Eywa: [Ejwa] S prop.n. world spirit, guiding
emza’u: [EmzaPu] S v. pass (a test) force and deity (equivalent to Gaia) Eywa
eo: [Eo] S prep. before, in front of ngahu intj. good-bye, ... be with you
<er>: [eR] D Imperfective aspect verbal in-
fix in position 2
fa: [fa] S prep. with, by means of fpi: [fpi] S for the sake of
fahew: [fahEw] F v. smell fpı̀l: [fpIl] F E v. think
faketuan: [fakEtuan] ? n. alien, non-Na’vi fpom: [fpom] S well-being, peace
(might be poor transcription of fa + ke- fpxafaw: [fp’afaw] S n. medusa (Pandoran
tuan) T fauna)
*fay–: [faj] T adp. these derived from fı̀ fpxäkı̀m: [fp’ækIm] S v. enter
this and ay plural *fra–: [fRa] T adp. every derived from
fayvrrtep: [fajvrtEp] F n. these demons (c.w. frapo everyone and fra’u everything
from fay this "plural and vrrtep demon) T fra’u: [fRaPu] S n. everything (c.w. from ’u
fı̀–: [fI] F adp. this derived from fı̀po this thing)
one and fı̀’u this thing frapo: [fRapo] S n. everyone (c.w. from po
fı̀fya: [fIfja] S pn. this, this way, like this he/she)
fı̀kem: [fIkEm] S pn. this (action) ftang: [ftaN] S v. stop
fı̀po: [fIpo] S pn. this one (person or thing) fte: [ftE] S conj. so that
fı̀tseng(e): [fIţEN(E)] S pn. this, here, this fteke: [ftEkE] S conj. so that not, lest (c.w.
place from fte so that and ke not)
fı̀’u: [fIPu] S pn. this, this thing ftia: [ftia] F study
fkarut: [fkaRut] S peel ftxozä: [ft’ozæ] F E n. holiday
fkeu: [fkEu] S adj. mighty ftu: [ftu] S prep. from (direction)
fko: [fko] S one (might be from po) T ftu sat: [ftu sat] S conj. from that
fmawn: [fmawn] S n. news, something to re- ftue: [ftuE] S adj. easy
port *ftxavang: [ft’avaN] T adj. passion derived
fmetok: [fmEtok] S v. test from nı̀ftxavang passionately
fmi: [fmi] S v. try ftxey: [ftEj] S v. choose
fngap: [fngap] G n. metal fu: [fu] S conj. or
fngapsutxwll: [fngapsut’wl:] SG n. metal- futa: [futa] F E conj. that (subjunctive
following plant (Pandoran" flora) marker)
fnu: [fnu] S v. quiet, be quiet *fya–: [fja] T n. path, direction derived
fo: [fo] S pn. they derived from ay+ deleted from fya’o path and fyape how
plural leniting morpheme and po he/she T fya’o: [fjaPo] S n. path, way
fpak: [fpak] S v. hold off, suspend action fyape: [fjapE] S conj. how
fpe’: [fpEP] S v. send fyawı̀ntxu: [fjawInt’u] S guide (c.w. from
fpeio: [fpEio] S challenge (ceremonial) *fya how and wı̀ntxu show) T
4
H
ha: [ha] S conj. so, in that case hiyı̀k: [hijIk] S adj. funny, strange
hahaw: [hahaw] F v. sleep hrrap: [hrap] S n. danger
hapxı̀: [hap’i] S part hu: [hu] S" adp. with (accompaniment)
hasey: [hasEj] S adj. done, finished hufwe: [hufwE] S n. wind
hawnu: [hawnu] S v. protect, shelter hum: [hum] S v. leave, depart
hı̀’i: [hIPi] S adj. small
i’en: [iPEn] S n. stringed instrument <ı̀m>: [Im] W recent past verbal infix in
*ik: [ik] D n. heaven, sky derived from position 2
ik-ni-maya stairway to heaven and ikran ioang: [ioaN] S n. animal, beast
walks the sky irayo: [iRajo] S n., intj. thank you
Iknimaya: [iknimaja] S prop.n. Thunder- –ı̀ri: [IRi] W topical suffix for nouns ending
ing Rocks, Stairway to Heaven, Hallelujah in a consonant (allomorph of ri)
Mountains, or a rite of passage <ı̀rm>: [IRm] W imperfective recent past
ikran: [ikRan] S n. banshee (mountain ban- tense verbal infix in position 2, derived
