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Various languages in BIONICLE?


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I thought I'd share some questions I asked Greg Farshtey involving the "x" debate and Matoran accents:

 

Hey there! I asked some questions on BZPower which were jokingly answered by the BS01 staff for a prank a while back, but now that I can contact you directly here they are (along with some others):Could a Makuta reabsorb the essence of a Kraata, and if they could, could they do it to maintain their essence if they were outside of a container? If so, could they potentially create a horcrux by siphoning off part of their essence, hiding it somewhere, and in case of an emergency (such as a serious injury or being near death) putting a lot of Kraata into it? Admittedly this is hypothetical, but it could have some interesting implications.Do Matoran names have meaning beyond the individual they refer to (for example, does a name like "Vakama" mean something as a word)? If so, due to the similarity between their names and their respective prefixes (not to mention they were created and deemed important by the Great Beings), are the Toa Mata's names references to their elements (so that, for example, "Tahu" means "fire" or a poetic term relating to fire)?There was an interesting debate recently on the pronunciation of prefixes such as "Xa" and "Xi." Would Matoran pronounce them as "Za" and "Zee" as is the case in English, as "Ksa" and "Ksee," or as something else?For my final question, were there accents within the Matoran Universe? For example, would a Matoran from Metru Nui sound markedly different from one on the Southern Continent?Your time is much appreciated!

1) I do not believe so, no.2) We identified the prefixes as referring to the elements, but not, I think, the Toa names, although my memory may be imperfect on this. We never explored the idea of what if anything Matoran names meant.3) The former4) I think it would be fun if they did

It would seem that when the letter x is used at the beginning of a word it is pronounced like the letter z, as is the case in English. His response regarding accents is also interesting; I wouldn't call it a confirmation that there are pronunciation differences, but he's certainly open to the idea.

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. His response regarding accents is also interesting; I wouldn't call it a confirmation that there are pronunciation differences, but he's certainly open to the idea.

Well it has (sort-of) showed itself in the differences in writing. On Metru Nui and Mata Nui, the Matoran write inside of circles, but on Voya Nui, and perhaps the whole Southern Continent, the letters are written inside hexagons.

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I would think that Aka means sight rather than Ru, but then what would that make Ru? They both give the user enhanced sight in different ways. I will look it up in a Maorian dictionary if I can find one.

Ruru in Maori means owl, shake, or "Morepork" (apparently a location), and is also an incredibly common word part in words meaning anything you can imagine pretty much.

 

(Akaku doesn't seem to exist except as part of various words.)

 

It's possible "ru" itself means night vision in the sense that Onu-Matoran have naturally, so "ruru" would mean unnatural night vision granted by a power; "night vision with emphasis".

 

 

What about the "owl" definition? After all, owls can see in the dark, so isn't it possible that ruru means some sort of night creature?

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That's another valid possibility, sure.

The Destiny of Bionicle (chronological retelling of Bionicle original series, 9 PDFs of 10 chapters each on Google Drive)Part 1 - Warring with Fate | Part 2 - Year of Change | Part 3 - The Exploration Trap | Part 4 - Rise of the Warlords | Part 5 - A Busy Matoran | Part 6 - The Dark Time | Part 7 - Proving Grounds | Part 8 - A Rude Awakening | Part 9 - The Battle of Giants

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Kualus and Nuju speak that avian language that I mentioned. That's the only reason I know it exists, actually! :P I think there were some ancient dialects or forms of Matoran. There are lots of accounts where Nokama or Whenua translate something. Or that time where Hahli translated a stone on the way to Karzahni.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking that a lot of different languages would have to exist for Nokama's mask to be useful. So, I guess lots of rahi languages as well.

The_Brotherhood_of_Makuta_by_Arzeron.jpg

 

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Kualus and Nuju speak that avian language that I mentioned. That's the only reason I know it exists, actually! :P I think there were some ancient dialects or forms of Matoran. There are lots of accounts where Nokama or Whenua translate something. Or that time where Hahli translated a stone on the way to Karzahni.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking that a lot of different languages would have to exist for Nokama's mask to be useful. So, I guess lots of rahi languages as well.

 

 

Well there are a lot of islands with inhabitants we've never seen before (Sidorak's people could have their own language for instance)

 

I also like to think that the Skakdi have their own language, even though they can speak Matoran. Tahtorak and Keetongu can speak Matoran, but I assume they would not communicate with others of their species in Matoran. Also, the Visorak have a language.

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I also like to think that the Skakdi have their own language, even though they can speak Matoran.

If you read the previous posts, you'll see that's confirmed (specifically my list in my first post; page 1). Generally wisest to always do that before posting in a topic. :)

The Destiny of Bionicle (chronological retelling of Bionicle original series, 9 PDFs of 10 chapters each on Google Drive)Part 1 - Warring with Fate | Part 2 - Year of Change | Part 3 - The Exploration Trap | Part 4 - Rise of the Warlords | Part 5 - A Busy Matoran | Part 6 - The Dark Time | Part 7 - Proving Grounds | Part 8 - A Rude Awakening | Part 9 - The Battle of Giants

My Bionicle Fanfiction  (Google Drive folder, eventually planned to have PDFs of all of it)

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I also like to think that the Skakdi have their own language, even though they can speak Matoran.

If you read the previous posts, you'll see that's confirmed (specifically my list in my first post; page 1). Generally wisest to always do that before posting in a topic. :)

 

 

Sorry about that.

 

I remembered the list, but I thought you had said only that Skakdi spoke Matoran. Now that I see it, I realize that I mistook "Skakdi (also speak Matoran) as meaning that the Skakdi fall under the banner of Matoran-speaking peoples. (Like the Brits speak English, but the Americans also speak English)

Edited by darthme

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