Pronouns, Plurality and Possession
Adjectives aren’t the only way to describe nouns. In this chapter, we will discuss some other tools for adding information: pronouns, plurality, and possession.
In this chapter, we will answer these questions:
- What's a pronoun?
- How does Na'vi express plurality
- What is lenition
- How does Na'vi express possession
1. “What's a pronoun”
You’ve already seen and used several pronouns without realizing it. A pronoun is a special kind of noun that refers to a specific thing, but in different contexts means different things. Examples include “you”, “me”, “I”, “him”, or “her”. If I said “you”, and you said “you”, we would be referring to different, specific people, but we’re using the same word to do so.
Because pronouns refer to a specific thing, they almost never take adjectives. It would be weird to say “the red you”. What does that mean, the red one? How many “you”s are there?! There are other special rules with pronouns that will be covered soon. The most common Na’vi pronouns are as follows:
Because pronouns refer to a specific thing, they almost never take adjectives. It would be weird to say “the red you”. What does that mean, the red one? How many “you”s are there?! There are other special rules with pronouns that will be covered soon. The most common Na’vi pronouns are as follows:
oe |
(pn.) |
I, me |
nga |
(pn.) |
you |
po |
(pn.) |
he/she (ungendered, third person) |
sno |
(pn.) |
themself, themselves, their own |
Think like the Na’vi!
Both po and sno are ungendered. Na’vi generally avoids specifying gender unless absolutely necessary, and prefers common, gender-neutral terms.
Both po and sno are ungendered. Na’vi generally avoids specifying gender unless absolutely necessary, and prefers common, gender-neutral terms.
The first three (oe, nga, and po) are fairly straightforward. The last one, sno, is a bit alien to English. It always refers back to the subject- the subject’s self. We’ll cover a more logical use of sno soon.
|
Neytiri yawne lu snor
Neytiri is beloved to herself |
po yawne lu snor
[s]he is beloved to themself (Neytiri could be po) |
There is another set of pronouns, but to truly appreciate their elegance, we need to first explain plurality.
2. "How does Na'vi express plurality?"
Plurality, as you may know, is when there are multiple of the same noun being discussed at the same time. In English, something is pluralized by adding -s or -es to the end of the word to indicate that there are two or more of something. For example, “box” vs. “boxes”.
Na’vi plurality is a little different. First, they recognize three kinds of plurality- 2, 3, and 4 or more. Secondly, plurality is represented as a prefix instead of a suffix.
Na’vi plurality is a little different. First, they recognize three kinds of plurality- 2, 3, and 4 or more. Secondly, plurality is represented as a prefix instead of a suffix.
|
utral
tree |
meutral
two trees |
pxeutral
three trees |
ayutral
trees (4+) |
Think like the Na’vi!
The Na’vi value proportions over specific numbers. One, two, and three are significantly different amounts relative to each other, but after 4 it starts being “a lot” and each addition makes up a smaller percentage of the whole.
The Na’vi value proportions over specific numbers. One, two, and three are significantly different amounts relative to each other, but after 4 it starts being “a lot” and each addition makes up a smaller percentage of the whole.
A related prefix is fra-. This means “all” or “every”.
frautral
every tree, all trees
every tree, all trees
You may notice that the plural prefixes were listed with a + at the end, where fra- has a -. This is the third difference with Na’vi plurality: it can change the word it’s attached to. Prefixes and adpositions with a + at the end cause lenition.
3. "What is lenition?"
Lenition is a changing of certain sounds caused by some prefixes. When a leniting prefix or adposition is put before a word that begins with a consonant, the consonant will sometimes change. This usually results in an easier to pronounce word, though these changes also make the plurals extra clear.
Only certain consonants are affected by lenition. Fortunately the set of affected letters follow an easy to remember pattern.
1. If it is an ejective sound, replace it with its non-ejective counterpart
Only certain consonants are affected by lenition. Fortunately the set of affected letters follow an easy to remember pattern.