shee) SG from ı̀m + er
ikranay: [ikRanaj] SG n. forest banshee (du- –it: [it] W accusative suffix for nouns end-
bious: +ay would make banshees) T ing in a consonant (allomorph of ti)
–ı̀l: [Il] W ergative case suffix for nouns <iv>: [iv] W subjunctive mood verbal in-
ending in a consonant (allomorph of –l) fix in position 2
ı̀lä: [Ilæ] or [Ilæ] S prep. by, via, following <ı̀y>: [Ij] W immediate future tense ver-
*ı̀m: [Im] T prep. behind, back derived from bal infix in position 2
ne’ı̀m back
ka: [ka] S prep. across kawng: [kawN] S adj. bad, evil (c.w. from
ka: [ka] ? adv. not (allomorph of ke not) *kaw– not and –ng inclusive) T
kä: [kæ] S v. go kawtu: [kawtu] S pn. no-one (c.w. from tu
kali’weya: [kaliPwEja] SG n. species of poi- person)
sonous arachnid (Pandoran fauna) ke: [kE] S adv. not
kaltxı̀: [kalt’I] S intj. hello ke–: [kE] T adp. no, not
kämakto: [kæmakto] S v. ride out (c.w. ke’u: [kEPu] S pn. nothing (c.w. from ke
from kä go and makto ride T ) not and ’u thing)
kame: [kamE] S v. see, see into, understand, kehe: [kEhE] S no
know kelku: [kElku] S n. home
kangay: [kaNaj] S adj. valid kelku si: [kElku si] S v. live, dwell
*kar: [kar] T v. teach derived from karyu Kelutral: [kElutRal] S prop.n. Hometree
teacher (Pandoran flora)
karyu: [kaRju] S n. teacher *kem: [kEm] T action derived from fı̀kem
kato: [kato] S n. rhythm this action and kempe what action
*kaw–: [kaw] T adp. contraction of ke aw kempe: [kEmpE] S pn. what (action)
not one, derived from kawkrr never kenong: [kEnoN] S v. model, represent, ex-
kawkrr: [kawkr] S adv. never (c.w. from emplify
krr time) " kerusey: [kERusEj] S adj. dead (c.w. from
ke not and r<us>ey living) D
5
ketuwong: [kEtuwong] S n. alien kllpxı̀ltu: [kl:p’Iltu] S n. territory
kewong: [kEwoN] S n. alien kllte: [kl:tE] "S n. ground
keye’ung: [kEjEPuN] S n. insanity krr: [kr] "S n. time
kı̀’ong: [kIPoN] S n. kind of fruit or vegetable " ] adv. ever, time (derived from
*krr: [kr M
(Pandoran flora) direct" transcription)
kifkey: [kifkEj] F n. world (solid) krrnekx: [krnEk’] S v. take/consume time
kilvan: [kilvan] F n. river krrpe: [krpE] " adv. when
S
kı̀m: [kIM] S v. spin "
kunsı̀p: [kunsIp] S n. gunship (loaned from
kin: [kin] S need Eng. gunship)
kinä: [kinæ] S num. seven kurakx: [kuRak’] S v. drive out
kinam: [kinam] S n. leg kxam: [k’am] S n. middle, midpoint
kinamtil: [kinamtil] S n. knee kxamtseng: [k’amţEN] S n. center-place
kı̀ng: [kIN] S thread (c.w. from kxam center and tseng place)
kip: [kip] S prep. among kxangangang: [k’aNaNaN] S n. boom (ono-
kı̀te’e: [kItEPE] S service matopoeia)
kı̀yevame: [kIjEvamE] S v. good-bye, see you kxanı̀: [k’anI] S adj. forbidden
soon (c.w. from kame see) kxawm: [k’awm] S adv. perhaps, maybe
*kll–: [kl:] T ground derived from kllkulat kxener: [k’EnER] S n. kind of fruit or veg-
dig up" and kllkxem stand etable (Pandoran flora)
kllfrivo’: [kl:fRivoP] S v. be responsible kxetse: [k’EţE] S n. tail
kllkulat: [kl":kulat] S v. dig up kxll: [k’l:] G charge
kllkxem: [kl" :k’Em] S v. stand "
"
L
–l: [l] W ergative case adp. for nouns end- lı̀’fya: [lIfja] F n. language derived from
ing in a vowel lı̀’u word and fya way W
*la: [la] T adp. other, otherness derived lok: [lok] S prep. close, close to
from lapo other one and ayla others lonataya: [lonataja] SG n. medusa (Pando-
