torukamacktoyu

[torukamacktoyu]

Toruk Makto

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surprise ma @baconburger2006, I did in fact see this! 👀

So there are a three main aspects to language learning: vocabulary, grammar, and practice!

Vocabulary

There are, of course, a variety of Na'vi dictionaries you can choose from. Reykunyu is my main go-to, though I also like the categorized wordlists on Dict-Na'vi. I don't have as much personal experience with Fwew but I hear it's good too. There's also the Annotated Dictionary, which is very useful when you need examples of how to use a particular word.

Reykunyu Dict-Na'vi Fwew Annotated Dictionary

Of course, just throwing a dictionary at you is not really gonna be all that effective for learning vocab—after all, that's a lot of words and it's gonna get overwhelming fast! Plus, you don't really need to know every word to converse in the language. The dictionary is mostly there as a handy reference to look up new words.

That said: don't underestimate the power of using the language! You'd be surprised how many of the common useful words you'll learn just by repeatedly trying to use them. That's how I learned my first chunk of vocab: by trying to communicate with the language. At first I had to look up every single word in a dictionary every single time I wanted to use it, but over time I had to do that less and less until eventually I'd memorized several words without even studying a vocab list! In fact, when I did try using a beginner's vocab list for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by how many words I already knew just by repeatedly using them like this!

Vocab lists can still be helpful of course! You can make your own by looking up a bunch of words about a particular topic, or you can use Reykunyu's Study tool, which has a set of beginner vocab lists.

The study list that I personally used was the 500 Most Commonly Used Na'vi Words course on Memrise, but it is sadly no longer available, since Memrise removed their community-created courses 😔 Reykunyu's beginner lists should give you a decent start though!

Of course, if you're going to be learning new words, you'll also want to know how to say them correctly! Therefore alphabet and pronunciation are a vital part of this section (in fact, I'd recommend learning this before you start learning anything else). This video is a great introduction! 🙂

Grammar

Individual words are useless if you don't know how to put them together! A common mistake people make when learning a new language for the first time is assuming that you can translate a sentence by translating each individual word one by one...this does not work, because not all languages are structured the same way!

There are a few resources you can use to get an intro to Na'vi grammar. If you enjoy live lessons, there are usually a variety of lessons/activities/practice sessions taught weekly on the Kelutral Discord server, at a variety of different levels from beginner to advanced. Even if none of the sessions available at a given time look appealing to you, you can always ask for help with whatever you need in their questions-and-practice channel and you'll find plenty of teachers happy to help!

If you prefer independent study, these two video series could be helpful (though I'd still recommend asking questions if/when you have any!). Karyu Tekre's is more thorough, but Karyu Pawl's will give a fun overview of various topics.

Karyu Tekre's Na'vi Grammar Course Paul Frommer's (Karyu Pawl's) AvatarMeet 2012 Presentation

There are some other resources that'll help with grammar (and vocab) as well, but I'm saving those for the next section:

Practice!

One way to practice is, of course, to simply use the language in any way you can! You can chat in the Na'vi channels over on Kelutral, or doodle little Na'vi comics, or even keep a Na'vi journal!

That said, I realize that just saying "go practice" when you're brand new to the language can be overwhelming—after all, where do you even start? Luckily, there's plenty of resources that can help! Here's a few:

Kelutral's Na'vi Survival Guide Karyu Neytiri's Na'vi Workbook Karyu Pamìrìk's Na'vember Challenge

The Survival Guide currently only covers a few topics, but it's interactive and goes over some fundamentals of sentence building!

Karyu Neytiri's workbook is great because it gives you grammar and vocab and practice exercises all in one!

The Na'vember challenge would actually be a fantastic place to start if you're brand-new! It's a month-long challenge that gives you simple daily practice tasks, starting with pronunciation and gradually moving through fundamental grammar. Completing the whole thing will give you a fairly thorough overview of how to build sentences in Na'vi!

