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Learning Matoran: Lesson 4


JRRT

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Lhe ke ovahi o,
gaa kaira teraio’na
a Taka a Kraa, e’ Arta a Khar.
Ie te ngie zyo.
I ava e’ awa ekamo.


During that time,
Two brothers ruled
Light and Dark, Arta and Khar
They strove against each other
And the first cast down the second.

-- From “The Legend of the Bionicle”

--------------------

My, folks, it's been a while. Don't worry. I'm not dead or anything. The project continues!

In fact, it's like...it's like I can't stop.

...

Help me.

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=l Nouns II l=


Recall again the basic structure of the Matoran Noun System: particles placed before, after, or around the noun which indicate the purpose of the noun in a sentence. Thus far, we have seen the first three of these particles—the Case Particles—dealing with the grammatical roles of Subject, Object, and Possession. Six particles remain, and these are split into two groups: Motion and Time/Location. We'll deal with the first group here.

Motion Particles:

The three-fold particle structure is repeated for particles indicating Motion. Otherwise, the Motion particles are rather straightforward.

“Toward/Into”

The particle ii, placed before the noun, specifies motion toward, at, or into a noun. The plural form is nii.

wahi – “region”
ii wahi – “toward/into (a/the) region”
nii wahi – “toward/into regions”

“Through/By”

Motion through, by/beside, or past a noun is expressed by the particle wo…a, with the plural form mo..a. This type of particle differs from the other particles discussed thus far, in that it consists of two parts—one placed before the noun and one placed after, but both forming a single particle. Therefore:

wahi – “region”
wo wahi a – “through/by (a/the) region”
mo wahi a – “through/by regions”

Technically, particles such as this would probably be classified as “circumpositions” (think preposition: before the noun; circumposition: around the noun). But, for the sake of simplicity, we will hold to the “particle” definition.

“From/Out of”

The last of the Motion particles is ka (plural nga), expressing motion out of, away, or originating from a noun. It is always placed after the noun.

wahi – “region”
wahi ka – “from/out of (a/the) region”
wahi nga – “from/out of regions”

This concludes the discussion of particles expressing Motion.

Simple Sentences:


Lastly in this lesson, I’d like to lay out some simple sentences, using vocabulary referenced in previous lessons.

Ne matoran ii wahi kamo.
"Matoran (pl.) went toward (the/a) region"

First, we have matoran with the nominative plural particle ne. This is, of course, the Subject of the sentence. Next, there's wahi preceded by the singular motion particle ii "to/toward". And lastly, we have the verb kamo, past tense (note the suffix -o) of kama "to move, go".

Rahi ui matoran wo wahi a kanna.
"The Matoran’s Rahi goes through the region."

The subject here is rahi (lacking the optional nominative particle i), and it is modified by matoran with the singular genitive (possessive) particle ui. Again we have wahi, now surrounded by the motion particle wo...a "through/by". This is followed by the verb: kanna (from kama) with gradation to show the present tense.

Wahi ka rahi kanne.
"The Rahi will go out of the region."

This sentence begins with wahi followed by the motion particle ka "out of/away from". Next we have the subject rahi, which in turn performs the action of the verb kanne (future tense, with both gradation and the suffix -e).

Something to notice in these sentences is the word order—the placement of nouns, verbs, etc. within the structure of a sentence. Matoran word order is less restricted than English word order, and thus we can see in the third sentence that the phrase wahi ka “out of the region” precedes the subject rahi: “Out of the region the Rahi will go.” This is not necessarily a standard structure for English, but in Matoran it is completely permissible, along with a variety of other permutations. For example, one could also say Kanne wahi ka rahi. "Will go out of region Rahi," or even Kanne rahi wahi ka. "Will go Rahi out of region."

Vocabulary and Exercises:


Here are some practice exercises focusing on some of the elements in this (and previous) lessons.

First, try translating these English sentences into Matoran:
1) "The Matoran spoke words."
2) "The Turaga's Rahi attacked the village." (<use terya as the verb)
3) "The Toa went to the city."
4) "The Matoran went to the Turaga's village."

Next, try translating these simple Matoran sentences into English:
1) Rahi kamo koro ka.
2) Matoran ea kanohi kharmo.
3) Ohanne toa ii suva.
4) Turaga orakha na oro.

And here's some useful (if rather random) vocabulary to help with both tasks.

Nouns:
kanohi, n. mask of power
kanoka, n. disk of power
koro, n. village
metii, n. head
metru, n. city
mua, n. rahi cat, tiger
oro, n. word
suva, n. shrine, gathering place
ussa, n. steed (< think "Ussal" crab)

Verbs:
atuma, v. to think, consider
kharma, v. to make, form
ohama, v. to come, move toward (Note: verbs such as ohama usually take particles of Motion on their objects)

If you happen to be interested in more vocabulary, take a look at the two volumes of the Matoran Dictionary.

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Probably next on the docket: Lesson 5—Pronouns and Adjectives.

JRRT

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I think I'm definitely going to be keeping up with these posts. This looks very awesome.

 

Out of curiosity, what is "The Legend of the Bionicle"? I'm unfamiliar with the terms 'Arta' and 'Khar.'

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Out of curiosity, what is "The Legend of the Bionicle"? I'm unfamiliar with the terms 'Arta' and 'Khar.'
"The Legend of the Bionicle" is an idea I've used when working on the Matoran grammar. Basically, it's an oral/poetic version of Matoran mythology/prehistory. It's what Vakama was always quoting from (:P). I've always envisioned the various Matoran legends as being part of a larger structure: the "Legend of Mata Nui" being another piece, for example.

 

The portion in this post is the introduction to the "Legend of Artakha and Karzahni". Arta and Khar are meant to be early names for the two beings: arta means "refuge", khar is a variant form of the word ka "power/creation/light" (referencing Karzahni's original purpose).

 

Karzahni's later name is meant to be a compound of kar (< khar) and zahni "enemy, foe". Thus: "enemy of power/creation/light". Artakha's name is an elaboration on arta with a similar word-variant of ka (-kha). Thus: "refuge of light; the Great Refuge".

 

JRRT

 

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