lahe: [lahE] S pn. other ran Fauna)
lam: [lam] S v. seem, appear lonu: [lonu] S v. release, let go
lapo: [lapo] S pn. other one (c.w. from po lor: [loR] F adj. beautiful (non-human)
he/she) loreyu: [loREju] SG n. helicoradium spirale,
latem: [latEm] S v. change beautiful spiral (Pandoran Flora) derived
law: [law] S adj. clear, certain from lor beautiful and ı̀reyu spiral T
le–: [lE] F adjective deriving affix *lrr: [lr] T n. smile, happy derived from lr-
*ler: [lER] T work? derived from lertu col- rtok" smile exists
league lrrtok: [lrtok] S v. smile
lertu: [lERtu] S n. colleague "
lu: [lu] S v. be (predicative copula)
*lı̀(’): [lI(P)] W speak derived from lı̀’u *lun: [lun] T n. reason derived from lumpe
word and lı̀’fya language why and pelun why
lı̀’u: [lIPu] S n. word lumpe: [lumpE] S adv. why allomorph of
pelun
7
<ol>: [ol] W perfective aspect verbal infix Omatikaya: [omatikaja] S prop.n. Blue
in position 2 Flute Clan
olo’: [oloP] S n. clan omum: [omum] S v. know
olo’eyktan: [oloPEjktan] S n. clan leader ontu: [ontu] S n. nose
(c.w. from olo’ clan and eyktan leader)
(male clan leader) SG
–t: [t] W accusative suffix for nouns end- tangek: [taNEk] S n. trunk (of a tree)
ing in a vowel (allomorph of ti) tanhı̀: [tanhI] S n. star
ta: [ta] S prep. from (various uses) taron: [taRon] S v. hunt
ta’em: [taPEm] S prep. from above taronyu: [taRonju] S n. hunter (c.w. from
täftxu: [tæft’u] S v. weave taron hunt and –yu agent suffix)
täftxuyu: [tæft’uju] S n. weaver (c.w. from tautral: [tautRal] SG n. sky tree (Pandoran
täftxu weave and –yu agent suffix) flora) derived from taw sky and utral
takuk: [takuk] S v. strike tree T
talioang: [talioaN] S n. sturmbeest (Pando- taw: [taw] F n. sky
ran fauna) (c.w. from ioang animal) tawsı̀p: [tawsIp] F n. sky-ship (loaned from
tam: [tam] S v. suffice, ”do” Eng. ship)
9
tawng: [tawN] S v. duck, dive tok: [tok] S v. be at, occupy, exist
tawtsngal: [tawţNal] SG n. panopyra, sky toktor: [toktoR] S n. doctor (loaned from
cup (Pandoran flora) (c.w. from taw sky) Eng. doctor)
Tawtute: [tawtutE] S prop.n. Sky-person tokx: [tok’] S n. body
(c.w. from taw sky and tute person) tompa: [tompa] S n. rain
te(’): [tE(P)] S part. used in full names (du- toruk: [toRuk] S n. great leonopteryx, last
bious) T shadow
tei: [tEi] G n. plains torukspxam: [toRuksp’am] SG n. octosh-
telem: [tElEm] S n. cord (could be chord) T room, great leonopteryx fungus (Pandoran
*teng–: [tEN] T adp. the same way as de- flora)
rived from tengfya as and tengkrr while trr: [tr] S n. day
tengfya: [tENfja] S conj. as, same way as *tsa–:" [ţa] T adp. that derived from
derived from *teng the same way as and tsakem that action and tsakrr that time
*fya path tsa’u: [ţaPu] S pn. that (thing) (c.w. from
tengkrr: [tENkr] S conj. while, same time as *tsa that and *’u thing) T
" tsaheylu: [ţahEjlu] S n. bond (changed
(c.w. from krr time)
teng’u: [tENPu] ? pn. same thing (c.w. from from tsahaylu, for phonetic reasons) T
’u thing) Tsahı̀k: [ţahIk] S prop.n. matriarch, high
terkup: [tERkup] S v. die priestess, interpreter
teswotı̀ng: [tEswotIN] S v. grant tsam: [ţam] S n. war
teya: [tEja] S adj. full tsampongu: [ţampoNu] S n. war party
teylu: [tEjlu] S n. beetle larva (Pandoran (c.w. from tsam war and pongu party)
fauna) tsamsiyu: [ţamsiju] S n. warrior (c.w.
