[There has been some recent interest in my very old, very outdated Matoran Dictionary as of late; due, I think, to the discussions in this very interesting topic. Well, interest breeds motivation, and I've worked up the motivation to work out some significant revisions to the Dictionary, bringing it up-to-date with my most recent conceptions of Matoran etymology, as discussed at length in the "Meaningless Names" series. So enjoy this "Second Edition", if you will.] [update 8/6: It is fi
A Matoran Dictionary 2nd Edition VOLUME II :: E-J -E- e- |p.| make, cause (causative/transitive particle)† ehlek |n.cmpd.| effective contact/communication [ehlek < ehl-le-ak, from ehl “seeking/searching; detection, sense” (variant of el), the u-modified elemental stem leu “elemental air; listening/hearing/speaking”, and the intensive particle -ak, yielding an original sense of “seeking to communicate”, referencing the earliest Matoran attempts to make contact with sentien
[should've posted a reference-list like this a long time ago. Better late than never!] A Matoran Dictionary 2nd Edition LIST OF VOLUMES =||= Volume I :: A-D Volume II :: E-J Volume III :: K Volume IV :: L-M Volume V :: N-P Volume VI :: R-S Volume VII :: T-U Volume VIII :: V-Z =||=
A Matoran Dictionary 2nd Edition VOLUME V :: N-P -N- nā |p.| many, multiple (plural particle) [Variant forms: nāl (l-modified), -nō (ā > ō / __#] naho |n.| protection of many [naho < nā-hō, from the plural particle nā “many, plural” and hā “protection, peace/calm, systems-normal” (with final ā > ō vowel shift)] nai |n./p.| all [nai < nā-ī, from the plural particle nā and the nounal particle ī. Variant form: nī] nai-ya |v.| to multiply, proliferate [From nai “
A Matoran Dictionary 2nd Edition VOLUME VII :: T-U -T- ta |n./stm.| 1. elemental fire; 2. spirit, being, essence; 3. courage, ability, leadership; 4. fierce, rash, brash [ta < tā, from the elemental stem tā “elemental fire”. Variant forms: ta-, tal (l-modified), tau (u-modified, see entry tu), tah, tō (ā > ō / __# )] tahnok |n.| fire-designation Bohrok [FD: MN#2] tahtorak |n.cmpd.| very fierce speaker/orator [tahtorak < tah-toro-ak, from tah (variant of ta, see en
A Matoran Dictionary 2nd Edition VOLUME III :: K -K- ka |n./stm.| (non-elemental) power, force, energy; ability, (creative) potential [ka < kā. Variant form: ca] kabolo |n.| fruit of power [kabolo < ka-bolo, from ka “power, force, ability” and bolo “fruit”. Variant form: cabolo] kadin |n.cmpd.| (Kanohi-) flight; lit. “power of high-space” [kadin < ka-ti-ini, from ka “power, force, ability”, the stem ti “space, area” (variant of te, see entry), and ini “star(s); h
A Matoran Dictionary 2nd Edition VOLUME IV :: L-M -L- -la |p.| good, excellent (modifying particle) [etymology uncertain; possibly la < li-hā, from the primeval modifying particle li and the stem hā “protection, peace/calm, systems-normal”] lari |adj.| refined, perfectionistic; lit. “oriented toward excellence” [lari < la-rī, from the particle la “good, excellent” and rī, a reduction of rui “oriented toward” (< ru-ui)] lariska |n.cmpd.| powerful refined-creature/p
I've posted a few examples of texts in the Matoran language on this blog so far, and if you lurk elsewhere on the internet, you may have seen quite a few more. Most of these translations make use of a particular model of Matoran grammar, one that has undergone many alterations over the years. At this point, I thought it might be useful/interesting to share that grammar in its current state. So here's a basic overview—a cheatsheet, if you will. Have fun with it. ===========================
Ke ovahi o kii vahi, Mata Nui uamo. inihe ka usmo ia ngie, ke orna hu Matoran, lhe ii arta. In the time before time The Great Spirit descended Out of the Heavens carrying we, The ones called the Matoran To this paradise. --First lines of "The Legend of Mata Nui" =l Preface l= First, I must make a confession. For the past ten (or so) years, my primary hobby has been an obsession with constructing languages: "conlanging". In the words of J.R.R himself, it is the "secret vice". And, as migh
[bump'd, 4/21/11. Because I wanted to. So there.] [Wouldn't you know it: I go to add new material to this, and it tells me I've reached the limit for a blog entry. So be it. I've thus split this "dictionary" into two "volumes" (because "volume" just sounds so much more important). In terms of describing the content of this "update": I've added around 120-130 new entries in all, in addition to modifying and revising older entries. Most of the words have to do with plants, landforms, colors, and
What do you know: looks like I’m still on a Matoran Language streak these days, despite another interstate relocation (back to my natural habitat in the dry-bare-sandy southwest US...it’s good to be home). This time though, I’m taking a break from those pretentious Lessons in order to play around with a tangent on nameless Kanohi masks, i.e. official (and some unofficial) Kanohi masks that never received official (or unofficial) Matoran names. With a universe as sprawling as that of Bionicle, y
[cross-post] Another year, another birthday, and today’s mine. Seems like a good occasion for gift-giving, so here’s one for you all. Several months ago, I posted a link on tumblr to an unfinished Matoran Language translation of the script of Bionicle: Mask of Light. At the time, it was only about 25% complete. Well, some time (and procrastination) has passed since then...and now it’s 100% complete. Link to the document There’s the link to the Google doc, with comments enabled. And just
