Commands and Negation
Oftentimes when speaking to others, we aren’t just telling them about things, but suggesting (or commanding) that something be done or avoided.
In this chapter, we will answer these questions:
- How do you address someone?
- How do you make a sentence a command?
- How do you make a negative command?
- How do you negate a verb?
- How do you negate a noun?
1. “How do you address someone?”
In the previous chapter we learned about pronouns, whose exact meaning changes depending on the context. One of which was nga - you, which is all fine and dandy, so long as the person being talked to knows they are nga. So, how do we make sure they know we’re talking to them?
When addressing someone in Na’vi, you precede their name with ma. This is like saying “Hey <name>,” before diving into a sentence. If you frequently use group messaging software, you can also think of this like a verbal “@” sign. It can go anywhere in the sentence, but is often used at the start to grab attention.
When addressing someone in Na’vi, you precede their name with ma. This is like saying “Hey <name>,” before diving into a sentence. If you frequently use group messaging software, you can also think of this like a verbal “@” sign. It can go anywhere in the sentence, but is often used at the start to grab attention.
From the Film!
Neytiri and Jake need to deliver an important message.
Neytiri and Jake need to deliver an important message.
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Neytiri: ma sempul! ma sa’nok!
Jake: ma Eytukan, lu oeru aylì'u frapor. Eytukan: pivlltxe, ma Tsyeyksuli. Father! Mother! Eytukan, I have words for everyone Speak, JakeSully. |
This is only used for addressing, or getting their attention. You don’t use ma every time you use a name, nor do you need to use it in every sentence.
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Neytiril payoangti yom -- Neytiri eats fish
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ma Jake, Neytiril payoangti yom -- @Jake, Neytiri eats fish
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Think like the Na’vi!
Use ma whenever you need to establish (or re-establish) the person you are talking to. In English, this is basically any time you’d use the name of the person you’re talking to instead of “you”.
Use ma whenever you need to establish (or re-establish) the person you are talking to. In English, this is basically any time you’d use the name of the person you’re talking to instead of “you”.
A good time to make sure the person you are talking to knows they are being addressed is when issuing a command.
2. “How do you make a sentence a command?”
Much like commands or suggestions in English, omitting the subject information makes a sentence a command. The implied subject (usually nga or a plural form) is the target of the command.
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ngal payoangti yom -- you eat fish (statement of fact)
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payoangti yom -- eat [the] fish (command)
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From the Film!
Eytukan commands Neytiri to take his bow.
Eytukan commands Neytiri to take his bow.
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Eytukan:
ma ‘ite… tskoti munge... Daughter… take [this] bow |
A less assertive way Na’vi can issue commands is by soliciting agreement. In English, this takes the form of “Let’s…”, “How about…”, or "Isn't it!". This is accomplished by adding the word ko to the end of a sentence.
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payoangti yom ko -- Let’s eat fish!
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kaltxì si ko -- How about saying hello?
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som ya lu ko -- the air is hot, isn't it!
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From the Film!
After receiving an inspirational speech, the leader of the Ikran People of the Eastern Sea issues a command.
After receiving an inspirational speech, the leader of the Ikran People of the Eastern Sea issues a command.
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Olo’eyktan:
makto ko! Let’s ride! |
These are all for when you want the listener to do something. What if you want them to NOT do something?
3. “How do you make a negative command?”
Negative commands use the word rä’ä. This usually goes directly before the verb.
payoangti rä’ä yom! -- Don’t eat the fish!
It can also be placed after the verb, usually sentence-final, for extreme emphasis.
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payoangti rä’ä yom! -- Don’t eat the fish! (i.e. it’s not yours to eat)
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payoangti yom rä’ä! -- DON’T eat the fish! (i.e. it is poisonous and you’d die)
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4. “How do you negate a verb?”
Negation is when you want a verb to mean its opposite. In english, this is like saying “not <verb>”. A verb is negated by preceding it with ke. This ke must precede the verb. It’s another example of word order not being totally free.
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oel payoangti ke yom -- I don’t eat fish
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ke tung pol tsat -- [s]he doesn’t allow that.
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Think like the Na’vi!
ke comes from kehe - "no!".
ke comes from kehe - "no!".
As a reminder, the verb component of a si-verb is the si part. So when using ke or rä’ä, it must go before the si-part.
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txopu rä’ä si -- don’t be afraid!
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po kaltxì ke si -- [s]he doesn’t greet / say hello
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5. “How do you negate a noun?”
Similar to verbs, nouns are negated by preceding them with a word. This is usually kea, but sometimes takes other forms that I’ll cover in a moment. The meaning is similar to saying “no <noun>s”. It’s sort of like how you connect adjectives to nouns, but not totally. This must go before the noun- you cannot put it afterwards as ake.
kea tìpawm -- no questions
When negating a noun, however, you must also negate the verb. The resulting sentence looks like a double negative, which in English is a positive, but as you may recall, you aren’t studying English.
kea swizaw ke lu oeru -- I have no arrows (lit. I don’t have no arrows)
As mentioned, there are some exceptions. Extremely general nouns tend to have unique forms when negated. You may notice that most of these begin with kaw-, which is short for ke ‘awa, literally “not one…”.
kawkrr |
(adv.) |
never (no time) |
kawtu |
(pn.) |
nobody (no person) |
kawtseng |
(adv.) |
nowhere (no place) |
kekem |
(n.) |
nothing (no action) |
ke'u |
(n.) |
nothing (no thing) |
Like kea, the verb must also be negated when using these special forms.
kawtu ke omum -- nobody knows
If you want extra emphasis on just how little no-something doesn’t-verb, you can add kaw’it (lit. “not a bit”). This is almost always at the end of a sentence, likely for emphasis!
kawtu ke omum kaw’it -- nobody knows at all
In Summary
1. How do you address someone?
Place the word ma before the name of the person being addressed.
2. How do you make a sentence a command?
Omitting the subject of a sentence is implied to be a command to the person being addressed (whoever is assumed to be “you”).
ko can be added to the end of a sentence to solicit agreement with an action.
3. How do you make a negative command?
Adding rä’ä before a verb to command not to <verb>.
Placing it after the verb is for extreme emphasis.
4. How do you negate a verb?
Adding ke before a verb makes it “not-<verb>”. ke must precede the verb.
5. How do you negate a noun?
Adding kea before a noun makes it “no-<noun>”. If this is done, the verb must also be negated with ke.
Some general, common words have special forms.
Place the word ma before the name of the person being addressed.
2. How do you make a sentence a command?
Omitting the subject of a sentence is implied to be a command to the person being addressed (whoever is assumed to be “you”).
ko can be added to the end of a sentence to solicit agreement with an action.
3. How do you make a negative command?
Adding rä’ä before a verb to command not to <verb>.
Placing it after the verb is for extreme emphasis.
4. How do you negate a verb?
Adding ke before a verb makes it “not-<verb>”. ke must precede the verb.
5. How do you negate a noun?
Adding kea before a noun makes it “no-<noun>”. If this is done, the verb must also be negated with ke.
Some general, common words have special forms.