–ti: [ti] W accusative adp. for nouns from tsam si make war and –yu agent
tı̀–: [tI] W noun deriving affix suffix)
tı̀fmetok: [tIfmEtok] S n. test tsap’alute: [ţapPalutE] S n. apology
tı̀ftang: [tIftaN] S n. stopping tsat: [ţat] S pn. that (as object)
tı̀hawnu: [tIhawnu] S n. protection tsatseng: [ţaţEN] S pn. there, that place
tı̀kawng: [tIkawN] S n. evil (c.w. from *tsa that and tseng place)
tı̀kenong: [tIkEnong] S n. example tsatu: [ţatu] S pn. that person (c.w. from
tı̀kin: [tIkin] S n. need *tsa that and tu person)
til: [til] S n joint, hinge tsawke: [ţawkE] S n. sun
tı̀ng: [tIN] S v. give tsawl: [ţawl] S adj. big (in stature)
tı̀ng mikyun: [tIm mikjun] S v. listen, lit. tsawlapxangrr: [ţawlap’aNr] SG n. unidelta
give an ear "
tree, lit. tall large root (Pandoran flora) (for
tı̀ng nari: [tIn naRi] S v. look, lit. give an eye short, tsawlap’)
tı̀ngay: [tINaj] S n. truth tse’a: [ţEPa] S v. see (physical sense)
Tipnai: [tipnai] G prop.n. a Na’vi clan name tseng(e): [ţEN(E)] S n. place
tı̀ran: [tIRan] S walk tsengpe: [ţENpE] S adv. where
tirea: [tiREa] S n. spirit tseo: [ţEo] S n. art
tireafya’o: [tiREafjaPo] S n. spirit path (c.w. tsı̀ng: [ţIN] S num. four
from tirea spirit and fya’o path) tsı̀vol: [ţIvol] S num. thirty-two thirty-two
tireaioang: [tiREaioaN] S n. spirit animal tskalep: [ţkalEp] G n. crossbow
(c.w. from tirea spirit and ioang animal) tsko: [ţko] S n. bow (weapon)
tı̀rey: [tIREj] S n. life tsko swizaw: [ţko swizaw] S n. bow and
tı̀rol: [tIRol] S n. song arrows
tı̀takuk: [titakuk] G n. strike tskxe: [ţk’E] S n. rock, stone
tı̀txur: [tIt’uR] S n. strength tskxekeng: [ţk’EkEN] S n. training, exercise
to: [to] S conj. than, comparative marker tslam: [ţlam] S v. understand
10
tsleng: [ţlEN] S adj. false tupe: [tupE] S pn. who
tslolam: [ţlolam] S intj. got it, I under- tute: [tutE] F n. person
stand derived from tsl<ol>am under- tute: [tutE] F n. female
stand with perfective aspect infix T tutean: [tutEan] S n. male
tsmuk: [ţmuk] S n. sibling txan: [t’an] S adj. great, much, many
tsmuktu: [ţmuktu] S n. sibling (allomorph txantslusam: [t’anţlusam] S adj. wise (c.w.