Since the release of the Bionicle 2015 media, various people have taken note of the system of symbols or glyphs that consistently appear throughout the island of Okoto. They show up in nearly every one of the story animations--on ruins, statues, the Temple of Time...even the Mask of Creation is covered in them. This has, unsurprisingly, generated questions about whether or not these symbols are purely decorative or if they in fact constitute a functioning writing system, along the lines of the G
[also hey look a tumblr] Treatise: Translating the Avohkii : Part 1 : It has come to my attention that the novelization of the Mask of Light film includes the following passage: This is supposed to be Nokama’s reading of the inscription found on the Avohkii. Interesting, no? Even if the novelization is only semi-canon, this could provide material for expanding our (admittedly completely made-up) knowledge of the Matoran language. Where to begin? I began by seeking out the scene f
A Dictionary and Etymology of the Matoran Language =l Volume II l= Compiled by Ihu, Scholar of Metru Nui, k. 79908. This volume continues with entries M through Z. -M- mahri, n. ocean m(a)i, adv. up, above, over [From the stem *maeh "up, above, over"] maima, v. to rise (base-stem) [From the stem *maeh "up above, over" with addition of the general verbal suffix -ma] maita¹, n. brain [From the ancient stem maet "mind, thought" with addition of the nounal suffix -ta, denoting a thing or co
[and tumblr too] This post, we're taking a brief detour from other projects to talk about something slightly more mundane: Is there something in the Matoran Language that marks verbs as verbs and distinguishes them from non-verbs? I would like to propose that there is at least one verb-marker expressed as a suffix (or "derivative particle") -ya. What's the evidence? Admittedly, there is only one canon piece of evidence, since we have only one confirmed verb in Matoran: zya "to attack". This
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0mhtDAJjqs (starts at ~0:47) "Battle Chant of the Toa (Prayer to Mata Nui)" O’I HIKI HOIHA OU IHIKI HAHKO ... HAHKO! O’I HIKI HAUIHA OU IHIKI HAHI ====================== Literal Translation: 1. Protect us from deception; 2. You will save us from deception. 3. Make us safe from deception; 4. You are a protector against deception. ====================== Note: I've been a bit fast-and-loose with constructing vocabulary here-
Ke ovahi o kii vahi,
ne kharra noie ma
ke kraa o karho,
Kii usmo Mata Nui
A avo inihe ka.
In the time before time
The builders of this world
Labored in Darkness,
Before the Great Spirit brought
Light out of the Heavens.
--From "The Legend of the Bionicle"
=l Intro to Verbs l=
Verbs in Matoran are slightly different from Nouns in that they do not rely solely on grammatical particles. There are some areas where particles are used, but overall these are not prevalent.
V
This post, I'm gonna to talk about some ideas related to other potential affixes, one in particular that I think can be quite straightforwardly derived using some comparative evidence centered around the following word: inika "energies of a star" Note that the translation we are given for this word is unique in that it is apparently a compound of two semantic units: "energy" and "star". That's different from the single-word definitions we usually get, and it also provides us with an example
[tumblr it up] If you've ever browsed through the entries of the Matoran Dictionary or been brave enough to delve into those old Learning Matoran lessons, you may have run into a concept that goes under the (pretty obtuse) name of "splitting+displacement" or (even worse) "variable placement". It's usually applied to things called "particles" or "affixes", and usually very little explanation is provided for what it is and where it comes from. Sorry. In this post, I’ll attempt to add some fles
Oe a gauru ur a terenye.
Vemo Mata Nui na lhihke lhia,
K’a kaihe a karnye a terevua.
Oe lhe na veta ovemo.
We were separate, and without purpose
So the Great Spirit gave us the Three Virtues:
Unity, Duty, and Destiny.
And these gifts we embraced.
--from “The Legend of Mata Nui”
=l Intro to Nouns l=
At the most basic level, Matoran and English nouns are, well, nouns. They represent persons, places, things, ideas, etc. Grammatically, however, Matoran nouns exhibit some features
As a final act in 2016, I've posted an epic entitled Mask Maker. It's a final take on the Bionicle G1 storyline that has been taking shape for a few years now. Here's the main topic and the review topic if you're interested in reading and/or commenting. It'll also be on my tumblr blog. See ya '16. Updates: CH 1 Labor CH 2 Deadline CH 3 Last CH 4 Embrace CH 5 All Wrong CH 6 Ages CH 7 Invert CH 8 No CH 9 Door CH 10 Goodbye CH 11 Mask Maker (Final)
Hi folks. It's been a terribly long count of years (months), but I'm still, here, writing this stuff. I think it helps keep me sane. . .Whatever the case, if you're here to read this new lesson on the Matoran Language, it might do to read up on some of the older stuff. I don't know, maybe like the previous four lessons? Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 And now that that it's all fresh in your mind, move on to Lesson Five: Pronouns I: =l Pronouns I l= Matoran pronouns have much the
