Adpositions

Na'vi · Wikibooks

0%

Contents

    Text

    Size
    100%
    Theme
    Typeface
    Line length
    Spacing

    From Wikibooks, under CC BY-SA 4.0, as the source states it. This page at Wikibooks.

    Besides case, the role of a noun in a clause may be indicated with an adposition. This may occur either as a preposition before the noun, as in English, or as an suffix at the end of the noun, as in Japanese, a greater degree of freedom than human languages allow. For example, "with you" may be either hu nga or ngahu. When used as suffixes, they are much like the numerous cases found in Hungarian and Finnish.

    Attested adpositions

    Adpositions may be stressed when they occur as prepositions, but not as suffixes, where they have no effect on the stress of the noun.

    Adp. Len.    English Example Translation
    äo − "under" äo Utral Aymokriyä under the Tree of Voices
    eo − "before (place), in front of" eo ayoeng before us
    io − "above"
    uo − "behind"
    fa − "with", "by means of"  
    (instrument)    		 aylìʼufa ʼeylanä in the words of a friend
    fkip − "up among"
    fpi + "for the sake of"
    ftu − "from" (direction) Note irregular ftu sat "from that"
    hu − "with, together with"
    (accompaniment)    		 Eywa ngahu
    hu Eywa    		 Gaia (be) with you
    with Eywa
    ìlä + "via, along, by"
    ka − "across"
    kip − "among" ayngakip among you
    kxamlä − "through (the middle of)" (kxam "the middle" ìlä "via")[note 1]
    lok − "close to" lok ʼawkx, ʼawkxlok near the cliff (also a verb, "to approach")
    luke − "without" lu luke kxu be without harm
    maw − "after" (in time) maw hìkrr in a moment
    mì + "in", "on" mì teʼlan
    ʼRrtamì
    fìtrrmì    		 in the heart(s)
    on Earth
    on this day
    mìkam − "between" (mì "in" kxam "the middle")
    mungwrr   − "except" éyktanmungwrr except the leader
    na − "like", "as" na ayskxe mì teʼlan
    rel na uniltìranyu    		 like stones in my heart (simile)
    a picture as an avatar (form)
    ne − "to" (direction) terìran ayoe ayngane
    tsenge a tsane po karmä    		 we are walking your way
    the place to which she was going
    nemfa − "into" (from ne mì+fa)
    pxaw − "around"
    pxel − "like", "such as" sute pxel nga people such as you
    ro + "at" (location) ro fäpa, ro helku at the top, at home
    sì − "and" (phrases)[note 2] trrä sì txonä,
    aylìʼut horentisì    		 of day and night,
    words and rules
    sìn − "on", "onto" (?)
    sre + "before" (time) sreseʼa prophesize
    ta − "from" (generic) aungia ta Eywa a sign from Eywa
    takip − "from among"
    tafkip − "from up among"
    teri − "about, concerning" teri lìʼfya leNaʼvi plltxe   talk about the Naʼvi language
    vay − "up to" (space or time) vay set
    vaykrr    		 up to now, still, (with a negative verb) not yet
    until
    wä + "against" (as in "fight against")

    Various locative and temporal adverbs are derived from these: neʼìm "toward the back", nefä "upwards", nekll "downwards"; taʼem "from above";[note 3] mawkrr "after, afterwards"; srekrr "before, beforehand". Note also kä neto "go away (toward the distance)" and tok mìso "be there in the distance", both perhaps based on the particle to "than". Sreseʼa "to prophesize" is literally "to foresee", sre+tseʼa.

    There are words besides traditional adpositions that have the same dual preposition/suffix use, such as sì "and" and pe+, -pe "which?", though the latter case is a dual prefix/suffix (peu, ʼupe "what?"—see Questions), never a preposition.

    Though a prefix, the adverbial nì- "-ly" functions as a generic adposition: nìfyaʼo alaw "in a clear manner". It may be used where no specific adposition is correct; mì fyaʼo, for example, would mean literally "in the way, on the path", not *"in the manner".

    Lenition and the ambiguity of short plurals

    When used as prepositions, certain of these trigger lenition, marked "+" in the table above. One of the leniting prepositions is mì "in", as in mì sokx "in the body", from tokx "the body". This may cause some ambiguity with short plurals: mì sokx could also be short for mì aysokx "in the bodies". When mì is used as a suffix, however, the noun is not lenited.

    noun preposition + noun noun-suffix
    Singular tokx "body" mì sokx "in the body" tokxmì "in the body"
    Short plural sokx "bodies" "in the bodies" sokxmì "in the bodies"
    Long plural aysokx mì aysokx aysokxmì

    Notes

    1. ↑ Kxamlä does not cause lenition, though its component ilä does.
    2. ↑ Syntactically, sì is a conjunction, and is used regardless of the presence of true adpositions or case, but it is included here because it may be either preposed or suffixed as the adpositions are.
    3. ↑ Perhaps related to the em in emzaʼu "to pass a test, overcome a challenge".


    ← Pronouns · Adjectives →

    ← Pronouns · Na'vi · Adjectives →