of tsmuk sibling) T from txan much and tsl<us>am under-
tsmukan: [ţmukan] S n. brother stand)
tsmuke: [ţmukE] S n. sister txe’lan: [t’EPlan] S n. heart
tsnı̀: [ţnI] S that txele: [t’ElE] S v. matter (subject)
*tsngal: [ţNal] T n. cup derived from tawt- txen: [t’En] S adj. awake
sngal sky cup txep: [t’Ep] S n. fire
tspang: [ţpaN] S v. kill txewk: [t’Ewk] G n. club (weapon)
tsranten: [ţRantEn] S v. matter, be of impor- txey: [t’Ej] S v. halt, stop
tance txı̀m: [t’Im] S n. butt, rear end
tsteu: [ţetEu] S adj. brave txı̀ng: [t’IN] S v. leave, abandon
tsun: [ţun] S v. can, be able txll’u: [t’l:Pu] SG n. hookagourd (Pandoran
Tsu’tey: [ţuPtEj] M prop.n. man’s name flora) "
tswon: [ţwon] S v. fly (Corrected from txo: [t’o] S conj. if
tsw<ay>on) T txoa: [t’oa] S n. forgiveness
tsyal: [ţjal] S n. wing txokefyaw: [t’okEfjaw] S conj. if not, or else
*tsyo: [ţjo] T n. flour derived from tsyo- (c.w. from txo-ke-fya-aw if not one path)
rina’wll flour seed plant txon: [t’on] S n. night
tsyorina’wll: [ţjorinaPwl:] SG n. cy- txopu: [t’opu] S fear
"
cad, flour seed plant (Pandoran flora) (c.w. txum: [t’um] S n. poison
from rina’ seed and *wll plant) T txumpaywll: [t’umpaywl:] SG n. scorpion
–tu: [tu] direct object noun deriving affix, " (Pandoran flora)
thistle, poison water plant
as in spe’etu captive T (c.w. from txum poison and paywll wa-
*tu: [tu] T n. person, personage marker ter plant)
tukru: [tukRu] S n. spear txumtsä’wll: [txumţæPwl:] SG n. reclining
tul: [tul] S v. run flask (Pandoran flora) "
tung: [tuN] S v. allow txur: [t’uR] S adj. strong
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V
–yä: [jæ] W genitive suffix for nouns end- derived from hı̀’i small and ioang ani-
ing in a vowel (allomorph of ä) mal T
ye’rı̀n: [jEPRIn] S adv. soon yomioang: [jomioaN] SG n. chalice plant
yerik: [jERik] S n. hexapede (Pandoran fauna) (Pandoran flora) (c.w. from yom eat and
yey: [jEj] S adj. straight iaong animal T )
yı̀m: [jIm] S v. bind yomtı̀ng: [jomtIN] S v. feed (c.w. from yom
yol: [jol] S adj. long (period of time) eat and tı̀ng give)
yom: [jom] S v. eat –yu: [ju] W nominative agent noun deriv-
yomhı̀’ang: [jomhIPaN] SG n. small ani- ing affix, as in taron-yu hunter
mal/insect eater, dakteron (Pandoran flora) yur: [juR] S v. wash
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I LLEGAL A CTIVIST ’ S S URVIVAL G UIDE W ORDS
The following words, or their roots, have at least one of the illegal sounds, spellings,
or digraphs:
’h [Ph], b [b], c [k], ch [tS], d [d], g [g], h’ [hP], ii [i:], j [Z], sh [S], uu [u:]
Several words below break the following syllable rules. A glottal stop cannot go
between two consonants. There can be no consonant clusters that do not start with
any of the phonemes [f ţ s].
Eywa s’ilivi mas’kit nivi: [Eywa sPilivi mas’kit nivi sa’nok: [masPkit nivi saPnok]
masPkit nivi] SG Ewya’s wisdom is re- SG mother loom (dubious) T
vealed to all of us mreki u’lito: [mREki uPlito] SG n. fire pit
Eywa te’ tan’sey mak’ta: [Ejwa tEP omati s’ampta: [omati sPampta] SG n. blue
tanPsEJ makPta] SG n. ikran queue har- flute
ness, lit. the love of Eywa’s embrace is sumin’sey hulleh: [suminPsEj hul:Eh] SG
gifted to (personal name) (dubious: mis- sleeping outside of the group "
spelling of te) T tmi nat’sey: [tmi natPsEj] SG n. bladder
k’sey nivi: [kPsEj nivi] SG n. group sleep lantern, from food here
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I NFLECTIONS
Verb Infixes
<am>: [am] W past tense verbal infix in <ı̀rm>: [IRm] W imperfective recent past
position 2: Oe tamaron. I hunted. tense verbal infix in position 2, derived
<äng>: [æN] W pejorative affect verbal in- from ı̀m + er: Oe tı̀rmaron. I was just
fix in position 3: Oe tarängon. I hunted hunting.
(ugh!). <iv>: [iv] W subjunctive mood verbal in-
<arm>: [aRm] W imperfective past tense fix in position 2: Nga kame futa oe
verbal infix in position 2, derived from tivaron. You see that I hunt
am + er: Oe tarmaron. I was hunting. <ı̀y>: [Ij] W immediate future tense ver-
<ay>: [aj] W future tense verbal infix in bal infix in position 2: Oe tı̀yaron. I am
position 2: Oe tayaron. I will hunt. about to hunt.
