\u201cIt was a remarkable event in my life,\u201d remembers the linguist Paul Frommer of his first meeting with James Cameron. Looking for someone to develop a constructed language for a science fiction film, the renowned director had emailed the linguistics department at the University of Southern California. In his application, Frommer convincingly expressed his enthusiasm for the challenge. \u201cWelcome aboard,\u201d Cameron told the linguistics doctor at the end of her first 90-minute talk in 2005. "My life really hasn’t been the same since then," Frommer said ahead of the release of the third film in the epic series, 20 years later.<\/p>\n
Cameron’s premise for the language was that it should sound "beautiful" – "of course that’s a subjective thing," says Frommer. It also had to be easy for the actors to learn, as it was clear from the start that there would be no electronic manipulation of the characters’ voices. "So the underlying assumption was that the Na’vi have a vocal production mechanism that is essentially the same as ours, allowing them to produce the sounds that we can produce in human speech." Although there are various aspects of Na’vi that can be compared to other languages, it cannot be directly associated with a single language. \u201cI wanted to make it unusual,\u201d says Frommer.<\/p>\n
When describing the process of language development, Frommer refers to the various \u201cmodules\u201d used in linguistics \u2013 the building blocks with which he worked. The core of a language is, first of all, its phonetics and phonology, i.e. its \u201csounds and the sound system,\u201d he explains. The sounds that are left out of the language are just as important as those that are inserted, emphasizes Frommer, \u201cbecause that is what gives it its specific flavor.\u201d For example, it included ejection sounds – popping sounds heard in parts of Africa, Asia and in Native American languages. He also introduced unusual consonant combinations into the language, essentially \u201ctaking familiar sounds but putting them together in unfamiliar ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frommer then determined the morphology of the language, i.e. the structure of words: \u201cThat requires a certain degree of creativity,\u201d he says. Although he was inspired by constructions that exist in other human languages, \u201che took certain things and put them on steroids.\u201d For example, there are five levels of verb conjugation: present, immediate past, distant past, immediate future, and distant future. The word order in sentences is also very flexible. The function of a word in Na’vi is determined not by its placement in a sentence, but by its declension, with six different cases. Then there’s the whole question of coming up with the vocabulary. \u201cIn a way, this is perhaps the most artistic part of the process,\u201d says the linguist.<\/p>\n
With each film in the series, new slang and dialects are developed to reflect the way the different Na’vi clans speak. As a result, the vocabulary is constantly expanding, and Frommer estimates that there are now more than 3,000 words in the Na’vi language. With this vocabulary, Frommer explains, one can already discuss all types of human experiences in relation to relationships and everyday activities. Na’vi doesn’t cover technical or scientific areas, but "you can get your message across even if you don’t have a lot of nuance at the time." In comparison, there are about 600,000 word forms in the Oxford English dictionary, and an educated native speaker might know about 40,000 words.<\/p>\n
In the two decades since the first film was made, AI has emerged as a powerful new tool. But while large language models could probably spit out countless new Na’vi words that would follow Frommer’s rules, the linguist says he would "rather go slower and just think about each word and make sure it just feels right to me." Na’vi enthusiasts can also suggest new terms through a platform called the Lexical Expansion Project. But when it comes to new arrivals, the linguist has the final say: \u201cI\u2019m still the only gatekeeper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fans of \u201cStar Trek\u201d or JRR Tolkien\u2019s \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d are known to show their enthusiasm for these complex fictional universes by learning Klingon or Elvish, which are also constructed languages \u200b\u200b\u2013 or \u201cconlangs\u201d. Likewise, there is now a community of Na’vi learners around the world, with a printed dictionary and a wealth of online resources for those interested in the language. \u201cI won\u2019t tell you it\u2019s thousands of people, but it\u2019s a pretty big community,\u201d Frommer says. The two countries with the strongest interest in Na’vi are the United States and Germany, he adds. To find out what motivated these people to invest so much time and effort into learning the constructed language, Canadian linguistic anthropologist studied the community of Na’vi learners. They noted that some of them are obsessed with the film; They may even wish they could visit Pandora, the fictional planet of the films. By learning the language spoken there, they can connect with this world.<\/p>\n
Some are motivated by the linguistic aspect of Na’vi, as it is a completely new and unusual language to learn. Another motivating factor is that it is comparatively easy to become one of the world’s best language experts. And then there are others who simply want to use it to express their creativity. Like so many other niche hobbies, those who learn Na’vi have created "a place to come together and meet other like-minded people." Frommer is grateful for all of the connections and deep friendships he has developed through this ongoing project. Or to quote a classic Na’vi phrase: People in this community can say to each other, "Oel ngati kameie." This means \u201cI see you\u201d \u2013 or more precisely: \u201cI understand you deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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