1. If it is an ejective sound, replace it with its non-ejective counterpart
|
KX » K
|
PX » P
|
TX » T
|
2. If the sound has an ejective counterpart, soften the sound
|
K » H
|
P » F
|
T or TS » S
|
3. Tìftang (‘) disappears completely (unless before LL or RR)
' »
In the previous example with the word utral, the word was not modified for lenition because the letter U does not fall under any of these categories. However, if we used a word like payoang, it would be affected by lenition.
|
payoang
fish |
mefayoang
two fish |
pxefayoang
three fish |
ayfayoang
4+ fish |
Because we so often use the 4+ prefix and Na’vi loves saving syllables whenever possible, the general plural prefix (ay+) has a special rule. If ay+ would cause lenition, the prefix can be optionally dropped. The lenited consonant must still remain, though. Otherwise we’d have no idea it was pluralized!
|
kxetse
tail |
ayketse
4+ tails |
ketse
4+ tails |
There is one last exception. If tìftang (‘) is followed by a pseudovowel (LL or RR), it is not lenited. This is because pseudovowels cannot lead a syllable.
|
'rrpxom
thunder |
pxe'rrpxom
three thunders |
Na’vi plurality is intertwined with the pronouns we covered earlier in an elegant way. In English, the group pronoun “we” is extremely context sensitive. One cannot always immediately determine if “we” includes the listener or not. Na’vi makes this very clear. This is called inclusivity- it establishes who is included (or excluded) in the group pronoun.
Consider the word oeng. This is a combination of oe and nga. Me + you = oe + nga. This form of “we” includes both the speaker and listener. This can be extended to pxoeng and ayoeng for 3 and 4+ individuals, including both the speaker and listener. Another word for ayoeng is awnga, which is a contraction of ay+, oe, and nga.
Think like the Na’vi!
When oeng or ayoeng have a case ending, the a in nga returns: oengal, ayoengat, and so on. Be careful to not write "oengìl"!
When oeng or ayoeng have a case ending, the a in nga returns: oengal, ayoengat, and so on. Be careful to not write "oengìl"!
If you don’t want to include the listener, you can use moe. This derives from me+ and oe, literally “two me(s)”. You can similarly say pxoe and ayoe for 3 or 4+ others. This is when you are saying “we”, as in “me and someone else, not you”. Notice the lack of nga!
The same goes for nga- it becomes menga, literally “two you(s)”- you and someone else (but not me.) Similarly, nga can be extended to pxenga and aynga. All of these are for groups that include the listener, but not the speaker- there is no oe!
And finally, as you may expect, we can apply this to po as well (though be careful with lenition!). These forms are mefo, pxefo, and ayfo. Since the ay+ causes lenition, ayfo is usually just fo. This obviously excludes both the speaker and listener. You can even apply fra- here, to create frapo - “everyone”.
As for sno, it is never pluralized, since it always refers back to a previously described (and already pluralized) noun.
The same goes for nga- it becomes menga, literally “two you(s)”- you and someone else (but not me.) Similarly, nga can be extended to pxenga and aynga. All of these are for groups that include the listener, but not the speaker- there is no oe!
And finally, as you may expect, we can apply this to po as well (though be careful with lenition!). These forms are mefo, pxefo, and ayfo. Since the ay+ causes lenition, ayfo is usually just fo. This obviously excludes both the speaker and listener. You can even apply fra- here, to create frapo - “everyone”.
As for sno, it is never pluralized, since it always refers back to a previously described (and already pluralized) noun.
pxesaronyu snoru srung si
the three hunters help themselves
(It is implied that sno refers to the pxesaronyu)
the three hunters help themselves
(It is implied that sno refers to the pxesaronyu)
4. "How does Na'vi express possession?"
Possession is a way of describing one noun as belonging to or being a part of another. For example, “Neytiri’s knife” is referring to a specific knife- the one that Neytiri has. In English, this sometimes takes the form “[thing] of [owner]”, for example “branch of a tree” = "tree's branch"
The possessive relationship uses the genitive case ending. The “owner” of the relationship takes this case ending. Like the others, it takes different forms depending on the word it is attached to.
The possessive relationship uses the genitive case ending. The “owner” of the relationship takes this case ending. Like the others, it takes different forms depending on the word it is attached to.