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Hope this is helpful! I know it's a lot, but, well, learning a new language is a big task! It takes a lot of time, patience, and dedication. The good news is, it doesn't have to take a ton of time all at once! Consistency is key—you'll learn a lot more efficiently by studying daily for just 5-10 minutes than you will trying to cram a bunch of stuff for two hours every other Thursday and then not thinking about it until the next cram. Feel free to ask if you have other questions and best of luck on your learning journey should you choose to embark! 😸

[torukamacktoyu]

just guys being dudes

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Another little doodle of Wion. I know it's been a bit since i've been drawing Pìwopxtsyìp or other ikran, but I just haven't had the energy to draw such complex markings rip. Been focusing on some other pandoran critters instead, and drawing some other personal art!

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unobtainium still holds the prize for being the most shite name for anything ever

it looks like james cameron built up this beautiful world of pandora and poured his fucking essence into making it intricate and unique and then realised 10 minutes before the first table read he forgot to name the mineral the whole fucking film is about

avatar still slaps tho

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Toruk Makto

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My still unnamed albino thanator. Included a bit of the process too!

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The first time that I drew Neytiri, tuk and Jake!

I saw some movie edits from tuk and Neytiri and I think they have a special relationship, but then I also wanted to draw Tuk with Jake 🥺 I think Tuk needs a lot of hugs and love! We also need more art from her! I love this girl 🫂

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oc, paysìlpey with his mother and baby brother

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I don’t think that we as a society recognize enough how much Neteyam looks like his father

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so’lek study

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More of my beautiful bby girl

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Ikran pattern

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Dying from doing an assasin's creed dive off the cliff and your ikran not catching you is the most embarrassing shit-

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I mean, in the Omatikaya Tsu'Tey was olo'eyktan after Eytukan died, and he is very much not Eytukan's son.

If Tsu'tey hadn't died I can only assume that he would have kept on being the olo'eyktan, not stepping aside for Jake or anything like that.

Neteyam was probably never going to be the olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya. I know this is treated basically as canon in the fandom, but we have no evidence whatsoever – neither in the movies or other sources – that he was the olo'eyktan-in-training. His desire of becoming a great warrior and the pressure he felt did not come from the fact that he was the next chief, but from the fact that he was the firstborn son of Toruk Makto and a legendary warrior in his clan.

On the other hand, in the Visual Dictionary Kiri is explicitly described as wearing garb that resemble that of a tsakarem. It’s a very specific detail to include, and to me it indicates that she was meant to succeed her mother as tsakarem after Mo'at had passed the role of tsahìk on to Neytiri.

We also know from Mo'at/Silwanin/Neytiri that, at least in the Omatikaya clan, the role of the tsahìk seems to be hereditary. The tsahìk and olo'eyktan usually become a mated pair (like it also would have been with Jake and Neytiri in the future had they not moved to the Metkayina before she could succeed Mo'at), so it makes only sense to assume that Kiri was going to become tsahìk and lead the Omatikaya alongside her future mate, but that Neteyam was never destined for that role to begin with.

I think we can also assume a similar thing for the Metkayina. In the Visual Dictionary, Tsireya is said to be the tskarem, but with Ao'nung it’s not suggested that he will be the next chief.

I could be wrong, of course, this is only speculation and traditions can change. We have also seen in AFoP that there are different dynamics between olo'eyktan and tsahìk in different clans, like Nesim and Minang who are sisters and Ka'nat and Etuwa who are father and daughter (although she did inherit the role from her mother).

Anyway this was just a reflection on a really popular headcanon that is treated like actual canon by the fandom, very much like many others “facts” that were actually just completely made up by the fans or have no actual proof in canon.

[torukamacktoyu]

oh and by the way, the fact that even a lot of the fandom still views the tulkun on the same level as animals like ikran even though the tulkun are explicitly established to be a fully sapient people with their own culture and language etc. is exactly why the “Avatar would’ve been better if the Na'vi were less humanoid” crowd is dead wrong lol