<ei>: [Ei] F laudative affect verbal infix in <ol>: [ol] W perfective aspect verbal infix
position 3: Oe tareion. I hunt (hooray!). in position 2: Oe tolaron. I hunted (fin-
<er>: [eR] D imperfective aspect verbal in- ished action).
fix in position 2: Oe teraron. I am hunt- <us>: [us] W participle verbal infix in po-
ing. sition 1: Oe tusaron tute lu. I am a hunt-
<ı̀m>: [Im] W recent past verbal infix in ing person. (Not sure) T
position 2: Oe tı̀maron. I just hunted.
Noun Inflections
–ä: [æ] W genitive suffix for nouns ending ma: [ma] M adp. vocative marker: Ma
in a consonant (allomorph of yä): Oel tsmukan, kaltxı̀! Yo brother, hello!
yom ikran–ä yerikit. I eat the ikran’s me+: [mE] W dual adp. for nouns: Oe new
yerik. me+nari. I want eyes.
–an: [an] W masculine suffix for certain –ng: [N] W clusivity adp. for pronouns:
nouns: Oe tute–an lu. I am a male dude. Ayoe–ng taron. We all hunt.
ay+: [aj] F plural adp. for nouns: Ay–oe pe+: [pE] W affix inter. marker what:
taron. We hunt. pe+hrr nga tayaron. What time will you
–e: [E] F feminine suffix for certain nouns: hunt?
Oe tut–e ke lu. I am not a girl –ri: [Ri] F topical adp. for nouns ending
–ı̀l: [Il] W ergative case suffix for nouns with a vowel: Oe–ri taron yerikit. I
ending in a consonant (allomorph of hunt the yerik.
–l): Ikran–ı̀l taron yerikit. The ikran –ru: [Ru] W dative adp. for nouns: Oel kx-
hunts. enerit nga–ru tı̀ng. I give fruit to you.
–ı̀ri: [IRi] W topical suffix for nouns end- –t: [t] W accusative suffix for nouns end-
ing in a consonant (allomorph of ri): ing in a vowel (allomorph of ti): Oe–l
Ikran–ı̀ri taron yerikit. The ikran hunts sı̀re–t tslam. I understand life.
a yerik. –ti: [ti] W accusative adp. for nouns:
–it: [it] W accusative suffix for nouns end- Nga–ti taron torukı̀l. The toruk hunts
ing in a consonant (allomorph of ti): you.
Oel taron yerik–it. I hunt the yerik. –yä: [jæ] W genitive suffix for nouns end-
–l: [l] W ergative case adp. for nouns end- ing in a vowel (allomorph of ä): Oel
ing in a vowel: Oe–l taron yerikit. I yom oe-yä yerikit. I eat my yerik.
hunt the yerik.
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Other
–a–: [a] F adjectival attributive marker: si: [si] W postpositional verb deriving af-
Oel ikranit a–ean tswon. I fly the blue fix: Oe kelku si. I live. (lit. I home make.)
ikran. tı̀–: [tI] W noun deriving affix: Tı̀–ngay
le–: [lE] F adjective deriving affix: Poan sı̀ltsan lu. The truth is good.
le–hrapp lu. He is dangerous. –tu: [tu] T direct object noun deriving af-
nı̀–: [nI] W adverbial deriving affix: Oe fix: Yerik taron–tu lu. I am prey.
nı̀–Na’vi plltxe. I speak na’vi-ly. (Like –yu: [ju] W nominative agent noun deriv-
a Na’vi.) ing affix: Oe ska’a–yu ke lu. I am not a
*sä–: [sæ] T instrumental noun deriving destroyer.
affix: Oel aysä–numet nume. I learn the
teachings.
T HE C HANGE L OG
Subscript indicate who helpfully pointed out errors.
• .001 - changed ’eveng to meaning floor, level -it
• .003 - provided derivation for *rum, fixed *ran
• .004 - -t fixed to accusative from dative dz
• .010 - added caveat about organic vs. synthetic growth, formatting changes,
linked to inflections document. Edited Introduction.
• .011 - changed def. of nume in *sa example. Kiliya
• .012 - changed ke to be only adv., not adj. changed kehe to no p.o.s.
• .013 - changes spelling mistakes around ’ite. szabot
• .014 - changed spelling of tarok to correct toruk in infix appendix. szabot
• .015 - changed spelling of aerie, changed source to T, M kawng mungeyu
• .016 - corrected the spelling of the third english word in the document. Skx-
awng lu.
• .027 - corrected 8 IPA transcriptions, added note to telem, fixed spelling error
in täftxu, added sources for corrections P lumps83
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