- -ä if the word ends in a consonant (including LL and RR), U, or O
- -yä on everything else
|
tstal Neytiriyä
Neyitiri’s knife |
Neytiriyä tstal
Neyitiri’s knife |
ultralä vul
branch of tree |
vul ultralä
branch of tree |
There are two exceptions to this rule that only come up in a small number of cases. First, if the word ends in -ia, the a at the end becomes ä. Second, there's a strange interaction with the word Omatikaya (the clan name), which may be the result of a currently unspecified pattern.
|
tìpe'un soaiä
the family's decision |
aungiä ral
the omen's meaning |
Omatikayaä hapxì
member of the Omatikaya |
The genitive case behaves differently when attached to a pronoun. If a pronoun ends in a vowel, that vowel is replaced with an e. Then as before, because it ends in an e, the -yä ending is used.
|
oe » oeyä
tsko oeyä my bow |
nga » ngeyä
säfpìl ngeyä your idea |
po » peyä
peyä wutso his/her meal |
sno » sneyä
sneyä samsä’o their own weapons |
Because possession describes a noun, the owner must be near the noun it modifies, but can come before or after. Similar to adjectives, If it wasn’t near the noun it was describing, it would be hard to tell who owns what!
While the genitive behaves like an adjective in many ways, it is not a true adjective. For instance, it does not take up an adjective slot.
ngeyä spuwina tsko atun
your previous, red bow
your previous, red bow
Genitives can also be chained together. It’s best to work starting from the noun and moving outwards to avoid ambiguity.
|
oeyä sempulä tsko
my father’s bow |
tsko sempulä oeyä
my father’s bow |
From the Film!
Jake rallies the Omatikaya people to help him in uniting the clans.
Jake rallies the Omatikaya people to help him in uniting the clans.
|
Tsu’tey (Translating): fìtsenge lu awngeyä! This place is ours! |
Speaking of ambiguity, be careful with the placement of the genitive. With adjectives, we could place them between two nouns because the a-connector pointed us towards the noun being described. But with the genitive, we cannot do this! There is nothing indicating which noun is being described!
|
yerikìl awin syuveti yom
the fast hexapede eats food |
yerikìl oeyä syuveti yom
my hexapede eats food -or- hexapede eats my food? |
Fortunately, due to flexible word order, you can always arrange your sentences in a way where there is no ambiguity.
|
oeyä yerikìl syuveti yom
my hexapede eats food |
yerikìl syuveti oeyä yom
hexapede eats my food |
Finally, we mentioned the pronoun sno earlier. The most common usage of this pronoun is with the genitive case, referring back to the subject.
Neytiril tstalit sneyä Tsyeykur tìng
Neytiri gives her knife to Jake
Neytiri gives her knife to Jake
In this situation we do not use peyä. Instead, peyä is how we reference possession by someone who isn’t the subject.
Neytiril tstalit peyä Tsyeykur tìng
Neytiri gives (someone else's) knife to Jake
Neytiri gives (someone else's) knife to Jake
In Summary
1. What's a pronoun?
A pronoun is a noun that refers to a specific thing, but the exact thing being referenced depends on the situation. They rarely take adjectives.
Pronouns can be combined with plurality prefixes to describe groups. Na’vi groups specify inclusivity: whether the speaker or listener are included in the group or not.
2. How does Na'vi express plurality?
Na’vi has 3 kinds of plurality, and employs prefixes to indicate plurality.
A pronoun is a noun that refers to a specific thing, but the exact thing being referenced depends on the situation. They rarely take adjectives.
Pronouns can be combined with plurality prefixes to describe groups. Na’vi groups specify inclusivity: whether the speaker or listener are included in the group or not.
2. How does Na'vi express plurality?
Na’vi has 3 kinds of plurality, and employs prefixes to indicate plurality.
|
me+
two (dual) |
pxe+
three (trial) |
ay+
four+ (general or unknown) |
Additionally, fra- can be used to say “all <noun>” or “every <noun>”.
3. What is lenition?
A softening or changing of sounds. Prefixes marked with a + cause lenition.
3. What is lenition?
A softening or changing of sounds. Prefixes marked with a + cause lenition.
|
KX » K
|
TX » T
|
PX » P
|
K » H
|
P » F
|
T/TS »S
|
‘ » [ ]
|
If the ay+ prefix causes lenition, it can be optionally dropped while leaving the lenited sound.
4. How does Na'vi express possession?
The genitive case ending -(y)ä. Works for “X’s” and “X of Y” relations.
The genitive can be chained to establish complex relationships.
Be careful with genitive placement to not create ambiguity.
4. How does Na'vi express possession?
The genitive case ending -(y)ä. Works for “X’s” and “X of Y” relations.
- -ä is used if the word ends in a consonant, u, or o.
- -yä is used on everything else.
- -a → -ä in cases where the noun ends in ia, aya, or eya
The genitive can be chained to establish complex relationships.
Be careful with genitive placement to not create ambiguity.
